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There’s nothing more satisfying than a hearty and healthy salad filled with your favorite taco toppings... unless it's this taco salad keto recipe! Our low-carb taco salad is definitely a family favorite and so simple to create for meal prep! In less than 30-minutes, we have a delicious bowl of taco goodness with a WHOLE LOTTA YUM flavor!
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Keto Taco Bowl
When we go out to a Mexican restaurant, ordering a low-carb taco salad is always one of my go-to menu items. It’s easy to stick to a keto or low carb diet if you order either a taco salad (without the chips or crispy tortilla bowl on the side of course) OR something like fajitas.
But why always wait to go out to eat when you can make this taco salad keto recipe at home, whenever you want? All you need is a low-carb margarita on the side and you’re all set for an at-home Mexican fiesta.
We show you how to make this keto taco salad recipe with ground meat OR with shredded chicken, it’s nice to have a variety and change things up. This is also a simple recipe to make for one person, to meal prep keto taco salads for lunches, or double it to serve multiple people at once.
Why You'll Love This!
- Easily customize your taco salad keto recipe with ground turkey, shredded chicken, or lean ground beef based on your personal preferences.
- Keep the customizations going by sticking with our suggestions for vegetables, cheese, or salsa, or get creative by mixing and matching your favorite toppings.
- Keto taco bowls are a super easy way to meal prep lunches throughout the week! Alternating meat, veggies, and cheeses will help you stick to your eating style without getting bored.
- Enjoy the taste of the best keto Mexican salad right in your own home.
- Our keto taco salad recipe is a great way to stay on track with your low-carb, keto, and gluten-free lifestyles without ever sacrificing taste or texture. If you are looking to stay compliant with dairy-free, we have the adaptations listed below!
If you love low-carb salads then you’ll also want to try our keto Cobb salad, cold keto broccoli bacon salad, and our low-carb fish taco bowl!
On Keto? Grab our FREE keto foods list here OR Snag our Keto Binder HERE
Ingredient Notes
To make your taco salad keto recipe, you are going to need some meat, some veggies, and a few minutes of your time. We make turkey taco bowls all of the time, but sometimes it's nice to have a variety such as lean ground beef, or shredded chicken. Either way, the recipe steps are similar regardless of the kind of protein you decide to use.
- Ground Turkey - Ground chicken or lean ground beef are great alternatiecs
- Taco seasoning - packaged or 2-3 tablespoon homemade keto taco seasoning
- Lettuce- shredded
- Avocado
- Cheddar cheese - shredded
- Tomato - diced
- Red onion - small dice
- Sliced olives
- Sour cream
- Salsa - opt for a sugar-free variety
- Optional - Keto-friendly dressing, jalapenos, cilantro, green onions, guacamole, salt and pepper, low carb tortilla chips.
Variations
- Replace ground meat with your favorite shredded variety.
- Use spinach, shredded cabbage, or your favorite mix of leafy greens in place of iceberg lettuce.
- Cheddar is traditional when it comes to tacos, but you can also opt for Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, or a mixed blend.
Diet Adaptations
- Dairy-Free - Remove cheese and sour cream for a delicious dairy-free keto taco salad.
Step By Step Instructions
Prep
In a skillet, cook the ground turkey on the stovetop and season with taco seasoning. Set aside until cools slightly.
Wash, dry, and chop the lettuce head and lay it in the bottom of 4 salad bowls.
Assemble
To make individual salads top the lettuce with:
- ½ ground turkey (lean ground beef or chicken work great too)
- 1-2 cups shredded lettuce
- ¼ of an avocado
- ¼ cup of cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup of chopped tomato
- 1 Tbsp+ of diced red onion
- 2 tablespoon sliced black olives
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 tablespoon salsa
To make a large salad:
- Place the lettuce at the bottom of a large serving bowl and top with avocado, tomato, onion, olives, and cheddar cheese.
- Serve sour cream and salsa on the side.
Recipe Tips
- To make your low-carb taco salad in just 15-minutes, chop the vegetables while the ground meat is cooking.
- To keep your taco salad keto recipe as low-carb as possible, we do recommend you make a homemade low-carb taco seasoning.
- If you are looking to add some crunch to your taco salad bowl, try adding pork rinds, keto tortilla chips, or cooked bacon (try our oven bacon recipe or our air fryer bacon recipe).
- To make your low-carb taco bowls for lunches, add all ingredients to a bowl or jar except the salsa and sour cream. Wait to add those until you are going to eat them to prevent the salad from becoming soggy.
Common Questions
How Long Does Leftover Taco Salad Last?
Your keto taco salad will remain fresh and stored in the fridge, covered, for 3 days, as long as it does not have any salsa, sour cream, or dressing on it.
Does Taco Salad Have To Be Made With Ground Meat?
While ground meat is the most common for taco salad, you can also opt for shredded meat such as our Mexican shredded chicken.
Can You Have Taco Salad on Keto?
Yes, as long as you skip tortilla chips or bowls, and watch the items you add in for hidden carbs. Check any sauces (such as salsa) for added sugar, use full-fat dairy instead of low-fat or non-fat options, and grate your own cheese from the block instead of using shredded cheese.
More Low Carb Mexican Recipes
- Keto chicken casserole with green chilis
- Chicken fajita bake
- Low carb taco casserole
- Keto taco pie
- Instant pot shredded chicken tacos
- Keto taco soup
- Keto taco seasoning
Please leave a review if you make our recipe! We love feedback from readers, plus it helps others too.
Come connect with us on Instagram! Be sure to tag us (wholelotta.yum) when you make a recipe. You can also find us on Facebook, and Pinterest.
Keto Turkey Taco Bowl
Yield: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
If you've been taco salad and wondered whether or not it worked with your health plan, our taco salad bowl recipe is low carb, keto-friendly, and gluten-free, plus it's simple to make it dairy free or Whole30. Make it with either ground turkey, beef or chicken make an easy variety for dinner or meal prep.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey, chicken, or lean beef
- 1 packet Taco seasoning
- 4 cups chopped lettuce
- 1 Avocado
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 large Tomato, diced
- ½ cup Red onion, small dice
- ½ cup Sliced olives
- 4 tablespoon Sour cream
- 4 tablespoon Salsa
Instructions
Cook the ground turkey, ground beef, or ground chicken following the taco seasoning packet. Set aside until cools slightly.
Wash, dry, and chop the lettuce head and lay it in the bottom of 4 salad bowls.
For each salad add:
- ½ cup ground meat (beef, chicken, or turkey)
- 1-2 cups lettuce
- ¼ of an avocado
- ¼ cup of cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup of chopped tomato
- 1 Tbsp+ of diced red onion
- 2 tablespoon sliced black olives
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 tablespoon salsa
Feel free to add your favorite salad dressing, but the sour cream and salsa make a fantastic dressing on their own!
Add the optional garnishes like cilantro, sliced green onions, guacamole, or salt and pepper. Enjoy!
Notes
Ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, or shredded chicken or beef can be used for the recipe.
Spinach or shredded cabbage can be used in place of lettuce.
To use this recipe for meal prep lunches for the week don't add dressing or sour cream until it's ready to eat and layer the ingredients in a jar or container.
Skip the cheese and sour cream for a dairy free and paleo version.
We recommend making your own sugar-free taco seasoning since most store-bought brands add sugar.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Primal Kitchen Master Ranch Dressing & BBQ Sauce 3 Pack - Avocado Oil Classic Ranch Dressing, Avocado Oil BBQ Ranch Dressing, and Classic BBQ Sauce
Fody Foods Vegan Taco Seasoning | Flavorful Blend | Low FODMAP Certified | Gut Friendly No Onion No Garlic | IBS Friendly Kitchen Staple | Gluten Free Lactose Free Non GMO | 4.02 Ounce
Nutrition Information
Yield 4Serving Size 1
Amount Per ServingCalories 437Total Fat 26gSaturated Fat 10.7gTrans Fat .2gUnsaturated Fat 14.4gCholesterol 118mgSodium 599mgCarbohydrates 11.5gNet Carbohydrates 7.6gFiber 3.9gSugar 3.4gProtein 32.4g
The nutrional information is just an estimate and was calculated by an automated calculator. If you're on a restricted health program please manually calculate this information using the brands of ingredients you have since brands can vary.
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