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I didn’t like liver. Honestly, I hated the taste and texture of liver.
The taste was too strong and the texture is just weird.
Eating liver is good for you…and me.
I know I should eat more liver, so over the years, I have experimented with numerous ways to prepare beef liver.
This is hands-down my favorite keto liver recipe.
Keep in mind that this recipe is also great for Primal, Paleo, Whole 30, and any whole food nutrition-dense diet. And on Keto, my cravings for particular foods are strong. I know when I crave liver, it means there are some nutrients that my body needs now.
Whip out one package of beef liver and one package of bacon from the freezer, and I’m satisfying my cravings with a great ketogenic meal.
Aside from bacon, onions, mushrooms, and butter providing some serious flavor and balancing out the liver, there are some secrets to why this is my favorite.
First, don’t skimp on the salt.
It’s really important and not as bad for us as previous recommendations might have cautioned.
Second, don’t overcook liver.
I don’t want mine rare or anything, but a little bit of pink goes a long way. Overdone liver is about as appetizing as a boot heel. And about as easy to chew.
Side note – I’ve tried to get my kids to eat liver from a young age. For a long time, they were both resistant. So I never pushed too much. They each had to have at least one bite of liver off my plate. They made the obligatory faces and protested but managed to get it down.
In the last year or so, though, the story has changed. Not only do they not protest the one bite, I can usually get them to take two. LOL
When I made this recipe last night, I got the surprise of my life. The kind that makes a nutritionist mom’s heart sing.
My daughter ate several bites off my plate. And then she asked for a full serving of her own.
And she ate it! Huzzah! #MomWin
Before we look at the recipe, lets remind ourselves how nutritious beef liver is.
Beef Liver Nutrition
The table below is for 100 gram (3.5 ounces) serving of beef liver.
| Nutrient | Value |
|---|---|
| Calories | 133 kCal |
| Protein | 20.35 g |
| Total lipid (fat) | 3.54 g |
| Carbohydrate | 3.54 g |
| Fiber, total dietary | 0 g |
| Sugars, total including NLEA | 0 g |
| Calcium, Ca | 0 mg |
| Iron, Fe | 4.78 mg |
| Sodium, Na | 71 mg |
| Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid | 1.1 mg |
| Vitamin A, IU | 16814 IU |
| Fatty acids, total saturated | 1.33 g |
| Fatty acids, total trans | 0 g |
| Cholesterol | 274 mg |
Beef liver is an incredible nutrient-dense and a source of a number of hard-to-find essential nutrients.
Beef liver is a great source of Protein, Iron, and Vitamin A. It is often prescribed by medical professionals for patients who need more Iron or Vitamin A.
P.S. If you like the recipe below, please take a moment to Rate this recipe and Share it. We work so hard on publishing these recipes, and those little acts of kindness mean the world to us. ~Ang
Best Beef Liver Recipe Keto
My Favorite Keto Beef Liver Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound grass-fed beef liver
- 4 strips bacon we use Garrett Valley Uncured Bacon
- 3 tbsp pasture butter divided use
- ½ large Onion
- 4 large garlic cloves
- 10 ounces sliced button mushrooms
Instructions
- Unwrap the beef liver and lay flat on a layer of paper towels. Pat dry.
- Salt and pepper the liver generously, and leave it out at room temperature while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Dice bacon and fry in 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet. When crispy, remove the bacon bits from the pan and drain on paper towels. Leave the grease and butter in the pan.
- Slice onion roughly. You want your pieces of onion to be similar in size to a bite of liver. The one-to-one ratio is part of the flavor secret! Saute on low in bacon grease and butter until it starts to soften but is not yet translucent.
- Add garlic to the onions for an additional 30 seconds.
- Add mushrooms to the onions and garlic. Saute everything until mushrooms are tender.
- Shove all the vegetables to one side of the pan, away from heat. You may want to scoot the pan so that side is off the burner a bit.
- Turn the heat up to medium and add the last tablespoon of butter.
- When the butter is melted, add half the liver slices. Cook until you start to see the edges cooking. They’ll turn from red to gray. When that border is a few millimeters thick (2-3 minutes, or so), flip them over.
- Fry on the second side for another 2-3 minutes. Until you know how you like your liver, the best way to check is to cut into it. If it’s still red, keep flipping until it is just barely cooked through. You want just a tinge of pink so it’s cooked but still tender.
- Place liver on a platter and cook remaining liver in the same fashion.
- Toss the bacon bits with the vegetables and smother the liver with them.
- Serve!
Notes
Nutrition – Not laboratory tested.
Thank You,
~ Angela
The ingredients listed clove…where did it go?
Thanks for the note. The Garlic Cloves are added in step 5. We toss them in whole. As they cook in the bacon fat they become creamy and sweet.
Why only leave the garlic in for 30 seconds? Then what, take it out and set aside? Then when do I add it back in?
The garlic just needs a little head start in the oil to mellow the bitterness of raw garlic. The garlic then just finishes cooking with the mushrooms.
Thanks for the questions, we tweaked the directions to make it more clear.
Awesome!
Very yummy.. and to keep it a little rare is definitely the secret most people don’t know about that is the most delicious way to eat liver and I love the mushrooms and bacon and onions and garlic delicious very good recipe thank you so much
Made this as is without the mushrooms, only because I didn’t have any. Was delicious! Thanks for the recipe. Best liver I ever ate.
Loved this recipe! Seems like most others have a lot of flour in the recipe. This was perfect! Easy and fast. I used a lot of fresh shiitake mushrooms that I had on hand. Really yummy. I wish I had more liver but I had used a god but in prepping my dog’s meals for the week. Definitely will do this again.
So glad you like it! Organ meats for the win. 🙂
I read it as cloves of garlic.
How do you slice the liver? In bite size pieces or in long slices? Thanks. Also, do you think soaking the liver dilutes some of its nutritional value if you discard the milf afterwards? Thanks
Melanie – I slice it in long slices for cooking which I think helps avoid overcooking it. Then I dice it up before eating. As for the soaking, I’m honestly not sure. To be safe, I’d use skim milk (this is the only time I’ll ever say that, I bet!) because then there won’t be any fat to attract the fat-soluble vitamins. You may lose some of the water-soluble vitamins but they tend to be more prevalent in other foods, so you can make up for that. In the end, liver is so nutrient dense that as long as you’re eating it, you’ll benefit. If you need to soak it to be able to enjoy it, then do it!
yummy
I’m trying this recipe for the first time tomorrow. I grew up loving liver and my mom’s was always the best, this seems similar except no “sauce” or gravy. My boyfriend is on Carnivore and I am Keto. He has never liked liver but is willing to try. Wish me luck!
Good luck! Please drop by and let us know how you and your boyfriend liked it.
This recipe and cooking style of liver is awesome. I’ve been searching everywhere on Google on how to make liver taste better. I was already soaking it in milk but didn’t think bacon grease and butter would be this tasty with it.
Loved this sooo much, I ate the leftovers!
My second time cooking liver and I’m happy I came across your version. I didn’t soak the liver in milk and the flavor was not too strong for me. Using uncured bacon was also a first and frankly, who needs cured? 😍
Have you ever tried chicken liver? It was one of my favorites that my mom made. I do remember she dredged in seasoned flour though… Onions, bacon, mushroom and liver in a sauce of sour cream. And yes it was crave worthy!!!
Sure. We love chicken liver. We eat it fried, and Angela makes some wonderful pata. Here is her Chicken Liver Pate Recipe.
This recipe is spot on the way I was taught to cook liver! I use calf liver, as I think it has a milder taste. I made it last night and my husband asked me to add it to the meal plans more often!
This was really good. Followed recipe exactly and it came out wonderful. It was so tender because I didn’t overcook it like I sometimes do. I didn’t use milk because I’m the only one who likes liver and I love the strong taste. Thanks for the recipe.
Awesome! So glad you like it. Your body will thank you. 🙂
It was great. Larry would have liked more onions, but I kept him in check. : )
Heavenly delicious! I didn’t even marinate it & my liver came out so soft & tender!!!
Thank you so much for this recipe! Liver is one of my husband’s favorite dishes while my feelings about it are generally ‘meh’. But I tried it and it was very very good. I’m adding this to my recipe collection as it will be my go to from now on.
Hands down, the best liver I have ever eaten. I am ecstatic to have this recipe as I love liver but was frustrated with my attempts to cook it. Your ingredients plus your tip not to overcook made the difference. Thank you so much!!
Ate it tonight. It was wonderful.
I love liver, but my husband is disgusted by it. His disgust turned to infatuation with this recipe. Thanks!
Love the idea of frying in bacon fat! I soak mine in a bit of cream first. It’s also great with a few morels or oyster mushrooms when you can get them! Making it with bacon today. Thanks for the idea!
Delicious. I could eat liver everyday when cooked like this.
I love the recipe but I have another suggestion if you want to jump start your weight loss …along with doing the keto diet drink ginger tea with squeezed lemon and a lot of cayenne pepper especially,,,but mixed with ginger and lemon .. I lost about a pound a day… I drink it all day long that cayenne pepper gives you a big jump start on your weight loss it makes your fat turn loose of holding mode..
I think the recipe is a great compilation of ingredients. I followed your instructions and list to the tee and infact added green bell peppers to the mix… but I just could not get passed the liver taste and I really wanted to! It was my most adult thing I wanted to attempt for myself this year. I tried and failed. I used calf liver, soaked it for 4 hours in milk and seasoned to my hearts desire. My condiments were sour cream, ketchup and sriracha hot chili sauce and raw onion slices, just in case! I will not be attempting to add liver to my menu again, at least not in the near future anyway. If liver is not your thing then just know that there may be no ingredients out there that can mask the flavor enough. I’m out, thanks!
Outstanding recipe! Easy to make and OH so tasty! Next time I will double up on the onions. I used minced garlic to get more of the garlic flavor and I used sliced baby Bella mushrooms and bacon was just right. This just made my personal top ten list. Thanks!
Should I rinse off liver after soaking it?
We don’t rinse it. We just pat it dry with paper towels.
This is a great recipe but I am surprised that u use beef liver? It is so much stronger than calves liver. I used this recipe with calves liver and it is so good . Calves doesn’t have a strong taste like beef .
This is by far the BEST I’ve tasted. I’m sharing it with my sisters. SO TASTY!!!
I already liked liver and onions, but this recipe makes me LOVE it!
I have enjoyed calf liver for years. The liver I have is from Bison. I was looking for a great recipe. I like your recipe and it reminds me of how my family prepared the liver.
I usually fix liver if it is asked for. No one has asked lately so I am ready now.
20 years ago I began a gradual step down from any form of cane sugar. Which made paleo and later keto much easier. Reduction of carbs is more important now.
Thank you for giving the carb reduction info.