28 Carnivore Diet Recipes + 7-Day Meal Plan

The Perfect Ribeye

If you only ever learn to cook one thing well on the carnivore diet, let it be a ribeye. A properly seared, well-rested ribeye is one of the most nutritionally complete single foods on the planet: protein, fat, creatine, taurine, iron, zinc, and B vitamins, all in one sizzling package.

Ingredients

• 1 bone-in ribeye steak, 1.5 to 2 inches thick (16 to 20 oz)
• 2 tablespoons grass-fed tallow
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Flaky sea salt to taste
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary (optional)

Directions

1. Pull the steak from the fridge 45 minutes before cooking. Pat bone-dry with paper towels. Surface moisture is the enemy of a good crust.
2. Season both sides generously with flaky salt. A thick steak can take more salt than you think.
3. Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat until lightly smoking. Add the tallow and swirl.
4. Lay the steak away from you. Do not touch it for 3 minutes. Flip once, add rosemary and butter, sear the second side for 3 minutes.
5. Tilt the pan and spoon the hot fat and butter over the steak for another minute, basting constantly. Target 125°F for rare or 130°F for medium-rare.
6. Transfer to a warm plate and rest for 8 to 10 full minutes. Non-negotiable.

The final product: A deep mahogany crust, a warm ruby interior, and that unmistakable beefy perfume that tells your whole body a real meal is coming.

Slow-Braised Short Ribs

Short ribs are forgiving, nutrient-dense, and nearly impossible to overcook. Rich in collagen and fat-soluble vitamins. This is carnivore comfort food at its best.

Ingredients

• 4 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
• 2 tablespoons beef tallow
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 2 cups beef bone broth
• 1 tablespoon butter for finishing
• 2 to 3 sprigs rosemary (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Pat short ribs dry and salt aggressively on all sides.
2. Heat tallow in a Dutch oven over medium-high. Sear ribs on all sides until deeply browned, about 3 minutes per side. Work in batches.
3. Return all ribs to the pot. Pour broth around (not over) them. Liquid should reach halfway up the ribs. Add rosemary.
4. Cover and transfer to the oven. Braise for 3 to 3.5 hours, until meat is fork-tender and pulling away from the bone.
5. Lift ribs out and tent with foil. Skim excess fat from the braising liquid, then reduce over high heat for 5 minutes.
6. Stir in butter, pour the pan sauce over the ribs, serve immediately.

The final product: Meat so tender it falls apart under a fork, glossed in a deep savory sauce that tastes like it took three days to make.

Butter-Basted Bison Burgers

Bison is leaner than beef but richer in flavor, with a deep mineral quality. These burgers are intentionally simple: no fillers, no binders. Finished with a runny yolk on top.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground bison (85/15)
• 2 tablespoons beef tallow or butter, divided
• 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 4 pasture-raised eggs (optional, for topping)
• 2 ounces aged cheddar, shaved (optional)

Directions

1. Divide bison into 4 portions and gently form into patties about 3/4-inch thick. Press a shallow dimple into the center of each (prevents doming).
2. Salt both sides right before they hit the pan.
3. Heat cast-iron skillet over medium-high with 1 tablespoon tallow. Lay in patties and cook undisturbed for 3 minutes.
4. Flip, top with cheese, cook another 2 minutes while basting with the hot fat in the pan.
5. In a second skillet, fry eggs in the remaining tablespoon of butter until whites are set but yolks still runny.
6. Rest patties 3 minutes, then crown each with a fried egg.

The final product: The salty crust, the rich meat, the yolk spilling over the top. A simple pleasure that reminds you how uncomplicated eating was meant to be.

Slow-Roasted Prime Rib

The meal for holidays, birthdays, and any time you want to remind your guests this way of eating is anything but a deprivation diet. Edge-to-edge pink, with a deep salt crust.

Ingredients

• 1 bone-in prime rib roast, 4 to 5 pounds (3 bones)
• 3 tablespoons coarse sea salt
• 2 tablespoons beef tallow, softened
• 1 tablespoon coarse black pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Day before: pat roast dry, rub tallow over all surfaces, pack salt onto every side. Refrigerate uncovered overnight on a rack.
2. Day of: pull roast out 2 hours before cooking. Preheat oven to 250°F.
3. Place roast bone-side down on a rack. Roast slowly for 2 to 2.5 hours, until internal temp reaches 120°F for medium-rare.
4. Remove and tent loosely with foil. Rest 30 minutes. Crank oven to 500°F during the rest.
5. Return roast to the screaming hot oven for 8 to 10 minutes to form a deep brown crust. Watch closely.
6. Rest 10 more minutes. Slice thick against the grain.

The final product: A roast that is crimson pink edge-to-edge, crowned with a crackling salt crust, and tender enough to cut with a butter knife.

Beef Bone Broth

The single most therapeutic food you can make yourself, especially if you're managing leaky gut, joint pain, or healing skin. Drink a warm mug in the morning during your first 2 weeks of carnivore.

Ingredients

• 10 lbs beef bones, mix of marrow bones (femur), oxtail, short ribs, knuckles
• 2 onions quartered, 2 heads garlic halved (optional)
• 6 stalks celery cut into 2-inch pieces (optional)
• 3 bay leaves, 1/4 cup black peppercorns, 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1.5 teaspoons sea salt (to start)

Directions

1. Blanch the bones: cover with cold water in a large pot, bring to boil, simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and rinse. This produces a clear broth.
2. Heat oven to 450°F. Spread bones and vegetables across two roasting pans, don't overcrowd. Roast 30 minutes, toss, return 15 to 30 more minutes until deeply browned. Add aromatics for the last 15 minutes.
3. Return everything to a clean stockpot (or large slow cooker).
4. Add apple cider vinegar. Cover with water until bones are submerged. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce to a low simmer.
5. Simmer gently with lid slightly ajar for 8 to 12 hours (up to 24 for maximum extraction). Skim and top up water as needed.
6. Strain through fine mesh sieve. Cool completely. The fat will rise, keep it.
7. Refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze in portions up to 6 months.

The final product: Liquid gold. Broth that gels solid when chilled, melts back into a rich savory drink when warmed, and feels genuinely restorative.

Crispy Pork Belly

Pork belly is what bacon wants to be when it grows up. Unprocessed, uncured, and cooked low and slow until the fat renders into satin and the skin shatters like glass.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds pork belly, skin on
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper (optional)
• 1 tablespoon butter for finishing (optional)

Directions

1. Score the skin in a tight crosshatch, cut through the skin but not into the meat. Pat extremely dry. Dry skin crisps, wet skin steams.
2. Salt the skin heavily. Leave uncovered in the refrigerator at least 12 hours, up to 24. This is the secret to crackling.
3. Preheat oven to 300°F. Wipe off all the salt. Place belly skin-side up on a rack over a roasting pan.
4. Roast 2.5 hours. Fat renders, meat becomes meltingly tender.
5. Crank oven to 475°F and roast another 20 to 30 minutes until skin puffs and crackles. Watch closely the final minutes.
6. Rest 15 minutes, then slice into thick strips against the grain.

The final product: Three distinct pleasures at once: crackling-crisp skin, silk-soft fat, and deeply savory meat. Serve it plain.

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork

The dish that feeds me all week. One pork shoulder, eight hours of patience, five pounds of meltingly tender meat that tastes better every day it sits in the fridge. No sugar, no sauce, no carbs.

Ingredients

• 5 to 6 pound bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt)
• 1.5 tablespoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper (optional)
• 1/2 cup bone broth or water

Directions

1. Pat pork shoulder completely dry. Score the fat cap in a crosshatch, about 1/4 inch deep.
2. Rub salt and pepper all over the surface, working into the scored fat.
3. Place shoulder fat-cap up in slow cooker. Pour broth around the base, not over the top.
4. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, until meat shreds effortlessly with a fork and the bone pulls clean.
5. Lift shoulder out, rest 20 minutes. Shred with two forks, discarding gristle and the bone.
6. Skim fat from cooking liquid, pour some back over the shredded meat to keep it moist.

The final product: Meltingly tender shredded pork glossed in its own rendered fat. Reheats beautifully all week. Works for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Lamb Chops with Rosemary Butter

Lamb is fragrant, deep, mineral-rich, and sears in minutes. My quiet standby for an elegant date night at home.

Ingredients

• 8 lamb rib chops, about 1 inch thick
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon beef tallow
• Flaky sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Mash softened butter and chopped rosemary with cracked black pepper. Set aside at room temperature.
2. Pat chops dry and salt generously on both sides. Let sit at room temperature 30 minutes.
3. Heat tallow in cast-iron skillet over high heat until lightly smoking.
4. Lay in chops fatty edge down first, hold with tongs so the fat renders for 60 seconds. Then lay flat.
5. Sear 90 seconds per side for medium-rare. Work in batches.
6. Transfer to a warm plate, top each chop with a generous dollop of rosemary butter, rest 5 minutes.

The final product: Deep caramelized crust, blushing pink interior, pools of herbed butter glistening across the top. Eat them with your hands.

Chicken Thighs in Duck Fat

The most forgiving poultry recipe in existence. Dark meat stays juicy, skin crisps beautifully, and cooked in duck fat they take on a depth that feels downright decadent. My weeknight survival recipe.

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1/3 cup duck fat (beef tallow works too)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Pat thighs extremely dry with paper towels.
2. Salt skin side generously, underside lightly. Let sit on counter 20 minutes while oven heats.
3. Melt duck fat in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high. When it shimmers, lay thighs in skin-side down.
4. Do not move them. Sear 7 full minutes until skin is deep golden and crisp.
5. Flip once, then transfer skillet directly to oven. Roast 18 to 22 minutes until thickest thigh reads 175°F.
6. Rest on a wire rack (not a plate) for 5 minutes to keep the skin crisp.

The final product: Shatteringly crisp skin, juicy mineral-rich dark meat, and that faintly gamey richness only duck fat provides.

Seared Duck Breast

A perfectly cooked duck breast is a revelation. Fat cap rendered slowly in a cold pan becomes a shattering golden sheet. Meat underneath stays rosy and almost beef-like in richness. Sounds fancy. Takes 12 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 duck breasts, skin on (about 8 oz each)
• 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
• 1 tablespoon butter for finishing

Directions

1. Score the skin in a tight crosshatch, cut through the fat but not into the flesh. Pat completely dry.
2. Salt generously on both sides.
3. Place breasts skin-side down in a COLD cast-iron skillet. Turn heat to medium.
4. As pan heats, fat begins to render. Cook undisturbed 8 to 10 minutes, tipping off fat into a jar as it accumulates. Save it.
5. When skin is deep mahogany and crisp, flip and cook 3 to 4 more minutes for medium-rare (130°F internal).
6. Rest skin-side up on a wire rack 5 minutes. Slice thin against the grain, finish with melted butter.

The final product: Glass-crisp skin, ruby-rose meat, and a richness that feels almost wrong for something so easy to make. Save the rendered fat.

Whole Roasted Chicken

The most useful skill in any kitchen, and especially powerful on carnivore. One bird feeds a family, provides lunch meat for days, and leaves you with a carcass that makes the most nourishing broth of your life.