The Best Keto Chicken Tacos Ever

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Tacos are one of the best foods out there - and this keto chicken tacos recipe is the perfect way to enjoy them while staying within your low carb diet. These delicious tacos are made with shredded chicken, spices, and a homemade keto taco shell. They're so good, you won't even miss the carbs!

bowls of toppings net to keto chicken tacos on table

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Best Keto Chicken Tacos
What Taco Toppings are Keto Friendly?
Ingredients
Handy Kitchen Tools
How to Make Keto Chicken Tacos
How to Make Keto Chicken Tacos in the Slow Cooker
Frequently Asked Questions
More Easy Recipes
📖 Recipe

Best Keto Chicken Tacos

These tacos are perfect for dinner, but they also make a great lunch or snack. They're portable, so you can easily take them on the go. And, they're just as good reheated, so you can make a batch ahead of time and have them ready to go when you're ready to eat.

The best thing about these chicken tacos is that they're super easy to make. All you need to do is shred some cooked chicken, mix it with some spices, and stuff it into a taco shell made from cheese. That's it! And, if you're short on time, you can even use pre-cooked chicken from the store.

This best keto chicken tacos recipe is packed with flavor and easy to make! The perfect weeknight meal, these chicken tacos will be a hit with the whole family. And they’re low-carb and keto-friendly, so you can feel good about what you’re eating.

two cheese tacos with chicken on bed of lettuce

What Taco Toppings are Keto Friendly?

One of the best things about tacos is that almost all of your classic toppings are low-carb and easy to fit into your daily macros. The base of the taco, the shell, is what often brings up the carb count. So, using a cheese shell turns this from a meal you would avoid to the one you can enjoy!

Some of my favorite taco toppings include:

Avocado slices or guacamole
Salsa or hot sauce
Diced onion, jalapeno, or green chile
Lettuce
Lime wedges
Shredded cheese or keto queso dip
Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

chicken tacos with low carb cheese shells inside black basket

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs or legs (or breasts if preferred)
3 tablespoons olive oil (45ml)
2 tablespoons ground cumin (12g)
2 tablespoons chili powder (12g)
2 tablespoons onion powder (12g)
2 tablespoons garlic powder (12g)
2 tablespoons paprika (12g)
½ cup water (120ml)
16 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (500g)
1 ½ teaspoon salt (9g)
Toppings as desired

keto chicken tacos on white platter with tomato and lettuce

Handy Kitchen Tools

black wire basket filled with low carb cheese tacos

How to Make Keto Chicken Tacos

First, you will preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Then, you can line a baking sheet, Dutch oven, or other larger baking dish with parchment paper (if desired). A baking sheet is great, but I prefer when can use my Dutch oven for this since it holds in the juices nicely after the meat cooks.

Then, you will coat the chicken thighs or legs (your choice), with olive oil, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and salt. Make sure the chicken is coated well, then place it evenly into the baking dish and add ½ cup of water.

hands rubbing spices into chicken legs in baking dish

Bake this for 1 hour and 30 minutes. A longer baking time allows the moisture from the chicken and water to soak in and gives you very tender meat to shred.

Remove the chicken from the oven and then shred or chop the meat into small pieces. Place back on the pan or in the baking dish and stir in with the juices from cooking. Set this aside while you prepare your keto taco shells.

On a parchment-lined microwave-safe plate, you will put mounds of cheese (heaping tablespoons) in circles. Pop into the microwave for 1 minute. Check to see how done they are, and then continue cooking in 30-second increments until the cheese has melted and is beginning to crisp.

You can usually do these 2 to 3 at a time and in batches. Alternatively, you can use the oven and do this on a baking sheet. Bake at 400°F/200°C for 4 to 6 minutes.

Once the cheese is cooked, you will quickly remove it from the plate or pan and drape it over a utensil handle or over a wire rack to create the classic tortilla shell shape. You can also simply fold and put a bit of foil between the two sides to create an opening.

cheese being pulled from parchment paper

Once the shells have had time to harden (5 to 10 minutes), you can then fill them with the shredded chicken and your favorite taco toppings.

How to Make Keto Chicken Tacos in the Slow Cooker

Video Recipe:

If you prefer using a Crock-pot or slow cooker, the process is very simple.

In a 5-quart or larger slow cooker, combine the chicken seasonings and olive oil. Mix to coat the chicken well, then add in the water.

Cover with the lid, and set to cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Once done cooking, shred with a fork or cut into small pieces and mix back in with the cooking juices.

Repeat the same process as the traditional recipe for preparing the taco shells made of cheese, then serve with your favorite toppings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Do I Use For a Keto Taco Shell?

There are a lot of different things that can be used as a keto taco shell. I prefer to make my own version of a taco shell and make one out of cheese. If you prefer, you can also use low-carb tortillas or even egg wraps that can be found in the grocery store.

The main thing to consider is what your daily macros are and how low you want your carb intake to be each day. Some even use lettuce leaves to stuff with chicken and toppings for a super low-carb shell.

What Cut of Chicken is Best on Keto?

When you are eating a low-carb keto diet, you want to increase the fat in each meal. While chicken breasts work in recipes like this, I recommend using dark meat. For this, boneless skinless chicken thighs are convenient, but you can use bone-in legs or thighs and then simply remove them from the bone if you prefer.

How Many Carbs is in a Keto Chicken Taco?

Typically there are 1 to 3 net carbs when you make these keto chicken tacos. It will vary depending on what you decide to put on the tacos. Some toppings have more carbs than others. Be sure to figure out the carb count after you have assembled your tacos.

Can I Use Ready-Made Taco Seasoning Instead?

It is super handy to grab a packet of taco seasoning at the grocery store, however, it isn't always keto-friendly. Not only are most packaged seasoning blends higher in sodium, they often have fillers and/or sugar that add carbs to their nutritional value.

In this case, it is unlikely that it would be enough to truly affect your macros negatively, but for sake of tacking, I prefer to make my own seasoning blends.

More Easy Recipes

If you are like my family and love Mexican and Tex-Mex-inspired flavors, then the recipes below are sure to please. This list includes a large variety of options from casseroles to pasta that can all be made easily at home. Take a moment to check out the list, bookmark your favorites, print out the recipes, or pin them to Pinterest to make soon.

📖 Recipe

Yield: 4

The Best Keto Chicken Tacos Ever

Get your taco fix while sticking to your keto diet with these cheese-based chicken tacos. Filled with tender and flavorful shredded chicken thighs and a homemade seasoning mix, they're a satisfying and low-carb meal option.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Total Time 2 hours

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts if preferred)
3 tablespoons olive oil (45ml)
2 tablespoons ground cumin (12g)
2 tablespoons chili powder (12g)
2 tablespoons onion powder (12g)
2 tablespoons garlic powder (12g)
2 tablespoons paprika (12g)
½ cup water (120ml)
16 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (500g)
1 ½ teaspoon salt (9g)
Toppings as desired

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
In a Dutch oven or large baking dish, place the chicken in an even layer. Coat it with ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and salt. Drizzle with olive oil and rub to cover the chicken well. Then add ½ cup of water to the baking dish.
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and falling apart.
Remove it from the oven and shred or chop the chicken into small pieces.
Set this aside while you shred the cheese. On a clean plate, place heaping tablespoons of the cheese (2 to 3 circles at a time), and microwave for 1 minute.
Check and microwave in 30-second increments until they are all melted and starting to crisp.
Remove the cheese from the oven, and place over a wire rack or handle to create the classic "u-shape" of the taco shell.
Let harden for 5 to 10 minutes then fill with the shredded chicken and desired toppings.

Notes

For added flavor, use bone-in dark meat chicken that is cooked with skin on. Once cooked, remove the skin and shred the meat. The combination of the juices from the skin and bone marrow will increase the flavor and create a tender moist chicken.