Going into the keto diet alone can be a little stressful, but that stress can be compounded even more if you’re going in with your own set of dietary restrictions from the get go.

A lot of people worry that their pre-existing dietary restrictions will make keto a lot more difficult than it should be, and will start to get discouraged.

While that can be the case for some extremely strict diets (usually that center around a medical condition), it’s not always the case for a lot of popular diets and eating protocols out there.

In this article, I’ll go in-depth about how you can get the most out of keto while sticking to a pescatarian diet.

What Is Pescatarianism?

Pescatarianism is a subset of vegetarianism, which focuses consuming seafood as the only source of meat. It can be practiced with the vegan protocol as well, in which no animal products (dairy, honey, eggs) are consumed except for fish as well.

There are a variety of reasons that people choose to forego all types of meats and potentially animal products except for fish, which include environmental, economic, and ethical factors.

The environmental factors are focused on a lot of issues with factory farming. Millions of gallons of water are used every day in order to maintain beef and chicken factory farms, which are both in poor conditions for the animal, and are contributing to states like California’s dwindling water supplies.

There’s also a simple health factor at play, because fish is generally much healthier than dark meat, due to its high omega-3 fatty acids and better effects on blood pressure and cholesterol.

Those key nutrients that come from fish make up a big reason a lot of vegetarians will go pescatarian instead, because it can be difficult to fully follow a vegetarian diet and still get all of the vital minerals and nutrients required for a healthy, balanced diet.

Can Pescatarians Do Keto?

Pescatarians can definitely do keto, and there’s a lot of great ways to combine these two types of diets.

I’d recommend anyone who’s going into keto as a vegetarian or vegan to consider pescatarianism, because the added bonuses of fish will make keeping your nutrients up a whole lot easier.

It also is a great option for people who both don’t want to eat most types of animal products, but could have tree nut allergies preventing them from getting a lot of natural fats and proteins on two combined diets that both recommend nuts.

As long as you’re not going overboard with carbs in other aspects of your diet, combing pescatarianism and the keto diet is totally sustainable in the long run, and has a ton of health benefits that other dieting protocols really can’t provide.

I’ll get into some of my personal favorite pescatarian keto dishes below.

Best Pescatarian Keto Recipes (1000)

• Beyond Beef and Tuna Lettuce Wrap Tacos

Ingredients:

• • 1 lb Beyond Beef
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • 2 cups diced tuna
  • ½ cup tomato sauce
  • 5 limes, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon oregano, minced
  • ¼ teaspoon onion, small dice
  • ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
  • ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
  • 1 tomato, small dice
  • ⅛ teaspoon paprika, optional
  • ⅛ teaspoon coriander, optional
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic, minced
  • 8 heads of lettuce for wrapping
  • ½ cup cheddar cheese (or Daiya cheddar for plant based option)
  • 1 avocado
  • ½ cup lettuce, shredded
  • ½ bunch cilantro, rough chop

Instructions:

• • In a large sauce pan, over medium heat, mix in the Beyond Beef and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Add the tuna to the mixture
  • Add in tomato sauce and seasoning.
  • Let the whole mixture simmer for about another 5 minutes
  • Add the mix onto the lettuce wraps
  • Garnish with your choice of cheese cheese, guacamole, cilantro, lettuce, lime, and tomato
  • Top with sour cream if desired
  • Serve and enjoy!

• Lox and Egg Scramble

Ingredients:

• • 56 g smoked salmon
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp cream cheese
  • 2 cups roughly chopped leafy greens
  • 2 eggs – medium
  • 2 tbsp full fat cream
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste

Instructions:

• • Heat half of the total amount of butter in a frying pan
  • Add in the chopped leafy greens, season with salt and pepper
  • Sauté and stir leafy greens until they are fully wilted
  • Remove the greens from the frying pan and put on a serving dish
  • In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together, and melt the remaining butter in the frying pan
  • Pour the egg mixture into the frying pan, and stir gently to scramble
  • Place the warm scrambled eggs on top of the leafy greens
  • Add smoked salmon and garnish with cream cheese

• Avocado and Basil Salmon

Ingredients:

• • 1 ½ pounds boneless salmon filet, skin removed
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons coconut oil
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt, divided
  • ¼ cup chopped basil
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • chopped scallions, for garnish

Instructions:

• • Heat your oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium to high heat
  • Add in the 3/4 teaspoon of salt, Italian seasonings, and crushed red pepper and black pepper over your prepared salmon
  • Lay down your salmon filet with the skinned side facing up in the oil
  • Let the salmon cook until browned and crispy along the lower edge for about 4 to 6 minutes
  • Flip the salmon and remove the skillet from the heat
  • Allow the salmon to remain in hot skillet until it reaches your desired level of doneness
  • Peel, pit, and mash your avocado, combining with line juice, remaining salt, and basil
  • Serve the salmon topped with the avocado mash along with sprinkled scallions

• Keto Salmon Cakes

Ingredients:

For the salmon cakes:

• • 10 ounces of salmon (canned or fresh)
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 tbsp avocado oil
  • 2 tbsp finely diced red onion
  • 1/2 jalapeno, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp sarayo (or plain mayo)
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 cup finely ground pork rinds (optional, but helps)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the avocado cream sauce:

• • 1 whole avocado
  • 3 tbsp cilantro
  • 1–2 tsp Water, to desired thickness
  • Juice of half lemon
  • 1–2 tbsp avocado oil (to thin)
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • Salt, pepper to taste

Instructions:

• • In a large bowl, mix together the salmon, jalapeno, sarayo, red onion, egg, and ground pork rinds along with added seasoning
  • Form four large patties with the combined mixture
  • In a non-stick skillet, drizzle avocado oil and cook patties over medium to high heat for 4 to 5 minutes until each side is golden brown and crispy

For the avocado cream sauce:

• • Blend all of the ingredients together in a food processor until smooth and combined
  • Drizzle the cream sauce on top of the completed salmon cakes

• Pescatarian-Keto Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

• • 2 (6 ounce) cans of water-packed tuna, drained
  • 2 (6 ounce) cans olive oil-packed tuna, drained
  • 3/4 cup reduced-fat olive oil mayonnaise
  • 1/4 red onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons mustard
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1/2 lime, juiced
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

• • In a large bowl, combine water-packed tuna, oil-packed tuna, mayonnaise, celery, lime juice, red onion, mustard, salt, and pepper together.
  • Mix well
  • Serve in a bowl and enjoy

• Lemon Butter Baked Cod

Ingredients:

• • 12 ounces cod
  • 1/4 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

For The Sauce:

• • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon salted butter
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup dry cooking white wine

Instructions:

• • Place an oven rack in the middle of your oven, preheat to 400 F
  • Pat down the cod fillets with dry paper towels, sprinkle salt on top of both sides of each fillets, set aside
  • In a 10-inch nonstick pan, add in butter over medium heat, stir until melted
  • Add in the minced garlic, stirring until it starts to brown
  • Add in the white wine and lemon juice to the pan, stir them together and turn off the heat
  • In a mixing bowl, stir in the parmesan cheese with the paprika until combined
  • Place the cod fillets into the pan, directly over the sauce
  • Spoon the parmesan mix over the top of the cod fillets while they cook
  • Transfer the fillets into the pan in the oven, bake until the cod fillets are cooked through (roughly 20 minutes)
  • Carefully transfer the cod fillets to a plate using a turner spatula, and serve hot!

• Shrimp and Bacon Zoodle Alfredo

Ingredients:

• • 3 medium zucchini squash, julienned or spiralized
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 Tbsp garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 4 cooked bacon strips, chopped (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • (You can also use store bought Alfredo Sauce if you wish)

Instructions:

• • In a large non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium to high heat
  • Once butter is bubbling, toss in the garlic and shrimp
  • Sprinkle salt, pepper, and paprika onto mixture
  • Cook on both sides until fully cooked through, transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon
  • Toss in the zucchini to the pan, drizzle with cream, and cook until just warm
  • Remove from heat, sprinkle with parmesan
  • Serve topped with shrimp and crispy bacon!

If you’re looking for more pescatarian keto inspiration, check out this great video I found from YouTuber Jacqueline Wheeler!