Low carb family meals are a great way to please the whole family. They are healthier on the waistline but delicious and kid friendly. These easy weeknight dinners for families are carb conscious and simple crowd pleasers. No more fighting with your kids to get them to eat! From pizza to sesame chicken, you’re bound to find the perfect low carb dinner for your family in this collection!
Ask the majority of kids in America what their favorite foods are, and you’ll probably be able to boil it to a few things. Carbs, cheese, or dessert.
Yeah, they might get specific – Ryan adores pizza, Owen claims mac and cheese as his favorite, and if pressed they will both tell you cookies and ice cream reign supreme, but if you really break them down, we’re looking at bread, pasta, sauce, and, you guessed it, cheese.
It’s just the way of the world, my friends.
A happy medium for the whole family..
I try hard to indulge in kids favorites healthier, by making pizza with my hidden veggie spaghetti sauce or offering Owen veggie Alfredo sauce with sneaky cauliflower. But, the truth of the matter is, kids love cheese. And they love carbs.
More facts: momma cannot live on cheese and carbs unless she’s also okay with buying new jeans every other month, and not for fashion reasons.
So we’ve had to find a happy medium between “give the boys all of the carbs in the world to keep them happy, fed, and quiet” and “let’s eat salad every day because my metabolism isn’t getting any faster, guys.”
Enter: easy, low carb family meals.
It turns out, a few simple swaps are not only pleasing to kiddos, but appealing on mommy’s waistline.
These low carb meals for families are both kid approved and picky husband approved. I KNOW, right? You’re going to love whipping up these simple meals, serving them, and watching these healthy dishes disappear.
Tips for making low carb meals for families
- Sub spaghetti for things like spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles. Yes, they taste a little different, but they’re just as fun!
- If you kids won’t go for total substitution, try doing a half and half situation. Half traditional pasta mixed with half “veggie” pasta!
- Love rice? Try cauliflower rice! It’s surprisingly similar in texture to normal rice and doesn’t have a huge veggie taste. If you’re like me and too lazy to make it, I find it in my grocery’s refrigerated produce section. Frozen veggie brands also carry it in the frozen veggie section.
- Try half rice, have veggies if you’re just jumping into adding more veggies or creating low carb family meals.
- Concentrate on the main, not the sides. Sometimes our mental block with low carb meals can be the thought that we always need certain things on our plate. Focus on making the main as healthy, delicious, and filling as possible!
The BEST, Kid Friendly Low Carb Family Meals
I scoured the net to find the absolute most delicious looking, family friendly low carb meals. Now I’m sharing them with you lucky people! Here are some of my favorites:
Cheesy Low Carb Pizza Casserole this family favorite uses spaghetti squash to create a low carb pizza dinner that everyone will love.
Pizza Chicken Serve this kid friendly option over pasta for the kids and spaghetti squash for the low carb-ers! Bonus: it’s a one pan meal so it can be made without a ton of dishes.
Chicken Alfredo Kids love creamy alfredo – you’ll love that this option (served with spaghetti squash) is super low carb!
Gluten Free Eggplant Parmesan Eggplant parm was a staple in my house growing up. This vegetarian option is super cost friendly as well, since you’re not splurging on expensive protein.
Zucchini Chicken Noodle Alfredo I can’t wait to try this – my boys love Alfredo but I never thought to mix it up with zucchini as the “pasta”
Chicken Florentine in a Skillet Serve this over a low carb pasta, spaghetti squash, zoodles, or even on it’s own with a side salad!
Sesame Chicken Egg Roll in a Bowl I love egg roll in a bowl – I tend to make mine with a bit of rice, but I love this different twist on an easy favorite!
Beef Lettuce Wraps Even kids who hate lettuce will love this fun dinner – serve it “family style” and let kids build their own lettuce tacos!
Beef Taco Skillet Recipe Tacos are a forever kit in our house and this one pan meal would be the perfect weeknight meal. Super simple, super flavorful, and not a ton of dishes!
Slow Cooker Chili Chili is one of those meals I never really think of as “low carb” – just like my favorite soups! – but it is! This version is a double win because it’s made in a slow cooker to get dinner on the table easier.
Sweet and Sour Asian Meatballs My boys love anything in meatball form, and I can guarantee these sweet meatballs would be a hit. Serve over cauliflower rice to keep it low carb.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole Owen loves ranch dressing and while this casserole doesn’t look super pretty, it would be such a great kid friendly low carb meal to make on a busy day!
Low Carb Chicken Parmesan Casserole I grew up on chicken parm, so I need to try out this casserole! I don’t think I would even notice it was low carb – sauce, cheese, chicken? Yes please!
Taco Zucchini Boats – While zucchini isn’t normally a kid friendly option, especially for picky eaters, I think the fun and excitement of these boats would be enough of a sell to get kiddos to try it out – and then keep eating when they realize it’s delicious!
Even more low carb dinners your kids will love…
Sesame Chicken and Broccoli Sheet Pan Meal Who doesn’t love a sheet pan meal? Throw it all on a tray, toss it together, and bake until you’re ready to eat! My kids love sesame chicken so this is definitely going to be added to my rotation.
Mini Bell Pepper Nachos Those mini bell pepper are so stinking cute but I never know what to do with them other than serve on salad or with dip. How fun are these little nachos? They would make a fun game day dinner or even just a snack any time!
Philly Cheesesteak Bell Peppers Philly cheesesteak is a debated topic here, being so close to the name sake. An easy low carb family meals go, it’s definitely an easy win!
Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups – Have I told you my kids eat ricotta cheese by the spoonful? These rolls ups are super fun AND each kiddo can have his own little lasagna!
Mini Keto Meatloaves These are just took stinking cute – How fun would they be in shaped silicone muffin cups, like stars or hearts?
Salisbury Steak So old school but there’s a reason this low carb family meal is such a winner!
Sausage Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms These look absolutely decadent and amazing. My boys are going to ADORE these cheesy, sausage stuffed mushrooms. I love that it’s a large batch so you can make some for leftovers! yum.
Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein I have a spaghetti squash living in my house that I’ve been trying to decide what to do with – I think this just won! We love Asian food here and this low carb version looks absolutely irresistible.
Stuffed Peppers with Italian Sausage I grew up on sausage and peppers – it was one of those meals we made a ton, both for easy weeknight meals and for big family get togethers. This easier, less messy version sounds amazing!
Lasagna Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Lasagna is one of those foods that is a “special” food in my house because I’m super lazy, but also because I’ll pull a Garfield and eat half of it in one sitting. This looks like the PERFECT compromise!
Cheeseburger Pie The concept of Cheeseburger pie is super foreign to me (I didn’t grow up with it!) but this version looks like such an awesome and easy low car kid friendly meal!
Okay, so tell me – what do YOUR kids prefer to eat? Why are you looking to try more low carb family meals? Let me know in the comments!
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Vic says
These low carb recipes are awesome! I’ll absolutely try these someday! Thanks a lot for sharing!
Redz says
I checked some of the links and these recipes look so good and tasty! I can’t wait to try these recipes someday. Thanks for posting!
John says
These low carb meals are awesome! I can’t wait to try these. Thanks for sharing!