I love to talk about how the principles for eating on a budget and eating healthy are so closely aligned. Fill up on whole grains, trade in some of your meat for beans, legumes, and vegetables, and stay away from packaged convenience foods! While they do run parallel, it’s no secret that I also tend to rely on inexpensive pasta and rice to bulk up my meals. So, I often get the question, “What if I’m trying to watch my carbs?” This is a totally legit concern, so I’ve compiled this list of 45 Budget Friendly Low Carb Recipes to show that it’s not impossible and there are other, non-carb dependent ways to fill up for less.
Take note, this is a LOW carb list, not NO carb. Since the term “low” is extremely subjective, you may have to browse past a few recipes that don’t fit your own personal low-carb definition. This list contains recipes that don’t rely on flour, pasta, rice, or potatoes. Beans are a grey area and are included in many of the recipes listed here. A few of the recipes may also contain a small amount of sugar or honey in sauces or marinades, but again, this is a low carb list, not a no carb list and a small amount of sugar is often needed to balance flavors.
In general, here are a few tips for bulking up your recipes without relying heavily on carbs:
- Add inexpensive greens like cabbage, frozen spinach, or chopped kale.
- Swap noodles for spiralized inexpensive vegetables, like zucchini or carrots.
- Swap out rice for “riced” cauliflower. (I’ve seen pre-grated or “riced” cauliflower for a good price at Trader Joes.)
- Hearty soups and stews are a great way to stretch meat without adding carbs. Fill the soup with other vegetables, thick broths, beans, or legumes.
45 Budget Friendly Low Carb Recipes
Since there are a LOT of recipes on this list, I’ve divided them up into five categories: poultry, pork, beef, seafood, and vegetarian. Instead of including a full photograph for each recipe, I’ve created collages and listed the recipes below for faster browsing. I hope you enjoy!!
Low Carb Poultry Recipes
(Listed left to right, top to bottom)
- Slow Cooker Chicken Ropa Vieja – This is pictured with rice, but can be served as is or stuffed into a low-carb tortilla.
- Cilantro Lime Chicken Drumsticks
- Slow Cooker Italian Chicken and Peppers
- Chicken & Lime Soup
- Greek Turkey Burgers
- Baked Chicken with Artichokes and Tomatoes
- Slow Cooker Taco Chicken (eat sans rice)
- Greek Marinated Chicken
(Left to right, top to bottom)
- Balsamic Chicken Skillet
- Mini Black Bean Turkey Burgers
- Chicken Piccatta
- Chicken Arrabbiata
- Easy Oven Fajitas (without the tortillas)
- Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Low Carb Pork Recipes
(Left to right, top to bottom).
- 30 Minute Posole
- Pineapple Pork Kebabs (no grill required)
- Herb Roasted Pork Loin
- Sausage and Kale Skillet
- White Beans with Tomatoes and Sausage
- Lentil & Sausage Stew
- Navy Bean Soup with Sausage and Spinach
Low Carb Beef Recipes
- Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry
- Weeknight Black Bean Chili (oops, this can be made with ground beef OR turkey)
- Joe’s Special (my way)
Low Carb Seafood Recipes
- Kale & Salmon Caesar Salad (sub more kale or white beans for pasta)
- Tuna & White Bean Salad
Low Carb Vegetarian Recipes
(Left to right, top to bottom)
- Smoky White Bean Shakshuka
- Warm Brussels Sprouts and Pear Salad
- Oven Roasted Ratatouille
- Hot & Sour Vegetable Soup with Tofu
- Curried Chickpeas with Spinach
- Chunky Lentil & Vegetable Soup
(Left to right, top to bottom)
- Spinach Mushroom and Feta Crustless Quiche
- Swamp Soup
- Baked Eggs with Spinach and Tomatoes
- Smoky Tomato Soup
- Southwest Spaghetti Squash Bowls
- Moroccan Lentil and Vegetable Stew
(Left to right, top to bottom)
I would like to get more information on recipes for low carb foods and meals
This is about the best resource we have, Renee! We’ll update it occasionally with our new recipes that happen to be low-carb, but we try not to focus too much on certain diets.
This has helped me meal prep for my first budget friendly, low carb week of the 2024 new year. Thank you! The recipes have all been a hit with us so far.
Would love more low carb dinner recipe ideas. I’ve tried a number of these which were delicious. Thank you
love this so much good meals
Very impressed with the wide variety of dishes. Recipes seem easy to follow.
This is great! Thanks especially for the low carb vegetarian options!
Personally, I am so thankful you included a wide variety of carb amounts for this list! I’m trying to cut down on the meals that have far, far too many carbs that are difficult to bolus for with insulin, but I have absolutely no desire to cut out carbs altogether. I’m always looking for recipes that stay around 50 or below, and if the super low carb recipes happen to taste great, that’s good too. But usually the recipes I find are either 70-100g or the author says that they’re “sorry it’s so high in carbs” at 12g. I can’t wait to make my way through these recipes!
Yeah, no. I’m going to have to echo the first poster’s sentiment. These are not low carb recipes. You can’t just brush these things off as “well, that’s subjective”. At least half of these recipes wouldn’t fit into a single low carb diet on this planet. You have made a poor list and should revamp it. These recipes don’t even all contain healthy, non-refined whole carbs. You have white rice in these recipes for crap’s sake!!! You made a clickbaity title and should feel bad about maintaining this in the state it’s in. People are trying to improve their health, and those who are just starting out might do themselves a very bad disservice by not paying close attention, but just clicking the stuff on your list. Are you trying to kill a diabetic? Geez. You straight up suck.
As a diabetic, I can tell you that we tend to pay extra attention to what we eat. If someone doesn’t like some of these recipes, they won’t make them. Please don’t use us as an excuse to say you don’t like this list.
I think you might need to step back and take a breath. If you don’t like the free content, look somewhere else.
EXACTLY!!!!! i’ve seen the rice on the recipes but i can substitute it for quinoa. some people just don’t have anything else to do but complain. SMH
It’s a valid complaint though… the title says low carb meals, but these are not low carb. Yes, you can make substitutions, but it’s not titled “low carb if you make substitutions” now is it? You can’t tell people how they can feel, especially when they are not wrong. It’s not an opinion, it’s a stated fact.
WOOF. I would encourage you to take a few deep breaths and consider why you are so angry. Life is too short to berate others and try to bring them down to your miserable level. I pray you find the peace and joy you so desperately need.
Much love,
-Someone that appreciates Beth’s recipes
I think Zee you owe Beth an apology. At first I was going to agree with you, but after I read her introduction she made it very plain about these recipes. In fact, even the ADA recommends lentils and beans and for some odd reason they even recommend brown rice which is only 2 grams less carbs than white rice. The recipes are made in a way that you can adapt them to your liking. None of us like having diabetes, but we can’t blame innocent people for our problems.
How are some of these recipes considered low carb? Rice, pasta and beans are all high carb foods – and I see they’re featured in a lot of the recipes on this list.
Read the introduction to the post for more info.
Why is the nutritional info not posted with the recipes?
I’m sorry, I do not have a reliable source for that information.
Love all these good recipes–thanks so much!
This site is by far my favorite of the many, many, many (did I say “many”?), food sites I visit on a regular basis. I tell everyone I know to check out Budget Byte$ for very tasty, very satisfying, inexpensive, spicy, dishes chock full of umami. Thank you, Beth!! I hope to someday give you a run for your money. :o) From one foodie to all the rest….a beautifully photographed food documentary series on Netflix called “Chef’s Table” is a must see.
This was incredibly thoughtful and well done. I appreciate the editing you did to speed up the browsing as well. I just found your site today and have been looking thru it for over an hour! Hubby is on his way to the store to round out my ingredients for bibimbap and the creamy garlic chicken! So looking forward to what you share in the future.
I’d like to put a plug in for the chicken and lime soup. It is spicy and citrusey and the chicken is so tender and adds some protein to the bowl. And it’s ridiculously easy to make. Very little prep. Give it a try!
This is so helpful. I need to go low-carb, but it’s been breaking the bank. Thanks for rescuing me!
Another reason to thank you for this great post is that I often like to find low carb recipes so I can have some bread or potatoes or grain on the side reather than in the dish itself. This saves a lot of time browsing.
Thank you for this posting. I’m diabetic. I enjoy your recipes very much, but sometimes I can’t enjoy the rice, potatoes and pasta as frequently as I would like. I’ve thought I might ask you to post more low carb recipes. You anticipated my thoughts.
Hi Beth,
Long time listener, first time caller.
Thanks for this list! I am a bariatric patient, so I am extremely limited in the types and amounts of carbs I can eat. After many months of practice, I find that almost any recipe can somehow be adapted to meet my UBER low carb needs (even have to limit beans!), though not always on a budget. Dietary restrictions can get expensive (hello, chickpea pasta)! I appreciate you putting together a compilation of easier to achieve recipes.
I love this! Thank you!
Perfect timing! I just started a low-carb diet and have been scrambling for new recipes to try. Yours never disappoint!
Budget AND low carb!?! You’re speaking my language!
Kari
Great list! Thanks for sharing it
Best wishes for this new year from BuzzyCircles
https://www.buzzycircles.com/
Whatever the carbs, what a GREAT list of recipes. Smoky White Bean Shakshuka!!! .. how did I miss that one. But every category has at least 1 recipe that I would like to try. Super-duper list.
This compilation is so thoughtful of you, Beth. Thanks for looking out for all your subscribers!
Thanks for this list! I, like a growing number of others, am a T2 diabetic. I’m sure growing up in the 1980s when Susan Powter’s “high carb / low fat” plan, for example, was the norm, contributed to this problem. I’ll never forget eating Snackwell cookies and air popped popcorn with fake butter. Sigh.
At any rate, these are wonderful additions to my low-carb plan!
About any of your recipes that go on top of rice at the end could go on top of a bed of crunchy greens instead to be a salad! We like to do “chipotle at home” on iceberg lettuce (sans cheese and sour cream).
I do this and I also do it with a bed of sautéed cauliflower rice. Works really well!
Your chili-rubbed pork is one of our favorites as we move to low-carb in the new year. My kids LOVE it and I like how rice/flour tortillas can be on the side for them and I just pile it on lettuce/spinach/kale, add cheese and avocados and salas…and its amazing. :)
Thanks for this! Great roundup!
Hi Beth,
Thanks for this. I just switched over to Keto (Low-carb high fat) and appreciate this list. Your website was literally my life line of eating delicious cheap and healthy meals during a budgeting period in life. I’m happy to see this compilation, hopefully I can adapt some of these recipes to fit Keto!