Healthy Taco Shells (3.3g Net Carbs)
By Carine Claudepierre
Published on 09/28/2015 - Last updated on 10/11/2024
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These Healthy Taco Shells are low-carb, keto, baked taco shells made with only 5 ingredients and coming at 3.3 grams of net carbs per shell! Plus, they are gluten-free and grain-free.
Carrots often have a bad reputation because they are seen as very high in carbs and sugar. However, 100 grams of carrots only contain 6.8 grams of net carbs per 100 grams and 4.7 grams of sugar. Let’s compare this to a keto-approved fruit like blueberry. Blueberries contain 10 grams of sugar and 11.6 gram of net carbs.
Do you see what I mean now? Even if most keto vegetable lists say that carrots are NOT keto-approved, they are still lower in carbs than blueberries! So yes, carrots will probably keep you out of ketosis if you eat too many!
However, one of these shells contains only 3.3 grams of net carbs, and if you manage to fit them into your 25-gram net carbs daily macro, you will be all fine! For example, serve 1 of these shells with ground beef or chicken, lettuce, and aioli, and you will get around 4 grams of net carbs for a fulfilling dinner.
Also, keep in mind that to compare, 100 grams of sweet potatoes has 17 grams of net carbs! So yes, having too many carrots is not keto, but some are fine on a low-carb diet.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Carrot taco shells are cheesy taco shells made of 5 wholesome ingredients. All you need to make these are:
- Grated carrots – make sure you pre-cook the carrots and pat dry to squeeze out all water. Carrots are low-carb vegetables.
- Hard grated cheese – cheddar or mozzarella or Emmental. Learn why most cheeses are keto-friendly.
- Almond flour – the recipe will work well with oat flour, but it increases carbs. Learn how to choose your keto flour.
- Eggs
- Garlic salt
How To Make Healthy Taco Shells
- First, you have to precook your vegetable. Many options can be used, microwave, steamer, or boiling.
- Then, pat dry the grated carrots to remove any moisture.
- Finally, combine with eggs, cheese, and flour of your choice. I recommend using almond flour as a low-carb flour. However, oat flour is also a very healthy option.
- To make carrot taco shells of a similar size, scoop out the batter with a mechanical ice cream scoop.
- Place the Carrot Taco Shells on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
- Then, bake them for 15 minutes in an oven preheated to 400°F (200°C). You know they are ready when the edges start to darken and get crispy. Don’t let them dry out in the oven or they wouldn’t be foldable!
How Many Carbs Per Taco Shell?
One carrot taco shell contains 3.3 grams of net carbs. The best low-carb fillings to keep your meal low in carbs are:
- Meat – roasted chicken, ground beef cooked in olive oil, and taco spices.
- Greens – lettuce, baby spinach leaves, arugula, avocado.
- Sauce – olive oil mayonnaise, mustard, aioli, homemade ketchup.
- Cheese – cheddar, gouda, Emmental.
More Healthy Baked Taco Shells
If you love taco shells made of vegetables and you are looking for a lower-carb recipe, I recommend you also try my keto baked taco shells recipe below:
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Keto Carrot Taco Shells
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Grated Carrots packed + 1/2 cup tap water to cook
- ½ cup Grated Cheese I used cheddar
- 2 Eggs
- 3 tablespoons Almond Flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt if desired, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Wash, peel, grate, and measure the grated carrots.
- Place them into a bowl cover with 1/2 cup tap water. Microwave 2-3 minutes.
- Drain and place the cooked grated carrots onto a clean absorbent paper or towel.
- Firmly squeeze out the extra water until the grated carrots don't contain any water. You can also pat dry the cooked grated carrots between two sheets of absorbent paper to prevent too much moisture. This is a crucial step. If the carrots are too moist, the tacos won't hold.
- Place the carrots into a bowl with grated cheese, eggs, almond flour, salt, and pepper. Combine until it forms a batter.
- Prepare a baking tray covered with baking paper. If your paper tends to stick to food, you can spray a little oil on it to prevent the shells from sticking to the paper. Set aside.
- Divide the whole batter into 5 even portions (1 portion makes 1 shell, and I am using a mechanical ice cream scoop tool to divide the batter evenly. Place each portion of carrot batter onto the tray, leaving about a 3-thumb space between each.
- Press each portion of batter with your finger to compact the carrot onto the tray as a flat circle. The thinner, the crispier they will be!
- Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes or until crispy on the sides.
- Gently remove the carrot tacos from the baking paper by lifting them from the side, using your finger or tongs.
- Eat warm, filled with the filling of your choice.
- If you want to create a taco-like shape, cool down the shells onto a small bottle or any cylinder shape.
Notes
Tools
Getting Started What Is Keto? Macro Calculator Sweetener Converter Intermittent Fasting Keto Fruits Keto Vegetables Keto Flours Fighting Keto Flu Healthy SweetenersWant My Kitchen Equipment?
Nutrition
About The Author
Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, published author of a cookbook, and founder of Sweet As Honey.
I have an Accredited Certificate in Nutrition and Wellness obtained in 2014 from Well College Global (formerly Cadence Health). I'm passionate about sharing all my easy and tasty recipes that are both delicious and healthy. My expertise in the field comes from my background in chemistry and years of following a keto low-carb diet. But I'm also well versed in vegetarian and vegan cooking since my husband is vegan.
I now eat a more balanced diet where I alternate between keto and a Mediterranean Diet
Cooking and Baking is my true passion. In fact, I only share a small portion of my recipes on Sweet As Honey. Most of them are eaten by my husband and my two kids before I have time to take any pictures!
All my recipes are at least triple tested to make sure they work and I take pride in keeping them as accurate as possible.
Browse all my recipes with my Recipe Index.
I hope that you too find the recipes you love on Sweet As Honey!
Disclaimer
The recipes, instructions, and articles on this website should not be taken or used as medical advice. You must consult with your doctor before starting on a keto or low-carb diet. The nutritional data provided on Sweetashoney is to be used as indicative only.
The nutrition data is calculated using WP Recipe Maker. Net Carbs is calculated by removing the fiber and some sweeteners from the total Carbohydrates. As an example, a recipe with 10 grams of Carbs per 100 grams that contains 3 grams of erythritol and 5 grams of fiber will have a net carbs content of 2 grams. Some sweeteners are excluded because they are not metabolized.
You should always calculate the nutritional data yourself instead of relying on Sweetashoney's data. Sweetashoney and its recipes and articles are not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose, or treat any disease. Sweetashoney cannot be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or advice found on the Website.
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I made these tonight. Positively delicious!! We had them for dinner with veggies and tahini/lemon dressing. Yum! thanks
Hi Kathie, Thank you so much for taking some time to share your positive experience with this recipe! I am glad you love them! I hope you will make them again soon or find other lovely recipes on the blog that you will try. Carine.
These look great! I can’t wait to try them. Have you ever made them ahead of time and froze them for later use? Just wondering how well they freeze. I have a big family and hectic schedule so anything I can do in advance helps. Thanks!
Hi Jasmine, I completely understand but as I never tried to froze them I would not recommend anything. We are a small family and I do a small batch that we always eat straight away. I also think that freezing the tacos after baking could make them softer when defrost looking more like tortillas which taste good I am sure! But I love their crispiness 🙂 Let me know if you try! Thanks. Carine.
This looks great but I won’t eat anything unless I know the nutritional breakdown, calories, etc. Can you shed some light on this?
Seriously, Fran?? It is *your* responsibility to figure out nutritional content. Not a blogger. You are not paying her. She does this on her own time. Take responsibility for your own health if you require such info and type the ingredients into a nutrition site.
If you want to know the nutritional breakdown for a recipe all you have to do is add up the nutrition information for the ingredients you use then divide it by the number of servings. It’s very simple; and it’s more accurate than just copying the number from the website because your ingredients may have different nutritional values than what was used here.
Hi Katherine, That’s so true ! that is why I usually don’t really like to provide nutrition information on my blog. It depends on which ingredient you really use ! Thanks for clarifying this ! Carine.
Hi Fran,
As I received lots of request like yours I finally updated the recipe with nutritional information regarding the carrot taco shells. I usually do not provide those information as my food philosophy is not based on counting calories, carbs or fat. I simply believe that using unrefined and natural ingredients to make my own food is way healthier than buying processed food from the store often boosted with preservative, salt and refined flours poor in nutrient and fibre. Please also note that I am not a health professional and I providing those information only as an extra information to guide my reader and decide if the reciep is suitable or not for their diet. I really hope you will be able to make those. I love them and even if I am not watching the panel and simply makes everything from scratch I did reversed my diabetes last year eating the recipes on those blog. So I will keep sharing them and I hope you will come back to read me 🙂 see you soon. Carine.
I just want to clarify the recipe before I try this. Does it call for 1 1/2c. grated carrot or 1 c. of half grated carrots?
Hi Mel, you need 1 1/2 cup of grated carrot that I written 1 cup 1/2 (that is how we write it in France but I correct this to make it clearer !. So 1 1/2 cup of grated carrot. Enjoy those lovely tacos ! Carine.
I would like to know the fat content, carbs, fiber and protein for each taco shell so I can figure the points on Weight Watchers.
Hi Peggy, You will be happy to know that I updated the recipe with the nutrition panel and I even calculated the weight watchers point for you. Each taco shell are 2 points you can check the link here: calculator.net
I received too much request and I finally decided to share those extra information to help you all decide if this recipe is suitable for everyone diet. I hope it helps. Enjoy! Carine.
Hi Peggy, I am sorry for not sharing nutritionnal information on my blog. I am not a nutritionist and I do not want to share information that I am not able to deliver in a proper way. Also, my food philosophy is not about counting calories, fat or carbs. I simply believe that using unrefined flour and natural ingredients make food healthier and it actually helped me to reverse my diabetes and stabilise my weight. I hope you try the recipe anyway, and I apologise if I am not able to deliver nutritional information. See you soon on the blog. Carine.
awesome is really w-a-a-a-y too small a word. this idea is making my test kitchen mind dance. grateful ~
Oh great! I am very happy to read that comment. Hope you love them 🙂
Is there something I can use as a substitute for the cheese…..I can’t have dairy. Thanks!
Hi Judy, I recieved lots of request like yours so I just did a new attempt (with grated zucchini) and arrowroot powder, egg and coconut flour (no dairy). I will share the recipe next week on the blog. The result was softer more like soft taco shell but super delicious ! Keep an eye on the blog it is coming out soon:) Thanks for following! Carine.
I am positively surprised about your blog! This looks veeeeeeeeery interesting recipe to make too. To tell you the truth I eat carrots like a rabbit lol 😀
Welcome on my small cooking world. I love everything healthy, wholesome and mainly low carb so my recipes are a bit more fancy than we are used to see around but they keep my body energised. Enjoy ! Carine.
these sound so fun to add to the arsenal of alternative-food-vehicles! would you suggest, to make these more Whole 30 compliant, to substitute the cheese with arrowroot powder, and of course the almond meal (maybe a bit of coconut flour, also) for the oat bran? have you tried these with arrowroot powder? Thank you for your thoughts, Andrea.
Hi Andrea, Your suggestion looks wonderful! I love cheese and because I eat low carb (high fibre) I love the mix of oat and cheese. Coconut flour and almond meal sounds super healthy though! I would love to know how it goes with your alternative recipe as I did not try arrowroot powder in cooking yet. Leave me a comment with your recipe if you try something different! I am sure that lots of others foodies around will try your recipe version too (me too actually ahah :). Carine. xx
Is it freezable? And for how long ?
Hi Sara, you can freeze the cooked taco in zip plastic bag – I like to add a piece of parchment paper between each tacos to avoid them to stick together. Defrost 2-4 hours before eating. Rewarm in the microwave if you like by 20-30 seconds burst. You can keep them 2 months in the freezer, as soon as it is stored in an airtight container it freezes very well. Enjoy ! Carine.
Ernestine
I used the alternative of almond meal and it was scrumptious, I’m looking forward to trying it again with double the recipe – fingers crossed.
Hi Ernestine, I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Those carrot tacos are such a big hit in my house too! Thanks for your lovely comment. Carine.
These look yummy! I’ve been meaning to make some taco shells with just melted cheese but I love your addition of carrot!
Hi Vicky. Glad to see again on the blog 🙂 Carrot is an healthy addition to those tacos I just love them !
These were NOT QUICK OR EASY to make. I followed the instructions perfectly and the carrots are just too moist. Once you add the eggs it makes everything wet and impossible to work with. Very disappointed. What can I do differently next time?
Hey all,
If you feel so adventurous as to try this recipe again, use a cheese cloth (or an old clean t-shirt, dishrag…etc) to squeeze the excess moisture out. I usually buy mine at my local dollar store but you can also buy them at the grocery store. I hope it help guys.
Cheers
Hi, I recommend to use absorbent paper in my recipe which works very well and avoid the coloration of a cheese cloth. Carrots stain fabrics easily that is why I recommend to use absorbent paper – see recipe video on how to use it. It won’t ruin a cheese cloth 🙂 Enjoy the recipes. XOXO Carine.
This is what I predict will happen to me. They look yummy, but I’ll just use lettuce or cabbage leaves.
That’s awesome ! thanks for sharing your positive feedback and for testing my blog recipes! Carine.
Hi Kate, it is the first negative feedback I received on my carrot taco shell recipe! I am very sorry about your bad experience. The trick is to pat dry the cooked carrots into absorbent paper, as I explained in the post. The carrots must be dry to avoid any liquid to be released in the egg mixture. Did you use oat bran or almond meal? Thanks! Carine.
I wonder if coconut flour would work. It is more absorbent then almond flour. I don’t know how that might work compared to oat flour. Hmmmm, I currently make tortillas using pork skins and my blender to make the pork skin flour. I wonder if quick oatmeal could be used to make oat flour. I’ve used that for cookies. May I know your thoughts?
Cindy
Yes it is more absorbent and it may not work well in this recipe that is why I prefer almond flour. Concerning oat, I did oat flour from oatmeal many times in my food processor, that is a great idea to make quick oat flour without going to the store! Simply process 4 cups of oatmeal for 1 minute on high speed and you will get a lovely flour that store perfectly well in an airtight box in your pantry. Enjoy the lovely tacos! Thanks for reading the blog and testing my recipes. XOXO Carine.
Thanks for the ideas on using different roasted vegetable in this recipe. So clever! Enjoy the recipes around here. XOXO Carine