Keto Dairy-Free: A Beginner's Guide To Getting Started

Dairy-free keto is a popular alternative to the standard ketogenic diet, which is well-known for its health and wellness benefits, including mental clarity, reduced cravings, improved memory, deeper sleep and increased satiety. Dairy-free keto is particularly beneficial for those who want to lose weight or who don't respond well to dairy. This diet involves removing all dairy products, such as milk, butter, cheese, and yoghurt, and replacing them with dairy-free alternatives. Dairy-free keto typically includes a variety of meat, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, low-carb vegetables, and plant-based oils like coconut oil and olive oil.

Dairy-Free Keto Diet Characteristics and Values Table

Dairy-free keto meal ideas

A dairy-free keto diet can be challenging at first, but there are plenty of options and workarounds. Here are some ideas for dairy-free keto meals and snacks.

Breakfast ideas

• Bacon and eggs
• Avocado eggs with bacon
• Keto egg and bacon casserole
• Blueberry smoothie
• Chia pudding
• Cauliflower hash browns
• Salmon with olive-pistachio tapenade and tomatoes
• Sweet and sticky chicken wings
• Coconut curry chicken

Lunch and dinner ideas

• Chicken salad
• Asian chicken with peanut coleslaw
• Mediterranean roasted cod
• Thai fish curry and bok choy
• Sesame-crusted tuna steaks with wasabi mayo and bok choy
• Thai tuna salad wrap
• Classic hamburger
• Beef stir-fry with kimchi
• Chimichurri steak with zoodles
• Pork shoulder with roasted fennel and Romesco sauce
• Crispy Chinese pork with cabbage
• Chinese pork stew with cabbage

Snack ideas

• Olives
• Berries with whipped coconut cream
• Coconut manna
• Nut butters
• Beef sticks
• Crispy oven-fried garlic mushrooms
• Prosciutto-wrapped salmon skewers
• Low-carb zucchini nacho chips

Dessert ideas

• Key lime popsicles
• Nut-free keto chocolate chip cookies
• Low-carb chocolate and peanut squares
• Banana waffles
• Low-carb chocolate mousse
• Dairy-free keto vanilla ice cream
• Low-carb chocolate and hazelnut spread

Dairy-free keto breakfast ideas

Starting a dairy-free keto diet can be challenging, but there are plenty of tasty breakfast options to choose from. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Eggs: Classic bacon and eggs, keto avocado eggs with bacon, simple keto breakfast with fried eggs, keto egg and bacon casserole, keto fried eggs with kale and pork, chorizo and spinach omelette, roasted vegetable scramble, egg-free avocado egg bowls, and keto egg fast Snickerdoodle crepes.
• Smoothies: Low-carb strawberry smoothie, keto tropical smoothie (with mango and banana extracts), and low-carb blueberry smoothie.
• Porridge: Instant pot coconut low-carb porridge, and pumpkin spice breakfast porridge with almond flour and flax meal.
• Pancakes: Keto low-carb pancakes with almond and coconut flour, and almond flour crepes.
• Granola: Golden low-carb granola, and low-carb granola with cardamom and vanilla.
• Muffins: Low-carb sugar-free blueberry muffins, and 1-minute keto muffins (sweet or savoury).
• Oatmeal: N'oatmeal breakfast using cauliflower rice instead of oats.
• Waffles: Paleo chocolate and almond butter crepes, and keto paleo almond flour waffles.
• Other: Coconut flour biscuits, matcha collagen fuel latte, cauliflower hash browns, keto mackerel and egg plate, low-carb chia pudding, and breakfast pork sausages.

Some general tips for dairy-free keto include replacing dairy products with various alternatives. For example, instead of milk, you can use almond, cashew, hemp, or macadamia nut milk. Coconut cream or milk can be used in place of heavy cream, and tahini or coconut butter can be substituted for butter. Olives or avocado slices are a great dairy-free alternative to cheese.

Dairy-free keto snack ideas

If you're embarking on a keto diet, you might be wondering how to replace the usual dairy snacks like cheese and yoghurt. There are plenty of options to keep your taste buds entertained and your body fuelled.

Olives

All types of olives are loaded with good fats, but if you find the taste of regular olives too strong, try Castelvetrano olives. They're green, nutty, and mild in flavour.

Berries with whipped coconut cream

Take a well-refrigerated can of coconut milk, scoop the solid top part into a mixing bowl (don't add any of the liquid), add ½ teaspoon of vanilla, and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Serve with blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries. Remember to calculate your macros to determine how much you should eat.

Coconut manna

Keep a jar of coconut butter on hand, and when you feel the urge to snack, a spoonful will do the trick.

Nut butters

Almond butter and other healthy nut butters like Pili nut butter are perfect spooned straight from the jar or spread on keto-slicing bread.

Beef sticks

These are an excellent grab-and-go snack that you can even keep in your purse or car.

Plant-based substitutions

There are plenty of dairy-like, keto-friendly products on the market these days. Cashew cream cheese and almond yoghurt are good alternatives to their dairy counterparts. You can also replace dairy milk in smoothies and baking with almond or coconut milk.

Ghee

Ghee, or clarified butter, may be a viable alternative to standard butter because its processing eliminates lactose. However, it's not suitable if you have a casein allergy.

Other ideas

• Dark chocolate (at least 80% dark)
• Coconut flour and flax seed meal for baking
• Macadamia chocolate plant-based protein bars
• Roasted edamame beans
• Keto-friendly tortilla chips
• Prosciutto-wrapped salmon skewers
• Low-carb pumpkin spice crackers
• Low-carb zucchini nacho chips

Dairy-free keto alternatives

The ketogenic diet promotes the metabolic state of ketosis. When in ketosis, your liver produces ketones that use dietary and/or stored body fat to create energy. In the absence of carbohydrates and stored glycogen in your body, your body will burn fat for energy.

The traditional keto macronutrient ratios are 80% fat, 15% protein, and 5% carbs, with a total carb limit of 20g per day. However, some people opt for 70% fat, 20% protein, and 10% carbs (from vegetables), with a total carbohydrate range of between 30-50g per day.

Dairy-free alternatives

• Instead of butter, use tahini or coconut butter.
• Instead of milk, use almond, cashew, hemp, or macadamia nut milk.
• Instead of heavy cream, use coconut cream or milk.
• Instead of cheese, snack on or top salads with olives or avocado slices.

High-fat foods

• Avocados – whole, avocado oil
• Olives – whole, olive oil
• Coconut – coconut cream, coconut milk, coconut meat, coconut oil, MCT oil
• Fatty fish – salmon, sardines, herring, anchovies, trout, albacore tuna, mackerel
• Nuts – pecans, macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts (all other nuts in moderation)
• Seeds – chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds (all other seeds in moderation)
• Nut and seed butters – with recommended nuts or seeds, with oil, or in moderation
• Eggs – egg yolks are the high-fat portion; the whites are high in protein
• Chocolate – cacao nibs, unsweetened chocolate, cacao butter
• Grass-fed beef – higher in omega-3 fatty acids than conventional

Sweeteners

• Allulose – functions similarly to sugar and has low-glycemic expectations.
• Stevia and monk fruit – natural sweeteners.
• Sucralose – an artificial sweetener.
• Erythritol or xylitol – types of sugar alcohol.

Wrap and bun alternatives

• Wrap your burger, sandwich, or fajita fillings in butter lettuce, flat kale leaves, collard green leaves, egg wraps, nori seaweed, or coconut flour wraps.
• Use roasted portobello mushrooms or eggplant slices as buns.

Pasta, rice, and potato alternatives

• Mince cauliflower and sauté it in some oil for cauliflower rice.
• Sauté broccoli "rice" or shredded brussels sprouts for a bowl base.
• Instead of potatoes, choose low-carb vegetables like turnips, delicata squash, rutabaga, celeriac, and pumpkin. They work well puréed into soups, shredded for hash browns, mashed, and sautéed.

Noodle alternatives

• Spaghetti squash – poke holes in the skin, place in a baking dish, and roast whole until browned and soft. Let it cool, then cut in half and shred.
• Kelp noodles – high in dairy-free calcium. Sold both shelf-stable and refrigerated. Can be eaten cold or cooked.
• Shirataki noodles – also known as konjac noodles or miracle noodles. They're very soft and resemble thin round rice noodles.
• Hearts of palm noodles – a neutral-tasting newcomer, sold in shelf-stable packages.

Benefits of dairy-free keto

Dairy-free keto can bring a host of benefits, from improved health to increased weight loss. Here are some of the advantages of cutting out dairy on a keto diet:

Health Benefits

Dairy is one of the most common inflammatory foods, and even those with no known dairy sensitivity can be adversely affected by low-grade inflammation. By cutting out dairy, you can help prevent or calm chronic inflammation, which has massive long-term health benefits. Dairy is also one of the more reactive foods for people with immune health issues. Casein, the main protein found in dairy, can be identified by the body as a foreign invader, prompting the immune system to defend itself. This can contribute to intestinal permeability or "leaky gut".

Skin Benefits

Recent research has found a link between dairy intake and acne. While the association is slight, some data suggests that dairy proteins and sugars may cause pimples. By cutting out dairy, you may experience clearer skin.

Weight Loss

Dairy products are easy to overeat, especially on keto, and can slow down weight loss progress. Many keto dieters use cheese and other high-fat dairy products liberally, which can eventually lead to a weight loss plateau. By limiting or cutting out dairy, you may experience increased fat loss.

Gut Health

Consuming foods that you are sensitive or allergic to can damage your gut and cause gastrointestinal issues. By removing these foods, you give your intestinal tract a chance to heal, recover, and digest foods more effectively, leading to improved gut health.

Energy and Stress Levels

Cutting out dairy can lead to increased energy and reduced stress levels. By eliminating foods that cause chronic inflammatory stress, you'll feel less fatigued and more motivated throughout the day.

Thyroid Health

Those with autoimmune-related thyroid issues are more likely to have dairy protein sensitivities. For these individuals, removing dairy from the diet can help improve overall thyroid function.

Frequently asked questions