This easy, cheesy keto taco casserole with cauliflower rice dish is perfect for Taco Tuesday, or pretty much any night of the week. It’s an all-in-one keto meal the whole family will love – even those who don’t have to follow a ketogenic diet.
Wait – let me change that phrasing. I should say those who don’t get to follow a keto diet. With delicious meals like this that also help you lose weight, who wouldn’t want to live a delicious keto lifestyle?
Change Up Taco Night
Are you sick of making taco meat without taco shells week after week?
Full disclosure – I never get sick of the deliciousness of tacos. Meanwhile, I can sense my husband’s boredom every week when he spies the ingredients laid out for my favorite Mexican food. Plus, tacos are an easy recipe to throw together on busy weeknights. Usually I just make him deal with the disappointment that comes with eating tacos yet again on our low carb diet.
This week was different. I changed up taco night into an easy keto taco casserole recipe instead and it wasn’t even that hard! Since my entire family loved this low carb casserole, it’s a great recipe to add to my keto recipes arsenal. And I promise – it’s a great keto casserole to add to your meal plan rotation too! Especially since it’s low in net carbs.
Let’s talk about how easy it is to make this low carb taco casserole recipe.
Before we get into the details, I wanted to let you know this blog contains affiliate links where I may receive a small commission. I also do my best to link to resources that helped me lose 100 pounds with an easy low carb lifestyle … so don’t be afraid to click when you see a link.
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How to Make this Easy Keto Taco Casserole Recipe
Preheat and Prepare
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Then pull out a casserole dish and spray it with a non stick spray. Use coconut oil, avocado oil, or ghee spray. We don’t mess with canola oil sprays on keto. The same thing goes for other sprays made from highly processed vegetable oils – because yuck!
(When it comes to highly inflammatory cooking oils, we do)
Just because the American Heart Association tells you vegetable oils are heart healthy doesn’t make it true. Have you seen the health of most Americans following these guidelines?
In reality, highly processed vegetable oils go a long way in damaging your health. Throw them away if you have any lingering in your pantry. Don’t even vow to use what you have leftover – the damage just isn’t worth the pennies you’ll save.
Brown the Beef
Next, brown ground beef over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Crumble the beef while it cooks. After it browns, you may need to drain excess grease.
Once fully browned, stir in the water and taco seasoning. Use the prepackaged stuff if you’re in a hurry, but whipping up a homemade taco seasoning is a great way. to get less junk in your keto diet. Most pre-made seasonings have sugar and additives. When you make your own – you get to choose the delicious Mexican flavors you want to combine into the ground beef mixture.
It’s always best to choose the highest quality ground beef you can afford. Organic and grass-fed are your best options. If it’s hard to find high quality meats at your local grocery store, check out Butcher Box. The best part of ordering through this company is they deliver delicious low-carb ground beef right to your door each month.
Likewise, do your best to avoid ground turkey or lean ground beef in keto recipes. Keep in mind, if you’ve developed a preference for meats lower in fat, this is a sign your digestion could use some work. Since you need to eat enough fat to get into ketosis – meats with a higher fat content work best. Plus, higher fat meats have a great taste.
If you’re not accustomed to the amount of fat you need to find success on a keto diet, you can take the free Keto Digestion Course to learn how to ramp up fat in your keto diet. Seriously – don’t put this off if digestion is an issue for you. Keto won’t work if you can’t process fat or protein appropriately.
Once the beef is finished browning, set aside to cool for a few minutes.Β
Prepare the Cauliflower Rice
While the beef browns, cook the cauliflower rice at the same time.
This is the same delicious Mexican recipe found in The Lazy Keto Gourmet, my book filled with my favorite low carb recipes that contain zero added sweeteners. I’m so glad I thought to use it since it goes perfectly with this low carb keto taco casserole.
To cook the rice, add coconut oil to a medium skillet. Pour enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Then heat over medium heat until the oil is hot. While it’s heating up, add in minced garlic and chopped onion. Then cook together until the garlic turns light brown and the onions soften. This usually takes 2-3 minutes.
Then add the cauliflower rice into the hot oil. You can either rice your own head of cauliflower or take a shortcut. Most stores sell bags of frozen riced cauliflower. It’s a convenient way to get more veggies into your keto diet, so don’t thumb your nose up at this option if you’re used to making everything from scratch. I use plenty of frozen cauliflower rice and it always makes a great meal!
Stir the rice on occasion. After it’s cooked, which usually takes around 5 minutes, mix in the chili powder, oregano, salt, and salsa. Stir to combine well. You can also add cumin into the mix, but that’s not one of the taste of tacos that’s my favorite – so I tend to skip it.
Combine the Taco Bake
Β It’s time to combine this delicious Mexican casserole once the beef is drained and slightly cooled.
Pour the cauliflower mixture over the bottom of the greased casserole dish. Then flatten it with a spatula so it covers the bottom of the dish. Next pour the meat mixture on top in a single layer. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with cheddar cheese. If you prefer different taco flavors for your keto taco casserole, try a mixture of shredded cheese – like Monterey jack and pepper jack.
This recipe tastes great with lots of cheese, so go with whichever mixture is your favorite.
Then add a few of your favorite taco toppings on top of the cheese. These can include chopped green onion, green bell peppers, red peppers, jalapeno pepper, or even black olives.
Next, place the low carb taco casserole in the oven until the cheese melts. This should take around 10 minutes.
Finally, when you’re ready to serve, top with additional fresh toppings like sour cream or fresh salsa.
Keto Taco Casserole Recipe Wrap Up
Just like that – you have one of my new favorite keto taco recipes! After your family devours this recipe, if you have any leftovers – store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
Looking for even more delicious recipes? Check out this layered taco salad – which is like a delicious keto taco salad casserole. Buffalo ranch taco salad is another quick keto meal you’ll love!
Keep scrolling for the nutrition info and recipe card. Save this to you favorite keto dinner Pinterest board. Share the healthy fat love on social media if you love this easy keto recipe!
Get Better Results with A Keto Diet
If you’re brand new to keto, or if you’re not getting the results you want – check out the Keto Quick Start Course.
This course is packed with all of the info you need to lose weight on a keto diet. It’s the same course Keto Challengers use to lose between 10-25 pounds in only 3 weeks!
With special bonuses like the Fasting Fast Start Guide, you’ll also learn how to save up to $125 per month on a keto diet. That’s more than the cost of the course! And you’ll have those savings month after month. That doesn’t get into all of the time and frustration you’ll save when you learn the right way to follow keto right from the start.
Keto Taco Casserole Recipe
More Easy Ground Beef Meals from Eating Fat is the New Skinny:
Big Mac Salad (keto copycat recipe)
Creamy Garlic Beef
Easy Keto Meatballs
Keto Taco Casserole
A quick keto taco casserole your whole family will love.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Keto Dinner Recipe
- Method: Stove top and oven
- Cuisine: Keto / Low Carb
- Diet: Diabetic
Ingredients
Ground Beef Taco Casserole:
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 oz taco seasoning
- 3/4 cups water
- 6 oz shredded cheese
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped
Mexi-Caulirice:
- 10 oz riced cauliflower
- 2–3 tbsp coconut oil (enough to coat bottom of pan once melted)
- 1/2 small sweet onion, diced
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 4 tbsp fresh salsa
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp oregano
Instructions
First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
Ground Beef Mixture:
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet.
- Once it’s browned, then pour in water and taco seasoning mix. Bring to a gentle boil and then allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Then, set aside to cool.
Cauliflower Rice:
- Next, melt the coconut oil in a medium skillet.
- Then add in minced garlic and onions. Cook until garlic turns light brown and onions soften. This typically takes 2-3 minutes.
- Next stir in cauliflower rice. Heat until rice is fully cooked – usually 5 minutes. Stir on occasion.
- Then add spices and stir well.
Combine Taco Bake:
- Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray.
- Then, layer the cauliflower rice on the bottom of the dish.
- Next add the browned beef mixture.
- Top with shredded cheese.
- Finally layer toppings like green onions, peppers, etc on top of cheese.
- Bake until cheese melts, usually 10 minutes.
- Top with more favorite taco toppings, like sour cream or fresh salsa.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Recipe Serves 6
- Calories: 539.2
- Sugar: 4.6
- Fat: 33.9
- Saturated Fat: 15.5
- Carbohydrates: 9.8
- Fiber: 3.5
- Protein: 46.4
Keywords: Keto Taco Casserole, Low Carb Taco Casserole, Keto Taco Recipe
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