Keto taco salad
June 26, 2026 · 1 min read
Taco night works on keto the moment you drop the shell and the beans. The seasoned beef, cheese, avocado, and sour cream are all already in bounds; the salad just rebuilds the taco as something you eat with a fork.
Mixing your own seasoning skips the anti-caking starch in a lot of taco packets and tastes better anyway.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup water
- 6 cups chopped romaine
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup salsa
- Sliced jalapeño and lime wedges, to serve
Steps
- Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up, until no pink remains.
- Stir in the chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and water. Simmer 3–4 minutes until the liquid cooks off.
- Spread the chopped romaine across plates or bowls.
- Spoon the warm beef over the greens, then top with cheddar, avocado, tomatoes, sour cream, and salsa.
- Finish with jalapeño and a squeeze of lime.
Notes and swaps
The carbs here are spread across the tomatoes, avocado, and salsa, landing near 8g net carbs a serving. Salsa is the easy place to overdo it — most run 3–4g net carbs per quarter cup, so measure it rather than pouring. Skip store-bought taco shells and beans entirely; that's the whole keto move.
Ground turkey or shredded chicken swaps in cleanly. For crunch without the carbs, a few pork rinds crushed on top stand in for tortilla chips.
Not sure the salsa fits your limit? Copper Keto Companion tells you where it lands you for the day and can suggest a lighter swap.