Do you need new meal ideas??
I know that I do, lol! And, this CHEESY KETO TACO CASSEROLE is it! I am a stay at home mom with 6 people in my household. I homeschool, blog and plan most of the meals and I run out of ideas a lot. My girls help me cook, but coming up with ideas is the hardest part ever, LOL. “Easy Keto Low Carb Mexican Taco Casserole Recipe”
However, trying to make keto recipes that my whole family will eat is sometimes hard to do, especially if the keto recipe has cauliflower as an ingredient! Even for me, sometimes!
HOWEVER, I believe that I have found a way to camoflauge it, LOL. I have made a similar recipe to this one, but this time I created a DELICIOUS CHEESE SAUCE to mix with my beef and cauliflower rice mixture. AND, it is so good! Then, I added all of my favorite toppings and this is the best keto recipe EVER and hopefully will become a family favorite!
Keto Mexican Food Q&A’s!
Is Mexican food keto-friendly? YES! The best part of the keto diet is that you can enjoy eating Mexican flavors at dinner time with your entire family. You may have to substitute some items. For example, you will need to substitute regular flour tortillas with low carb tortillas or keto tortillas. You will also need to make your own homemade tortilla chips, here is the recipe for homemade keto tortilla chips.
Can I eat tacos on the keto diet? YES! You can eat tacos on a keto diet or low carb diet, however you will need to substitute the corn tortilla shells with keto tortillas. Because, the carb count for corn tortillas are too high to be keto-friendly.
Plus, if you like crunchy tacos, you can take the keto tortillas and fry them in a small skillet with a little olive oil over medium high heat. Fry the keto tortillas until they are golden brown, then add your favorite taco filling or just lots of cheese, which is SO GOOD!
Is a Mexican casserole recipe ok on a low carb diet? Yes, and most KETO taco casserole have less than 5 net carbs per serving. These keto recipes DO NOT have white rice, refried beans, tortilla chips or regular tortillas as ingredients in the recipes. They will have substitutes for these items and so they are keto-friendly.
Can I eat ground turkey on a keto diet? Yes, you can eat ground turkey, ground chicken or ground beef. If you prefer leaner types of meat, choose a lean ground beef. But, all of these meats are keto-friendly and ok for any low carb recipes.
Is hot sauce keto-friendly? Yes, most hot sauces are considered keto friendly. You will need to check the labels and verify that there are no extra sugars or high fructose corn syrup in the ingredient list.
Which hot sauces are keto friendly? Most hot sauces are keto-friendly and they do not have any extra sugar in their ingredients. Here is a list of keto-friendly hot sauces:
- Franks’ Redhot® Original Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce
- Tia Lupita Hot Sauce
- Tapatio Salsa Picante Hot Sauce
- Louisiana Hot Sauce
- Valentina Hot Sauce
Are tortillas keto-friendly? No, regular flour tortillas, corn tortillas, crunchy corn taco shells are all NOT keto friendly. However, your local supermarket has a lot of great options of keto tortillas and low carb tortillas. Plus, this tortillas can be made into keto tortilla chips too, here is the recipe.
Can I cook a taco casserole in a slow cooker? Yes, you can cook your taco casserole in a slow cooker. If your recipe calls for ground beef then you will need to brown your ground beef first before adding it to your slow cooker. Once your ground beef is cooked, add all your taco casserole ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours.
What is in a homemade taco seasoning? A homemade taco seasoning is easy to make and needs a few ingredients, also this is a keto taco seasoning recipe too:
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Can I cook a low-carb taco casserole in an Instant pot? Yes, you can cook your low-carb taco casserole in an Instant pot. You will need to saute the ground beef first in the Instant pot and once that is done, add all of your casserole ingredients and it will take about 30 minutes to cook your casserole in an Instant Pot.
Are taco shells keto friendly? No, corn taco shells, corn tortillas and flour tortillas are not keto-friendly or low-carb friendly. All of these are high in total net carbohydrates and are not keto or low carb.
Is cottage cheese keto friendly? Yes, cottage cheese is keto-friendly! However, cottage cheese is not as keto as most regular cheeses. Cottage cheese does have some carbohydrates, for 1 cup of cottage cheese there is 7 g net carbs. So, not carb free, but it is low in carb.
Can I replace the ground beef in my Keto ground beef casserole recipe? Yes! Ground beef can definitely be exchanged in most recipes. You can exchange the ground beef with ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork, rotisserie chicken, diced chicken breast, shredded chicken breasts or even canned white chicken breasts.
Are refried beans low carb or keto friendly? No, most refried beans are made from pinto beans which are high in carbohydrates. One cup of refried beans has a total of 26 net carbohydrates and should be avoided for those who are on the ketogenic diet. Most Keto dieters stay on a tract of less than 20 net carbs per day, so refried beans definitely have too many carbs.
Can I eat leftover low carb casseroles, like a taco casserole? Yes, place your leftovers in an airtight container or place a sheet of aluminum foil or plastic wrap over the top of your casserole dish. Then, place the leftovers into the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
This casserole can also be made ahead of time or once cooked divided into meal prep bowls. Both of these ideas will same time, plus money.
I LOVE having cute meal plans, like Mexican Monday or Taco Tuesday for our busy weeknights. Plus, one pan recipes for a complete meal is a winner for me! This Keto Mexican Casserole is a great recipe and it is an easy recipe to follow. This recipe, like most casserole recipes, can be made ahead of time to save time on those busy weeknights!
“Easy Keto Low Carb Mexican Taco Casserole Recipe”
Cheese sauce ingredients in above pic.
What is in a Keto Taco Casserole Recipe? (Scroll down for recipe card)
- seasoned ground beef – season with a taco seasoning packet or a homemade taco seasoning (scroll down for recipe)
- cauliflower rice – found in your local grocery store freezer section
- shredded cheese – choose your favorite kind of cheese
- cheese sauce – heavy whipping cream, butter, cream cheese, shredded cheese, salt and Rotel
- toppings: jalapenos, avocados, cilantro and green onions
- optional: salsa, pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole, chopped onions, diced tomatoes
- optional: chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
What favorite taco toppings can I add to a taco casserole?
- sour cream
- shredded cheddar cheese, colby jack cheese, Mexican cheese blend or monterey jack cheese
- black olives
- green onions
- crushed homemade keto tortillas chips – click here for recipe
- pork rinds
- diced green peppers
- diced red bell pepper
- green chiles
- fresh cilantro
- fresh squeezed lime juice
- red pepper flakes
This is an option that isn’t in the recipe, but added some heat. I added about 1 tablespoon of peppers and juice. Yum!
How do I make an Easy Keto Taco Casserole? Or, a Keto Taco Bake?
- Preheat oven to 350 degree f.
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add a little olive oil
- Once the frying pan is warm, add the ground beef
- Cooking ground beef until it is brown
- Drain grease off ground beef
- Add the taco seasoning (taco packet or homemade taco seasoning (scroll down for recipe) and cauliflower rice
- Simmer taco meat and rice on medium heat for 10-15 minutes
- Prepare the cheese sauce by adding the heavy cream, butter, cream cheese, shredded cheese, salt and Rotel to a small sauce pan
- Place pan over medium heat and slowly heat until the cheese sauce ingredients are melted together
- Pour the the cheese sauce mixture over the meat mixture and cauliflower rice
- Take a wooden spoon and combine the ground beef mixture, rice and cheese sauce
- Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
- Pour the mixture into the casserole dish
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese onto the delicious casserole
- Optional add sliced jalapeno peppers
- Bake until cheese is completely melted
- Remove from oven and serve, adding your favorite toppings to your keto casserole.
Keto Mexican Taco Casserole
Craving Mexican food but not the carbs??? Give this delicious recipe a try!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 12 oz bag of frozen cauliflower rice
- 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese
- taco seasoning packet
- 1/4 cup chopped onion (optional)
- optional topping: jalapenos, tomatoes, avocado, sour cream, cilantro
Cheese sauce
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup cream cheese
- pinch salt
- 1` cup shredded cheese
- 1 can Rotel (not drained)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degree f.
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add a little olive oil
- Once the frying pan is warm, add the ground beef
- Cooking ground beef until it is brown
- Drain grease off ground beef
- Add the taco seasoning (taco packet or homemade taco seasoning (scroll down for recipe) and cauliflower rice
- Simmer taco meat and rice on medium heat for 10-15 minutes
- Prepare the cheese sauce by adding the heavy cream, butter, cream cheese, shredded cheese, salt and Rotel to a small sauce pan
- Place pan over medium heat and slowly heat until the cheese sauce ingredients are melted together
- Pour the the cheese sauce mixture over the meat mixture and cauliflower rice
- Take a wooden spoon and combine the ground beef mixture, rice and cheese sauce
- Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray
- Pour the mixture into the casserole dish
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese onto the delicious casserole
- Optional add sliced jalapeno peppers
- Bake until cheese is completely melted
- Remove from oven and serve, adding your favorite toppings to your keto casserole.
How to make homemade keto taco seasoning?
Recipe makes 10 servings, each serving use 3 tablespoons of seasoning, so for this low carb taco casserole recipe add 3 tablespoons to the ground beef mixture:
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
So, next time that you have a taco night or Mexican Monday, y’all should try this “best keto taco casserole” recipe and give it a try. I believe that it will become one of your favorite keto meal recipes for your entire family!
“Easy Keto Low Carb Mexican Taco Casserole Recipe”
Try Some of Our Other Keto Recipes!
Keto Parmesan Brussels Sprouts
Caprese Stuffed Chicken Breasts
This recipe sounds delicious and I too think even my picky eaters would like it! Thanks for sharing it!
Hey lady! Thank you for checking out my recipes!