Learn the best Taco Bell Keto options!
When you think of a keto-friendly meal, Mexican food isn’t exactly the first thing to pop into your head. Most Mexican menu items can contain many different carb-heavy items like tortillas and beans, which can make it seem impossible to eat low carb at Taco Bell–but it is possible if you are careful to avoid these items! Many of Taco Bell’s menu items can be tweaked in order to fit a keto lifestyle. Go in armed with the knowledge of what changes you can make when ordering at Taco Bell in order to stay in ketosis
Table of Contents
What Shouldn’t You Order at Taco Bell?
- Crunchy Taco Shells
- Soft Taco Shells
- Burrito Wraps
- Beans
- Red Strips
- Rice
- Fritos
- Potatoes
- Salad Dressings
- 16 ounce strawberry Skittles Freeze
- 16 ounce watermelon Freeze
- Cinnabon Delights
- Cinnamon Twists
Lunch or Dinner Options
- Power Chicken Menu Bowl
- Power Steak Menu Bowl
- Power Ground Beef Menu Bowl
- Taco
- Taco Supreme
- Grilled Steak Taco
- Chicken Taco
Breakfast Options
- Mini Skillet Bowl
- Naked Egg Taco
- Grilled Breakfast Burrito
Drink Options
- Iced Coffee
- Premium Hot Coffee
- Unsweetened Iced Tea
- Diet Pepsi
Customizations & Add-Ons
- Fire Grilled Chicken
- Steak
- Seasoned Ground Beef
- Shredded Chicken
- Bacon
- Sausage Crumbles
- Guacamole
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Jalapenos
- Nacho Cheese Sauce
- Avocado Ranch Sauce
- Creamy Chipotle Sauce
- Creamy Jalapeno Sauce
- Habanero Sauce
- Spicy Ranch Sauce
What Shouldn’t You Order At Taco Bell?
To start, let’s talk about the items you shouldn’t order at Taco Bell if you’re following a keto diet. There are many things that you can enjoy, but always be sure to avoid the following items (https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/foods).
- Crunchy Taco Shells – 14 grams net carbs each
- Soft Taco Shells – 15 grams net carbs each
- Burrito Wraps – 34 grams net carbs each
- Beans – 20 grams net carbs per serving
- Red Strips – 8 grams net carbs per serving
- Rice – 19 grams net carbs per serving
- Fritos – 14 grams net carbs per serving
- Potatoes – 24 grams net carbs per serving
- Some Salad Dressings – 10+ grams of carbs per serving
In addition, be sure to avoid any of their sugary dessert and specialty drink options, as they also pack a lot of carbs per serving.
- 16 ounce strawberry Skittles Freeze – 42 grams net carbs
- 16 ounce watermelon Freeze – 60 grams net carbs
- Cinnabon Delights (2 pack) – 17 grams net carbs
- Cinnamon Twists – 27 grams net carbs
The Best Low Carb Lunch or Dinner Options
There are three very keto-friendly lunch and dinner options at Taco Bell that low-carb dieters like to order. The first is the Power Menu Bowl, which can be ordered with either chicken, steak, or ground beef. The bowls come standard with lettuce, beans, rice, cheddar cheese, sour cream, guacamole, avocado, and ranch sauce. By ordering the bowl with no beans or rice, it automatically becomes very low carb (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ketogenic-diet-101). If you’d like to lose another net carb, ask for it without the pico de gallo as well.
- Power Chicken Menu Bowl (without rice or beans) – 5 grams net carbs, 15 grams fat, 21 grams protein
- Power Steak Menu Bowl (without rice or beans) – 7 grams net carbs, 16 grams fat, 21 grams protein
- Power Ground Beef Menu Bowl (without rice or beans) – 6 grams net carbs, 21 grams fat, 15 grams protein
A La Carte Lunch and Dinner Options
If one of the Power Menu Bowls doesn’t sound appealing, there are other options on the lunch and dinner menu that you can make low-carb as well. Simply eat the fillings and skip the shells, which gives you a good amount of both fat and protein (https://www.brit.co/how-much-meat-on-keto/).
- Taco (without shell) – 0 grams net carbs, 9 grams fat, 9 grams protein
- Taco Supreme (without shell) – 2 grams net carbs, 10 grams fat, 10 grams protein
- Grilled Steak Taco (without shell) – 1 gram net carb, 10 grams fat, 12 grams protein
- Chicken Taco (without shell) – 0 grams net carbs, 8 grams fat, 10 grams protein
The Best Low Carb Breakfast Options
For breakfast, there a few popular keto-friendly options that Taco Bell has to offer. The first is the Mini Skillet Bowl. Its main ingredient is eggs, which is a solid source of protein for keto dieters (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ketogenic-diet-foods#section1). The bowl also includes potatoes, nacho cheese sauce, and pico de gallo. Order the bowl without the potatoes in order to keep it low-carb. The second best option is the Naked Egg Taco, a fairly new and unique offering at Taco Bell. Instead of using a traditional taco shell to wrap their breakfast taco ingredients, they use a fried egg! On the inside you’ll find potatoes, bacon, nacho cheese sauce, and shredded cheese, so be sure to ask for it without the potatoes. Another good option is a Grilled Breakfast Burrito without the shell, which leaves just eggs, bacon, and nacho cheese
- Mini Skillet Bowl (without potatoes) – 5 grams net carbs, 11 grams fat, 5 grams protein (4 grams net carbs without pico de gallo)
- Naked Egg Taco (without potatoes) – 2 grams net carbs, 11 grams fat, 7 grams protein
- Grilled Breakfast Burrito (without shell) – 2 grams net carbs, 17 grams fat, 13 grams protein
The Best Low Carb Drink Options
As with most fast food chain restaurants, Taco Bell doesn’t have a huge variety of keto-friendly drinks. Still, there are a few low-carb options beyond a cup of water for your to choose from (https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/drinks).
- Iced Coffee (no added sugar) – 0 grams net carbs, 0 grams fat, 2 grams protein
- Premium Hot Coffee (no added sugar) – 0 grams net carbs, 0 grams fat, 2 grams protein
- Unsweetened Iced Tea, any size – 0 grams net carbs, 0 grams fat, 0 grams protein
- Diet Pepsi, any size – 0 grams net carbs, 0 grams fat, 0 grams protein
Customizing Items for Maximum Flavor
One of the great things about eating keto at Taco Bell is that they have quite an array of different low-carb toppings that can be added to maximize flavor, and ensure that you hit your fat and protein macros (https://bodyketosis.com/get-more-fat/). You will recognize many of these ingredients as typical keto diet ingredients!
- Fire Grilled Chicken – 0 grams net carbs, 2 grams fat, 8 grams protein
- Steak – 1 gram net carbs, 2 grams fat, 8 grams protein
- Seasoned Ground Beef – 1 gram net carbs, 5 grams fat, 5 grams protein
- Shredded Chicken – 1 gram net carbs, 3 grams fat, 6 grams protein
- Bacon – 0 grams net carbs, 5 grams fat, 4 grams protein
- Sausage Crumbles – 0 grams net carbs, 5 grams fat, 2 grams protein
- Guacamole – 1 gram net carbs, 3 grams fat, 0 grams protein
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – 0 grams net carbs, 2 grams fat, 2 grams protein
- Sour Cream – 2 grams net carbs, 1 gram fat, 0 gram protein
- Jalapenos – .5 grams net carbs, 0 grams fat, 0 grams protein
- Nacho Cheese Sauce – 2 grams net carbs, 2 grams fat, 0 grams protein
- Avocado Ranch Sauce – 0 grams net carbs, 3 grams fat, 0 grams protein
- Creamy Chipotle Sauce – 0 grams net carbs, 3 grams fat, 0 grams protein
- Creamy Jalapeno Sauce – 0 grams net carbs, 3 grams fat, 0 grams protein
- Habanero Sauce – 0 grams net carbs, 1 gram fat, 0 grams protein
- Spicy Ranch Sauce – 0 grams net carbs, 3 grams fat, 0 grams protein
Eating at Taco Bell to Maintain Your Healthy Keto Lifestyle
Eating keto-friendly meals at Taco Bell may not be as easy as at other fast food restaurants, but they do offer plenty of options to customize their meals to fit the low-carb lifestyle. Their variety of different meat options means means you can get your protein without feeling bored, and to make sure you meet your fat intake goals you can turn to not only guacamole and bacon, but also a number of different sauces that are all sugar-free (https://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbiltmedicine/study-balanced-high-fat-diet-improves-body-composition-inflammation/).
So the next time you need a quick keto-friendly meal, stop by Taco Bell to see if these meals are a good option for you!