Warming, spicy, satisfying, indulgent perhaps? There’s an ideal curry for any time of year, and in this article we’re going to give you 20 brilliant keto curry recipes to enjoy that delicious spice, while keeping the carb count low.
A good curry, is fragrant, well spiced and richly flavored, something all these recipes have in common. The key ingredient of course, is the spices, and in a minute we’ll take a look at a few of the key spices that turn up again and again, and why they’re such a great addition, to any diet, let alone the Keto diet.
Often the problem area for eating curry on the keto diet, isn’t necessarily the curry itself, but the accompaniments.
There’s nothing I used to love more than a Tikka Masala curry, with piles of rice, naan breads, popadoms, roti and more on the side. The curry itself was actually mostly protein and fat, but I was pairing it with plate after plate of carby sides.
So before we get into our list of great, low carb curry recipe, a couple of tips:
Keeping Your Curry Low Carb
- Ditch the Rice: Most curries tend to come with rice, either Jasmine or sticky rice in the case of South-East asian cuisine, or a Pilau, basmati rice in India and nearby. So first thing we need to do is swap these out for a more keto friendly alternative. Cauliflower is the go to here, so check out recipes for that, you can flavor this up as well to complement the main dish.
If you’re eating out with friends, and ordering a curry, then swap the rice out for a salad or similar, and skip any breads for sure - Try a Low Carb Naan: I love a naan bread, something I miss a lot when eating an indian meal, but there are some great low carb recipes these days for naan. I’m not suggesting these are a perfect replica, but they’re still perfect for mopping up you curry. Try this recipe from Wholesum Yum.
Why Eat Curry on the Keto Diet?
People eating a keto diet are generally wanting to improve their health by losing weight, a great goal to have. But eating nutritious food is about a lot more than weight control, just eating bacon and cheese may help you lose some weight if done right, but it’s not really going to make you much healthier.
Curries can be packed with nutrition, they’re a great opportunity to experiment and add more green vegetables and other non-starchy veg to your diet. The robust flavors of curry are great for introducing foods you’re not so keen on into your diet, reducing the impact of the flavor from say, cauliflower or broccoli for those that aren’t keen.
Then come the spices. There are so many spices that we couldn’t hope to cover them all, but a few key ones are here below, all of which come with some great potential health benefits making them a worthwhile addition to your meal plan.
- Turmeric: This bright yellow spice turns up in plenty of cuisines, especially Indian foods, and is known for a whole range of health benefits. Including being a powerful anti-inflammatory, improving brain function, and lowering the risk of heart disease. Off all the spices to add to your diet, this has got to be number 1
- Cumin: Cumin has been shown to have the potential to improve weight loss, as well as aid digestion and relieve the symptoms of IBS.
- Chillis / Capsaicin: Numerous studies have demonstrated chili’s ability to aid weight loss, and one recent study even suggested that regularly consuming chilis could lead to a longer lifespan.
- Cinnamon: Has a host of benefits, including anti-fungal/bacterial/viral properties. It’s also a potent anti-oxidant, and has been shown to have prebiotic benefits for your digestive system.
- Ginger: Regularly consuming ginger has been seen to have a positive impact on weight loss, as well as showing potential benefits in combating the effects of diabetes and indigestion.
20 of Our Favorite Keto Curry Recipes
Need a go-to dinner recipe? This keto Thai chicken curry with coconut milk is exactly what you have been looking for; creamy, easy to make and delicious.
Pair this low carb curry with some cauliflower rice for a substantial, spicy meal. The flavor combinations here of spicy curry paste, cilantro, lime and coconut milk are a great harmony. For added Thai inspired flavors, you could also chop in some thai basil, add kaffir lime leaves, or add more chili heat with fresh chilis (with their added health benefits!)
This was our very first recipe here on I Eat Keto! And it's still a favorite to this day. This fragrant keto curry is a blend of warming spices, coconut milk and delicate, healthy white fish.
The best thing about this low carb curry recipe is that it can be ready in 15 minutes too! The fish is so quick to cook, you don't need to wait hours for this flavorful dinner.
A quick, simple and warming keto cauliflower soup with coconut and spices. This is perfect for a winter lunch, with filling, fiber filled cauliflower paired with warming spice, especially the superfood spice turmeric!
Pair this with one of our keto bread rolls for mopping up this delicious, filling keto soup recipe.
This vegan keto butter cauliflower ticks all the boxes with its combination of spices, warming flavours and simplicity of ingredients, and is a great addition to a vegan keto diet along with these other great vegan keto recipes.
Carrying on the butter curry theme, this unctuous keto curry recipe from Cast Iron Keto is an instant classic, using chicken instead of our own vegan cauliflower version here at I Eat Keto.
Fresh chili and cilantro finish this off beautifully with some fragrance and heat - this is the sort of dish to serve both keto, and non-keto eaters alike. No-one is going to turn down this curry, and you can always just serve the keto people cauliflower rice, and the others regular, long grain or basmati rice.
This quick keto chicken curry from the guys at Diet Doctor does a great job of adding more vegetables into your diet. Using green beans and broccoli to bulk out the meal and give some additional nutritional value.
Broccoli and cauliflower (as the rice here) are both cruciferous vegetables, which have a bunch of great health benefits - in this case they're making up more than half the plate! Fantastic!
I love one pot dishes and traybakes (check out our recent mexican chicken traybake here for a spicy weeknight meal idea!) and this one from Sugar Free Londoner is no exception.
Chicken thighs are a brilliant, cheap keto ingredient which feature in a lot of our cheap keto meal ideas, and is perfect for this recipe, retaining it's juiciness and not drying out as chicken breast might do.
Cauliflower and curry just pair so well, as can be seen by the sheer volume of keto cauliflower curry recipes there are!
This is a great, weeknight keto meal, so satisfying without the need to slave at the stove, and with minimal washing up too!
There are more and more people asking after vegan keto recipes, and this is a great option from PureWow. Using tofu as a base, with a delicious thai red curry paste for flavor and heat.
It can be tricky finding a vegan red curry paste, due to some of the traditional fish based ingredients you find in many products - search around!
This is a great use for a slow cooker, able to make even the toughest cuts of meat melt in the mouth! Here, tender beef is turned into a delicious keto curry recipe, with a spicy madras sauce, a great low carb recipe from I Breathe I'm Hungry.
This is a brilliant, quick keto curry recipe from Keto Connect. Shrimp are great for a weeknight meal, where you want something tasty, but in a hurry, as they cook in no time.
Paired with some cauliflower rice, this low carb curry would make a great addition to your regular repertoire, as it's ready so quickly and easily.
This is a really simple, low carb, japanese inspired keto curry. The ingredient list is really short, but you'll need to do some searching for the right curry mix.
Roasted cauliflower is just delicious, so much better than boiling it, with a rich, nutty flavor and a little crunch and texture still. The great thing is that cauliflower also pairs beautifully with spices, robust enough to stand up to their strong flavors.
This is a great, alternative keto curry recipe, you could serve this as a starter, or a tasty side dish, cauliflower is a great stand in for meat too, for those avoiding animal products.
This rich, hearty Thai inspired keto beef curry from Bulletproof is full of healthy fats, and delicious spice. Slow cooking the beef leads to a melting, tender texture.
The use of kaffir lime leaves really takes this to the next level, the fragrant leaves aren't always easy to find, it's worth searching around your nearest asian supermarket if you have one. They can often be found in the frozen section, a keep for ages in the freezer, a little goes a long way!
Coconut is a great addition to the keto diet, in it's many forms, and here it's used to great effect to give a creamy texture, and subtle sweetness to this low carb keto chicken curry recipe from Better Than Bread Keto.
This is an unusual, but very tasty looking dish from Tasteaholics, taking inspiration from the curries from Bali, Indonesia.
Chicken thighs are one of our favorite keto ingredients, with so much more flavor than chicken breast, and a good balance of fat and protein in comparison too.
Adding toasted peanuts to the sauce is a nice addition, lending extra creaminess and nutty flavor to the sauce., along with healthy fats from the nuts.
This is an ingenious recipe idea from Everyday Keto Recipes. By using a rotisserie chicken, this can be prepped and cooked in under half an hour, an ideal keto curry recipe when you're in a hurry, or don't want to cook for hours.
Coconut milk adds richness, with a warming spice blend that includes fragrant garam masala (a great spice mix to look out for). This is the perfect quick keto meal idea.
A tasty alternative for those on a vegan or vegetarian keto diet, this rich, savoury keto curry recipe from Easy and Delish uses mushrooms in stead of meat. Mushrooms are a great meat stand in for those trying to eat less meat, giving texture and depth of flavor.
This recipe is super speedy too! As you're not trying to cook meat through, this only needs a few minutes of cook time, it can potentially be ready in just 15 minutes when using a pressure cooker or instant pot!
Do note the carb count on this one though as it's a little high, you just need to factor that in to your daily carb count, eat a little less elsewhere the day you're having this low carb curry.
Chicken Tikka Masala, a favorite here in the UK for sure. This hearty keto curry recipe can be taken to the next level by properly marinating and then grilling your chicken on the barbecue for added flavor.
This recipe also uses Ghee, for a more authentic flavor to the dish, this clarified butter ingredient is keto friendly, and really changes the flavor of the curry. Hunt it down in your local south asian store if you can, or you can find it online.
This is a great, winter warming curry recipe from Meat Free Keto. With pumpkin and tofu for a filling meal, there's no need for added meat here!
Pair this with some cauliflower rice for a more substantial meal if needed, but the pumpkin on it's own is sure to be filling and satisfying, an ideal rainy day keto curry recipe.
So there you have it, 20 great keto curry recipes, to keep you loaded up with spices all year round.
Let us know if you have any particular favorites in the comments below, or maybe you have your own keto curry recipe that you’d like to share with us?
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