Keto Tacos

by KetoFocus.com

Crispy taqueria low carb tacos shells

Keto Tacos are deliciously crispy and crunchy, similar to what you would find at your favorite taco truck or shop. These homemade taco shells taste like a corn, hard shell taco. With only two grams of net carbs per taco shell, these low carb tacos will become your new favorite Mexican food.

Taco Tuesday is back!  And without much effort, time or carbs for that matter. With just a few ingredients, you can make a crispy keto taco shell to fill with your favorite meat and fixings. With this keto taco shell recipe, you no longer have to settle for taco salads or keto tortillas filled with gluten and processed ingredients. 

four hard shell tacos with beef, cheese, cilantro and a slice of lime near by

This keto taco recipe is a great time to use this homemade taco seasoning. Add your favorite toppings and fillings like lean ground beef, shredded chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, cheddar cheese, or salsa.

The most popular keto taco shell recipe is made out of cheese. Cheese taco shells are an easy hack for creating a crispy hard shell taco with a slice of cheese; however, you taco is overpowered with the flavor of cheese.

How to make keto tacos

These keto taco shells are very easy to make and only use four ingredients.

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
  2. Pour in hot water and mix until combined.
  3. Divide the dough into 8 balls.
  4. Place each ball in between two circles of parchment paper and use a tortilla press or rolling pin to flatten it into a circle.
  5. Fry keto tortilla in avocado oil.
  6. Fill with your favorite taco fixings. I’m using ground beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese, red onion, and cilantro.

three crispy taco shells in a row

Key ingredients

You may be able to find these ingredients at a nearby whole food grocery store. If not, they are readily available from online retailers.

  • Almond flour: Almond flour is used for the flour base. It has a neutral flavor that works perfectly here. Plus almond flour is readily available and is the most popular keto flour used.
  • Protein powder: This provides the crispy, crunchy element to the low carb taco shell when it’s fried. This is a necessary ingredient and can’t be substituted. Look for low carb or zero carb protein powders.
  • Xanthan gum: This is the glue that holds the tortilla together. Agar gum may also be used if you have some of that instead.
  • Salt: A little salt is necessary for flavoring.

Keto Tacos Recipe Video

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Keto Taco Shells Ingredients

Keto Tacos Directions

  • Keto Tacos
  • a tray with a bunch of tacos on them filled with beef, cheese and tomato

    Taco filling ideas

    There are so many taco toppings you can fill your homemade tortilla shells with that your entire family will love. You can also make your own homemade taco seasoning, or you can use a pre-made seasoning from the store.

    Some options include:

    • Taco meat: Ground beef, shredded or ground chicken, ground pork, ground turkey, shrimp, halibut, or cod.
    • Toppings: Lettuce, tomatoes, pico de gallo, cheddar or mozzarella cheese, bell peppers, fresh cilantro, black olives, avocados, or sour cream.

    Keto taco shell options

    If you aren’t able to find the ingredients to make your own taco shells, you can use premade low-carb tortillas from Mr. Tortilla, Mission Carb, or Balance instead. They taste like soft flour tortillas, and you can use them in different ways.

    You can easily fry them up to make crispy shells using avocado oil in a shallow pan for traditional tacos.

    However, they don’t need to be fried, so you can turn them into breakfast tacos with soft taco shells for a different take on Taco Tuesday.

    Of course, you would always use a slice of cheese melted in the oven and folded over a spatula to form a keto cheese taco shell.

    two beef tacos in a taco hold with tomatoes and chopped onion behind them

    Storage information

    Refrigerate: Place any leftover shells in a large freezer bag or airtight container on the counter for up to five days. Don’t store assembled tacos, or the moisture in the meat and toppings will make the taco shell no longer crispy.

    Meal prep: You can easily make these taco shells in advance of dinner. Spending a little time making the shells earlier in the day or week means that you can whip up these tacos for dinner on any busy weeknight.

    Keto Tacos: FAQS

    Are tacos keto friendly?

    These tacos are perfect for a keto diet. This low carb tortilla recipe is made with ingredients that contain very little carbohydrates.

    Can you make keto tacos ahead of time?

    Yes, you can make these shells up to five days ahead of when you're going to use them. Keep in mind that they are freshest the day you make them.

    Why are my taco shells chewy?

    If your keto taco shells are chewy rather than crispy, it's most likely because they didn’t cook long enough in the oil.

    Nutritional information & Macros

    Nutrition Information

    Keto Tacos

    Servings: 8

    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 120
    Fat 9.3g
    Protein 5.6g
    Total Carbs 5.5g
    Net Carbs 2g

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    29 Comments

    1. We loved these taco shells! Didn’t have a tortilla press, but it wasn’t hard to roll them out. Mine were about 5 inches in diameter and didn’t have the nice smooth edges, but they tasted great!

    2. The only thing missing from Keto is CRUNCH. And, although I don’t really have cravings, I do miss Nachos. So, I made my tortillas and left them flat. While still warm I cut them into six triangles and dried/crisped them in the little convection oven. It’s Nacho time, now.

    3. Made these last night and they were super easy. I wish I would have put some corn bread flavoring in them, as they were a little bland, but when filled wasn’t as noticable. Cant wait to make these again. We used to eat taco’s twice a week, so thankful for this recipe so we can have our taco’s again!

      1. They can puff, but the puffing should go away once you continue to cook or pull them out. It could have something to do with your heat too – maybe too hot too quickly or not hot enough. Play with your temperature.

    4. These are absolutely delicious and exactly what I’ve been missing on the keto diet. I was wondering if I can freeze the taco shells flat before frying?

      1. I haven’t tried to freeze these, but I have froze my tortillas which is a similar recipe, so I think these would freeze just fine before frying.

    5. Since you said Lupin flour has a corn flavor, could I substitute some Lupin for the almond flour in this recipe?

    6. Thanks Annie. Can’t wait to try. Love your channel. Thank you for your love of Keto and sharing with all of us.

    7. Wow! I made a batch today creating 4 taco shells and used the rest for tortilla chips. I love the neutral flavor but want to add corn extract next time. They are definitely delicate and I expect them to crumble like a normal taco shell when I have my tacos tonight. I learned that if your oil is too hot, they brown too much and get super puffy (but this made me wonder if I rolled them thick if they would fry up like Navajo fry bread). Once I fried the taco shells, I hung them over the tines on my oven rack to dry with a paper towel below to catch the oil drips, I think next time I might try to drape them over two tines to make them into a flat bottom taco, I might need to roll them into a 7-inch circle to make that work. Thanks for the amazing recipe, I was NOT disappointed like I am in so many keto recipes!

    8. I have a shell mold for oven. Think I could spray them with avocado oil and cook on air fry or convection oven?

    9. Hello, I know you mentioned that protein powder is a must, but do you think I could use collagen? I don’t have protein powder and don’t want to buy it just for 1 recipe. Thanks!

      1. Protein powder is a must. It helps to crisp them up. I haven’t tried collagen as a replacement. If you try it, let me know how it works.

    10. Thank you Annie, these were really tasty! I used corn extract as others did and it was good! Never would have thought that almond flour with just a few additions could fry up so well!

    11. Can egg white protein powder be subbed for the whey based powder? This looks really good but since I already have the egg white protein powder, I really don’t want to have to buy another type just for this recipe. Thanks in advance.

    12. Hello,
      This Crunchy Keto Tacos recipe is good but my husband isn’t a fan of the almond flour.
      I replaced 1/3 of the almond flour with Carrington Farms – Ground Lupin Bean, as you did in your keto tortilla recipe and they turned out great. The almond flour taste was reduced. I added a dropper full of corn flavoring.
      The texture of the ground lupin made them more like corn tortilla shells. Crunchy and held up with the carnitas filling.

    13. Thank you for this recipe it made great crispy taco shells and even made some tortilla chips with it going to try loaded nachos with them.

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