This Cheesy Taco Skillet is an easy low-carb + keto 30-minute skillet dinner the whole family will love! The toppings may just be the best part!
This Keto Cheesy Mexican Taco Skillet is packed with cauliflower rice, ground beef, cheese, and veggies. It's absolutely delicious for any low-carb diet and a great Mexican-inspired Keto recipe.
What's in this taco skillet?
- ground beef
- onion
- bell peppers
- green chiles
- keto taco seasoning (most store-bought contains weird ingredients including flour)
- diced tomatoes
- cauliflower rice
- cheese!!!
What are some toppings ideas?
Aren't toppings the best part? These are our favorite ideas for this low-carb taco skillet:
- sour cream
- avocado (duh)
- pico de gallo
- sliced jalapeños
- minced cilantro
- hot sauce
What is the nutritional information?
As always, you can find the full nutritional breakdown including the carb count (total carbs and net carbs) at the bottom of the recipe card. You can find the serving size/yield at the top of the recipe card. You should always double-check your specific ingredients as different brand's ingredients may have different values.
To get a specific serving size you'll want to weigh the final dish then divide by the number of servings. We can't provide this information as your cooking style will vary from ours as well as the brand ingredients you choose to use.
Can I use something other than cauliflower rice?
You could just make this taco skillet extra meaty with additional ground beef or maybe use spaghetti squash? Really though, even if you're not a cauliflower fan we'll bet you'll still love this recipe.
Can I use a different protein in this keto taco skillet?
Sure can! Try this taco skillet with ground turkey or chicken if you don't want to use beef.
Plant-based options:
For our plant-based friends, we love this recipe with Beyond Meat's ground "beef". You'll also want to swap out the cheese for a dairy-free option and use a dairy-free sour cream for topping as well. Other than those swaps, the instructions stay exactly the same.
Check out these resources to read more about the differences between grass-fed and conventional beef and where you can find a farm near you to buy it from:
- Is grass-fed beef really better for you, the animal and the planet? - Washington Post
- Grass-fed vs. Conventional Meat: It’s Not Black or White - Chris Kresser
- Eatwild's Directory of Farms and Ranches
Keto Cheesy Mexican Taco Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 pound ground beef Beyond Meat if plant-based
- ½ white onion diced
- ½ bell pepper diced
- 1 4-oounce can green chilis
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 roma tomatoes seeded and diced
- 12 ounces cauliflower rice
- 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese dairy-free if desired
Toppings:
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 jalapeño thinly sliced
- ¼ cup sour cream dairy-free if desired
- 2 tablespoons cilantro minced
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Once hot add in the beef and cook while crumbling with a wooden spoon until it starts to brown.
- Add in the onion, bell pepper, and taco seasoning and cook 3 minutes or until the onion and pepper starts to soften.
- Stir in the green chiles and tomatoes along with the cauliflower rice. Cook 5-7 minutes until most of the moisture has evaporated.
- Sprinkle with cheese and cover just until melted, about 2 minutes. Top with desired toppings and serve.
Kelsey says
oh my goodness I just found this website from a google search and HOLY SHIT! I thought I had perused all the low carb cooking sites, but this one is really something incredible. I love the (keto) pie chart. Also this recipe looks great, but I hate cauliflower no matter what form it is. Very impressed overall and thank you!
Alex Lester says
Thanks for checking it out!
Tanya Whidden says
Where can I find cauliflower rice in the store? I’ve only seen ‘Steamers’
Alex Lester says
Tanya, you can find it in the frozen section, if your local grocery store has a natural or organic section check there as well. If all else fails, I’d check with one the grocery store stockers, they should be able to point you in the right direction.
Kim says
HI there, what size skillet do you use for this one? Thanks!
Alex Lester says
For this recipe I'm using a 10 1/4" skillet, you could go bigger and use a 12" skillet, but I wouldn't recommend going any smaller.
Nancy says
What is FOC?
Alex Lester says
FOC stands for Fat of Choice (butter, olive oil, lard, etc...)
Marcelle says
Low iron levels? Is that why you use cast iron? 🙂
aimee says
Can you substitute regular cooked rice (hubby doesn't like cauliflower)? Also, substitute a can of diced tomatoes? Or would that add too much liquid? Thanks!
Alex Lester says
Sure, if not keto regular rice would be great in this! Just be sure to drain the canned tomatoes if that's what you use.
Cheryl says
Can you leave out the cauliflower rice?
Alex Lester says
You can! It will just be more of a hash, still delicious!
Sh says
I’d definitely recommend grating your own cheeses of choice. The pregrated blends have potato starch and cellulose ( to prevent caking) and mold inhibitors.... grate it up fresh !!
Alex Lester says
Not all pre-grated cheeses have those starches added, it's just a game of reading labels at your market. Thanks for bringing that up, it's a great heads-up for folks who may have not know that was even a thing.
Andrew says
What is the serving size?
Alex Lester says
This recipe serves 4, you can find the servings under the cook time in the recipe.
confused says
Why does the diagram show this recipe as 65% fat and 29% protein when right below it shows 36g of fat and 36g of protein?
Shanon says
What are the total carbs for this recipe?
Patty says
Where do I find cauliflower rice?
Alex Lester says
It will either be fresh in the produce isle in prepackaged bags or with the frozen vegetables.
Julie says
Super excited to try this recipe, I’ve tried others similar but always looking for more. Been going keto since January.
Nichole says
Do you have a “print this recipe” or “print” button somewhere? I am looking at it from my iPhone X…
Alex Lester says
Yes, we do. It's at the top of the recipe card.
Catie says
Do I cook the cauliflower rice first?
Alex Lester says
No, you do not. We typically use Trader Joe's frozen cauliflower rice and add it thawed but no additional cooking before adding it to the skillet.
DeeAnna Saunders says
I don’t have a cast iron skillet. Can I use a regular skillet that can be put in the oven?
Alex Lester says
Yes!
Nancy says
Hello! New to the site and love it. Does the nutrition breakdown include toppings (eg sour cream and cheese?) TIA!
Alex Lester says
Hi Nancy, yes it does!
Honey says
We LOVED this..I substituted a can of Rotel tomatoes and chilis for the tomato and canned chilis..GREAT!
Alex Lester says
Sounds great, glad you liked it!
Annie says
Hi! Is this considered a “casserole” type dish, or a dip? I want this so bad! Lol
Alex Lester says
Totally a casserole!
HM says
Delish!!! Thanks for an easy, quick dinner idea! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. 🙂
Ashley says
I made this tonight for dinner and it was absolutely delish! My kids loved it (I have 3 boys), my husband loved it, and I loved it. It’s definitely going to be put on a monthly or a bi-weekly rotation. Thanks for sharing!!!
Alex Lester says
Hi Ashley, glad to hear everyone loved it!
Aaron says
Really didn’t like this dish. Didn’t taste anything like a Mexican dish regardless of how much taco seasoning I used. The cauliflower taste wasn’t a good fit and overpowered the other potential flavors. Disappointed.
Kris says
Just finished cooking and devouring this dish. Yes, I said devouring - that's how good it was and how much I enjoyed it. The dish could probably have used just a touch more taco seasoning but hey I think that would depend on whose eating it. Im new to the keto diet but with dishes such as this im sure this transition won't be so hard.
Alicia says
My family really enjoyed this!! the only substitution I made was with the sour cream Taco bell has some sauces spicy ranchero (3 carbs), Baja(2 carbs) and chipotle (3 carbs) per 2 tbsp only 1 or 2 carbs more than sour cream I let my family chose their flavor and it gave the dish a little more Mexican spice!?
Shawna says
This was a hit in my house! I'm extremely lazy so I subbed 1 cup of pace picante sauce instead of chopping onions, bell pepper, tomatoes and chilies but I'm pretty sure it would have been better to use all the fresh veggies. It was awesome and definitely making it weekly!
Arielle says
Did you use store bought taco seasoning? The ones I see have 3 carbs per 2 tsp and the recipe calls for 3 tablespoons. Seems like that will add up. I’m new to keto and trying to figure this all out. Thanks!
Alex Lester says
We use Frontier brand, the carbs from the spices are accounted for in the nutritional info - hope this helps!
Kristen Ferrari says
OK this is what I did differently - take it for what it's worth. I used 3 lbs of beef added to onion sauteed in chipotle olive oil. Added minced garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, some local chipotle salt and black pepper (taco seasoning has gluten). Cooked it down and added a SMALL amount of yellow bells (peppers are high in carbs), 1 can of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chili, and some cauliflower rice. Cooked a bit longer, smothered it in cheese, topped with jalapenos (had jarred on hand) and another dash of smoked paprika and baked at 400 for about 8-10 minutes.
Served it over a wedge of lettuce, drizzled with lime cilantro crema, and topped it with avocado, tomatoes, sour cream and lime. YUMMMMMY!
Kristi Taylor says
This is a great recipe! Easy, fast, and tasty. We used Bar M Spice taco seasoning which is perfect for keto dishes. It’s a local Texas company and can be found at barmspice.com
Linda Certuche says
I love this recipe but sub in shredded cabbage instead of cauli rice. It's cheaper where I live and I like the taste better. My family loves this so much. They eat it with tortillas and once in a while I will put it in a low carb tortilla but it is great with a fork too!
Wendy says
This is so good & a great meal for Taco Tuesday.
Annette Gamill says
I fixed this dish tonight and I just love it. Just a good recipe. I will fix it again.
KiminMn says
Simply delish!
Fran says
So satisfying! Full of flavor and a little bit goes a long way!
Pam says
I fixed this for dinner tonight and loved it. My son really liked it too and went for seconds. I’ll probably make it again but use chicken next time.
shelley says
Quick, easy, and the whole family loved it!
Marcie says
Oh my freaking gosh was this good!
Lisa Baker says
YUM!! This was absolutely AMAZING!! I didn't have any bell peppers, so I used a full yellow onion. I also had fresh riced cauliflower on hand which provided a wonderful texture and took on the flavor of the seasoning. I highly recommend using the taco seasoning from this site as well. My husband LOVED this as well. This will certainly be a part of our repertoire.
Cindy says
Does the nutritional information include the toppings?
Cast Iron Keto says
Yes, it does!
Kristen says
This really hit the spot. I skipped the cauliflower as my husband would refuse to eat and I didn't have fresh tomatoes on hand, so I did canned tomatoes with green chilies instead. This recipe is hands down a keeper. Hubby did use tortilla and LOVED it. I can't wait to check out your other recipes. Yum!!!! Thanks for creating a recipe that I could eat myself and modify for my none keto hubby.
Cast Iron Keto says
Thanks, Kristen! Comments like these make our day 🙂 Stoked you guys enjoyed it!
Jim McDonald says
Do you drain off the grease after browning the hamburger or leave it in? I’m using 80/20 blend
Cast Iron Keto says
Hi Jim, no you leave the grease in the skillet.
Kevin says
Used a bag of shredded cabbage instead of riced cauliflower. Excellent.
Nikki says
Oh my YUM!!! Make the taco seasoning referenced in the recipe... it is fantastic! This recipe was so good! Thank you for an easy and delicious dinner!!
Jessica says
This was delicious! Even my picky kids liked it. Thank you so much for sharing!
RT says
Delicious! Did not have Roma’s on hand. So I used about a half cup of canned diced tomatoes with green chili’s. Also used a pablano instead of bell pepper because that’s what I had. Super easy, quick and Delicious!
For those who do not like cauliflower rice. I promise you can’t taste it and it gives you a filler that’s really nice.
Non says
Is the nutritional facts for 1 serving?
Cast Iron Keto says
Yes
Lee says
How do these ingredients add up to 14 carbs or 6 net carbs?
diana d says
YUM. Used shrimp instead of meat, then added mushrooms and fire roasted tomatoes to the rest of the skillet. oh my goodness, this was a delicious meal!
Maggie says
I’ve made this before and followed the recipe as written. My family and I LOVED it! Hoping to make again, but wanting to try ground turkey or chicken. Any recommended changes/additions with the change in meat?
Norman n Hall says
I made this and it was awesome! Can you tell me what a serving size is? I find this in a lot of recipes. They give you the calories but never how much I need to eat to get this calories. 1 cup
Cast Iron Keto says
Hi Norman, glad you loved the soup! For the serving size - unfortunately, that’s not how recipes work. Unlike a packaged food product that is made by a single company, recipes can’t provide reliable serving weights or measurements due to the fluctuations in how different people measure and cook. To get a reliable serving size you’ll need to weigh your final dish then divide by the number of servings which is listed at the top of every recipe card. We hope this helps!
Rhonda M says
I could live on this keto cheesy mexican taco skillet recipe.
I leave out the green bell peppers, but nothing else.
Love it!
Michelle says
So delicious, thank you!