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 has is very similar to a recipe I used to make when I was in college. There are two distinct differences though, I don’t eat this version with a 2lb bag of tortilla chips, nor a 6 pack of Dos Equis. Nowadays I don’t always eat taco skillets, but when I do…it’s keto.
Several years ago (while on a pescatarian diet) I was feeling extraordinarily sluggish and constantly fatigued. When I went to the doctor, I had some bloodwork done, and it came back that my iron level was practically non-existent. After this I had some struggles overcoming the ethical implications of eating meat after that and there were supplements I could have taken to raise my iron level without reincorporating red meat back into my diet. Instead, I wanted to focus on a whole-food approach to wellness, and eating grass-fed beef was the best source for me. This taco skillet is now one of my weekly go-to’s.
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
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
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.
Keto Cheesy Mexican Taco Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 white onion diced
- 1/2 bell pepper diced
- 1 4oz can green chilis
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 roma tomatoes seeded and diced
- 12 ounces cauliflower rice
- 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
Toppings:
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 jalapeño thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 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.
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!
Thanks for checking it out!
Where can I find cauliflower rice in the store? I’ve only seen ‘Steamers’
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.
HI there, what size skillet do you use for this one? Thanks!
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.
What is FOC?
FOC stands for Fat of Choice (butter, olive oil, lard, etc…)
Low iron levels? Is that why you use cast iron? 🙂
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!
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.
Can you leave out the cauliflower rice?
You can! It will just be more of a hash, still delicious!
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 !!
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.
What is the serving size?
This recipe serves 4, you can find the servings under the cook time in the recipe.
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?
What are the total carbs for this recipe?
Where do I find cauliflower rice?
It will either be fresh in the produce isle in prepackaged bags or with the frozen vegetables.
Super excited to try this recipe, I’ve tried others similar but always looking for more. Been going keto since January.
Do you have a “print this recipe” or “print” button somewhere? I am looking at it from my iPhone X…
Yes, we do. It’s at the top of the recipe card.
Do I cook the cauliflower rice first?
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.
I don’t have a cast iron skillet. Can I use a regular skillet that can be put in the oven?
Yes!
Hello! New to the site and love it. Does the nutrition breakdown include toppings (eg sour cream and cheese?) TIA!
Hi Nancy, yes it does!
We LOVED this..I substituted a can of Rotel tomatoes and chilis for the tomato and canned chilis..GREAT!
Sounds great, glad you liked it!
Hi! Is this considered a “casserole” type dish, or a dip? I want this so bad! Lol
Totally a casserole!
Delish!!! Thanks for an easy, quick dinner idea! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. 🙂
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!!!
Hi Ashley, glad to hear everyone loved it!
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.
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.
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!?
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!
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!
We use Frontier brand, the carbs from the spices are accounted for in the nutritional info – hope this helps!
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!
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
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!
This is so good & a great meal for Taco Tuesday.
I fixed this dish tonight and I just love it. Just a good recipe. I will fix it again.
Simply delish!
So satisfying! Full of flavor and a little bit goes a long way!
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.
Quick, easy, and the whole family loved it!
Oh my freaking gosh was this good!
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.
Does the nutritional information include the toppings?
Yes, it does!
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.
Thanks, Kristen! Comments like these make our day 🙂 Stoked you guys enjoyed it!
Do you drain off the grease after browning the hamburger or leave it in? I’m using 80/20 blend
Hi Jim, no you leave the grease in the skillet.
Used a bag of shredded cabbage instead of riced cauliflower. Excellent.