I used to despise high-fat dinner recipes. Anything loaded with butter, cheese, cream, and oils just seemed like a heart attack waiting to happen. I was perfectly content with my lean proteins and veggies, thank you very much. But then my family entered the picture. My spouse and kids were staunchly in the high-fat camp, always requesting rich, indulgent meals.
At first, I dug in my heels, cooking the same boring, “healthy” dinners. That’s when the complaints and sad puppy dog eyes began. I finally realized I had to compromise unless I wanted to be a short-order cook at every meal. Begrudgingly, I started experimenting with high-fat recipes, bracing myself for a future of clogged arteries. But you know what? These decadent dishes were amazingly delicious! Now high-fat dinners are a regular (albeit occasional) occurrence that we all happily gobble up.
1. Ribeye Steak with Garlic Herb Butter
Ingredients: Ribeye steaks, butter, garlic, fresh herbs like parsley, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
Bold, beefy flavor with a rich, garlicky herb butter coating.
- Pat steaks dry and season generously with salt and pepper
- Make garlic herb butter by mashing softened butter with minced garlic and chopped fresh herbs
- Grill or pan-sear steaks to desired doneness
- Top with garlic herb butter and let rest 5 minutes before serving
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
2. Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients: Russet potatoes, bacon, cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onions, chicken or vegetable broth.
Thick, creamy, and indulgent – like a loaded baked potato in soup form.
- Bake potatoes, then scoop out insides and mash
- Cook bacon until crispy, reserve bacon grease
- Sauté onions and garlic in bacon grease
- Add chicken broth and mashed potatoes, simmer
- Remove from heat and stir in cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, green onions
Cook time: 1 hour
3. Creamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken
Ingredients: Chicken breasts, garlic, parmesan cheese, heavy cream, butter, Italian seasoning.
Rich and savory with punches of garlic and parmesan flavor.
- Pound chicken breasts to an even thickness
- Season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning
- Sear chicken in butter or oil until browned
- Make sauce with garlic, cream, parmesan
- Simmer chicken in the creamy sauce until cooked through
Cook time: 30 minutes
4. Bacon-Wrapped Avocado Slices
Ingredients: Avocados, bacon, optional dipping sauces like ranch or chipotle mayo.
Crispy, smoky bacon wrapped around buttery, creamy avocado.
- Cut avocados in half, remove pits, then slice lengthwise
- Wrap each avocado slice with a strip of bacon
- Bake at 400°F until bacon is crispy
- Serve warm with dipping sauces
Cook time: 20-25 minutes
5. Keto Chicken Crust Pizza
Ingredients: Ground chicken, parmesan, eggs, your favorite pizza toppings.
Satisfyingly crispy chicken crust topped with melty cheese and veggies.
- Make crust by mixing ground chicken, parmesan, and eggs
- Press into a pizza pan and pre-bake the crust
- Top with desired pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings
- Bake again until cheese is melted and bubbly
Cook time: 40 minutes
6. Cheesy Broccoli Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Ingredients: Chicken breasts, broccoli, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, garlic, panko breadcrumbs.
Juicy chicken packed with a rich, cheesy broccoli filling.
- Pound chicken to 1/4-inch thickness
- Make filling by mixing steamed broccoli, cream cheese, cheddar, garlic
- Spoon filling into each chicken breast and roll/fold up
- Coat in breadcrumbs and bake until chicken is cooked through
Cook time: 40 minutes
7. Bacon and Egg Avocado Cups
Ingredients: Avocados, eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese, green onions.
Decadent avocado “cups” baked with an egg filling and crispy bacon bits.
- Slice avocados in half, remove pits
- Create a well in each avocado half for the egg
- Cook bacon until crispy
- Place avocado halves in a muffin tin, crack an egg into each well
- Top with bacon, cheese, bake until egg whites are set
Cook time: 20 minutes
8. Keto Zucchini Lasagna
Ingredients: Zucchini, ground beef or turkey, marinara sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan.
Layers of zucchini “noodles”, meaty sauce, and gooey cheese.
- Slice zucchini into long, thin strips
- Cook meat for sauce, add marinara and seasonings
- Layer zucchini slices, meat sauce, ricotta, shredded cheese in a baking dish
- Bake until hot and melted
Cook time: 45 minutes
9. Creamy Garlic Shrimp with Parmesan
Ingredients: Shrimp, butter, garlic, heavy cream, parmesan cheese, parsley.
Succulent shrimp in a luscious garlic parmesan cream sauce.
- Sauté garlic in butter briefly
- Add shrimp and cook until starting to turn pink
- Pour in cream and grated parmesan
- Simmer until shrimp is cooked and sauce is thickened
- Garnish with parsley
Cook time: 15 minutes
10. Keto Cheeseburger Casserole
Ingredients: Ground beef, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, eggs, bacon, dill pickles.
All the flavors of a juicy bacon cheeseburger in casserole form.
- Brown the ground beef and bacon
- Stir in cream cheese until melted
- Add eggs and seasonings, mix well
- Pour into a baking dish, top with cheddar slices and pickles
- Bake until set in the middle
Cook time: 30 minutes
11. Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast
Ingredients: Chicken breasts, frozen spinach, cream cheese, parmesan, garlic.
Tender chicken breasts stuffed with a rich, creamed spinach filling.
- Cook frozen spinach and drain well
- Mix spinach with cream cheese, parmesan, garlic
- Pound chicken breasts to flatten, spoon spinach mixture into each
- Roll or fold chicken over the filling, secure with toothpicks
- Bake until chicken is cooked through
Cook time: 35 minutes
12. Keto Jalapeno Poppers
Ingredients: Jalapenos, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon.
Spicy jalapeno halves stuffed with tangy cream cheese and wrapped in crispy bacon.
- Slice jalapenos in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and membranes
- Mix cream cheese with shredded cheddar
- Stuff pepper halves with the cheese mixture
- Wrap each stuffed pepper half in a bacon strip
- Bake until bacon is crispy
Cook time: 25 minutes
13. Baked Avocado Eggs
Ingredients: Avocados, eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese.
Avocado halves baked with an egg nestled inside, topped with crispy bacon and melted cheese.
- Cut avocados in half, remove pits
- Create a slightly larger well in each avocado half
- Crack an egg into each well, keeping the yolk intact
- Top with cheese, bacon bits
- Bake until egg whites are set
Cook time: 20 minutes
14. Keto Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients: Beef sirloin or ribeye, mushrooms, garlic, beef broth, sour cream, egg noodle substitute.
Tender beef and mushrooms in a creamy, savory stroganoff sauce over zucchini noodles.
- Sear beef in batches until browned
- Sauté mushrooms and garlic
- Make sauce with broth and sour cream
- Simmer beef and mushrooms in the sauce
- Serve over zucchini noodles or cauliflower rice
Cook time: 45 minutes
15. Cheesy Bacon Ranch Chicken
Ingredients: Chicken breasts, ranch seasoning mix, cream cheese, cheddar, bacon.
Ranch-infused chicken smothered in cream cheese, cheddar and crispy bacon pieces.
- Pound chicken breasts to 1/2-inch thickness
- Mix ranch seasoning with cream cheese
- Spread ranch cream cheese over chicken breasts
- Top with shredded cheddar and bacon pieces
- Bake until chicken is cooked through and cheese is melted
Cook time: 30 minutes
16. Keto Salmon Cakes
Ingredients: Canned salmon, eggs, almond flour, mayo, dill, lemon.
Crispy pan-fried salmon patties with bright lemon-dill flavor.
- Drain and flake salmon
- Mix with eggs, almond flour, mayo, dill, lemon, salt & pepper
- Form into patties
- Pan fry in butter or oil until golden brown Serve with lemon wedges
Cook time: 20 minutes
17. Creamy Garlic Scallops
Ingredients: Sea scallops, garlic, heavy cream, butter, parmesan, parsley.
Plump seared scallops in a rich, decadent garlic parmesan cream sauce.
- Pat scallops very dry, season with salt and pepper
- Sear scallops quickly over high heat until browned
- Make sauce with garlic, cream, butter, parmesan
- Add scallops back into the sauce
- Garnish with parsley
Cook time: 15 minutes
18. Keto Taco Cups
Ingredients: Ground beef, taco seasoning, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, salsa.
Baked cheese “cups” filled with seasoned taco meat, lettuce, tomatoes and all the fixings.
- Brown ground beef with taco seasoning
- Press cheese into a muffin tin to create cups, bake briefly
- Fill cheese cups with taco meat and desired toppings
Cook time: 20 minutes
19. Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus
Ingredients: Asparagus spears, bacon, olive oil, garlic, lemon.
Crisp-tender asparagus spears wrapped in savory bacon with garlic and lemon.
- Trim asparagus spears, toss with oil, garlic, salt & pepper
- Wrap each spear with a strip of bacon
- Arrange on a baking sheet and roast until bacon is crisp
- Squeeze lemon juice over the top
Cook time: 20 minutes
20. Keto Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ingredients: Chicken breasts, ham, swiss cheese, almond flour, eggs, parmesan.
Chicken breasts stuffed with ham and swiss, breaded and baked to golden perfection.
- Pound chicken to 1/4-inch thickness
- Layer ham and swiss on each breast, roll up
- Dip in egg wash then coat in parmesan-almond flour mixture
- Bake until chicken is fully cooked
Cook time: 40 minutes
21. Creamy Garlic Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles
Ingredients: Shrimp, zucchini, garlic, cream, parmesan, lemon.
Zucchini noodles tossed with succulent shrimp in a rich garlic parmesan cream sauce with a pop of lemon.
- Use a spiralizer or julienne peeler to cut zucchini into noodles
- Sauté garlic in butter or oil, then add shrimp and cook until pink
- Add cream, parmesan, lemon juice and zest
- Toss in zucchini noodles and cook for 2-3 minutes until heated through
Cook time: 20 minutes
22. Keto Meatball Parmesan
Ingredients: Ground beef, parmesan, eggs, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese.
Baked parmesan-crusted meatballs smothered in marinara and melty mozzarella cheese.
- Mix beef with eggs, parmesan, herbs and spices
- Form into meatballs and bake until cooked through
- Cover meatballs with marinara sauce and mozzarella slices
- Bake again until cheese is bubbly and melted
Cook time: 40 minutes
23. Keto Nachos
Ingredients: Pork rinds, ground beef, cheddar, pepper jack, salsa, avocado, sour cream.
Crispy pork rind “chips” loaded with seasoned taco meat, gooey cheese, and all the nacho toppings.
- Brown ground beef with taco seasoning
- Layer pork rinds, beef, and shredded cheeses on a baking sheet
- Bake until cheese is melted
- Top with salsa, avocado, sour cream, jalapeños Cook time: 20 minutes
24. Creamy Garlic Tuscan Shrimp
Ingredients: Shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, spinach, heavy cream, parmesan.
Juicy shrimp in a luscious garlic cream sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and fresh spinach.
- Sauté garlic, then add shrimp and sun-dried tomatoes
- Pour in cream and grated parmesan
- Allow to simmer until shrimp is cooked
- Stir in fresh spinach until wilted
Cook time: 15 minutes
25. Keto Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
Ingredients: Flank steak, broccoli, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, cauliflower rice.
Tender beef and crisp broccoli florets stir-fried in a savory ginger-soy sauce over cauliflower rice.
- Slice steak against the grain into thin strips
- Stir-fry beef in batches until browned
- Add broccoli, garlic, ginger, stir-fry until tender-crisp
- Make sauce with soy sauce, sesame oil, xanthan gum
- Pour sauce over beef and broccoli, toss to coat
- Serve over cauliflower rice
Cook time: 30 minutes
Conclusion
While high-fat dinners were once my culinary kryptonite, I’ve now fully embraced them as an occasional indulgence. Sure, they may not be the most nutritious choices, but enjoying richer foods in moderation is part of living a balanced life. These 25 recipes have become favorites for their bold flavors and immense satisfaction factor.
From creamy garlic shrimp to bacon-wrapped appetizers to cheesy casseroles, they always hit the spot. A healthy diet has room for splurges every now and then. So next time a high-fat craving strikes, I’ll happily dive into one of these decadent dishes guilt-free. Moderation is key, but so is eating food you truly love.