Keto Options at Taco Bell: A Comprehensive Guide

For individuals following a ketogenic diet, navigating the world of fast food can be challenging. Fortunately, Taco Bell offers a variety of options that can be customized to fit a keto lifestyle. With a few modifications, you can enjoy a quick and satisfying meal without compromising your dietary goals. Taco Bell is open to menu modifications. In fact, they invite you to “customize” any of the items on their menu, so don’t be afraid to get creative with your order. This article will explore the best keto-friendly choices at Taco Bell, providing detailed information on how to order and what to avoid.

Understanding the Keto Diet and Fast Food

Eating keto isn’t always easy, especially if you’re busy. It can be tough to find the time to meal plan, shop, and cook for this low carb, high fat diet. The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that aims to shift the body's primary fuel source from glucose to ketones, which are produced from fat. This metabolic state, known as ketosis, can help with weight loss and improve certain health conditions. However, adhering to a keto diet requires careful attention to macronutrient ratios, making fast food a potential minefield of hidden carbs and unhealthy ingredients.

That’s why it’s a great idea to be aware of the keto options you can grab on the go at fast food restaurants. Taco Bell is one really popular fast food choice. Although your meal will most likely require some modifications, it’s totally possible to eat keto there. Finding fast food restaurants that offer diet-friendly options can be tricky. A lot of the time it’s made with a lot of low-quality ingredients like refined vegetable oil and processed cheese. Taco Bell’s menu offers choices that are keto-friendly, and you can tweak some of what they offer to better fit your keto diet needs.

General Tips for Ordering Keto at Taco Bell

Here are a few more tips to help you make Taco Bell fit your keto diet:

  • Nix the tortilla, chips, and beans. These are the highest-carb items in most Taco Bell meals, so avoiding them will effortlessly make most of the Taco Bell menu keto-friendly, with the exception of desserts and sugary drinks. Of course, they do come with a lot of the menu items at Taco Ball, so just ask them to remove that from your order.
  • Add guacamole. Taco Bell offers guacamole, which contains fat and fiber from the avocado it’s made with. This is a great addition to your keto Taco Bell order because it adds fat, fiber, and calories without adding lots of net carbs.
  • Add sauces. Taco Bell offers a variety of sauces that are all low in carbs. These include hot sauces, cheese sauce, reduced fat sour cream, and creamy sauces like their Jalapeno Ranch Sauce. They’re a great way to add flavor and extra fat and calories.
  • Ask for extra meat or cheese. To get an extra dose of protein and fat in your meal, ask for extra meat or cheese. Note that Taco Bell meats do contain small amounts of carbs from their seasonings and additives.
  • Get your order over lettuce. Most of these keto-friendly options will be served in bowls, so you can ask for the whole meal to be served over lettuce to add bulk without too many extra carbs. You can also add tomatoes, onions, or jalapeños. It allows you to totally customize your order, including the ability to remove tortillas and view the nutrition information.

Keto-Friendly Sauces and Add-ons

One of the easiest ways to customize your Keto Order at Taco Bell is to add fat to any Keto Taco Bell Meal.

Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers

Here are some Keto-Friendly Sauces:

  • Creamy Jalapeno Sauce - 1g carb
  • Guacamole - 1g net carb
  • Nacho Cheese Sauce - 1g carb
  • Creamy Chipotle Sauce - 0g carb
  • Avocado Ranch - 1g carb
  • Spicy Ranch - 1g carb
  • Red Sauce - 2g carb

You can also add:

  • Shredded Cheese
  • Sour Cream
  • Low-Carb sauces
  • Guacamole

Items to Avoid

Okay, so the first items to avoid at Taco Bell are, of course, the flour tortilla and taco shells. Next, you’ll want to pass on the sweet chili sauce - each serving has 8 net carbs. You’ll also want to stay away from the potato bites and the red strips that you’ll sometimes see them put on tacos and burritos. And of course, order everything with no beans and no rice. These are going to be the most carb-heavy foods on the menu.

Here is a list of items What to Avoid:

  • Beans
  • Fritos
  • Potatoes
  • Seasoned Rice
  • Black Beans
  • Taco Shells and Tortillas
  • Nachos

Keto Breakfast Options on the Taco Bell Menu

If you’re hitting the drive-through for a keto-friendly breakfast, you can still make Taco Bell work.

Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide

  1. Cheesy Toasted Breakfast Burrito (no tortilla): The Cheesy Toasted Breakfast Burrito is loaded with keto-friendly ingredients: bacon, eggs, and cheese sauce. Just ask for no tortilla. It contains (5):Calories: 150Protein: 8 gramsFat: 11 gramsTotal carbs: 3 gramsFiber: 0 gramsNet carbs: 3 grams
  2. Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito (no tortilla): Another keto Taco Bell option for breakfast is the grande toasted breakfast burrito.
  3. Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito With Steak (no tortilla):

Pairing suggestion

By the way, I love pairing this keto breakfast order with some keto yogurt. I usually eat the yogurt almost like a dessert after I have the burrito, and it totally hits the spot every time!

Keto Taco Bell Dollar Menu

  1. Chicken Chipotle Melt (no tortilla): The first one I want to talk about is the Chicken Chipotle Melt. The Chicken Chipotle Melt is a Value Menu item that contains grilled chicken, cheese, and a creamy chipotle sauce on a flour tortilla. Without the tortilla, it contains only 1 net carb per serving. A Chicken Chipotle Melt with no tortilla provides (5):Calories: 100Protein: 10 gramsFat: 6 gramsTotal carbs: 1 gramFiber: 0 gramsNet carbs: 1 gramWhat I loved about this was that nice smoky flavor that’s in the chicken.
  2. The Beef Burrito (no tortilla): Honestly, this one was incredibly satisfying!

Keto Taco Bell Chicken Options

Now let’s get into the chicken options! I tried a lot of pretty awesome low carb keto-friendly chicken menu items at Taco Bell.

  1. Chicken Burrito Supreme (no tortilla): Like I’ve said, this doesn’t have any tortilla or beans, so it essentially becomes kind of a chicken burrito bowl. The chicken is tender, juicy, and nicely charred. Also, you get a pretty good portion of it per order and it goes well with the red sauce.
  2. Supreme Chicken Soft Taco (no tortilla): Next up is the Soft Taco Supreme Chicken! To be a hundred percent honest with you, I prefer the steak taco in terms of value. I just feel like you don’t get as much chicken for the same price. But more on the steak taco in a bit! That said, the Supreme Chicken Soft Taco is a decent keto Taco Bell option.
  3. Fresco Chicken Taco (no tortilla): Not to mention, this keto Taco Bell menu item costs just $2.39! I love how the big chunks of chicken & delicious sauce pair together in this taco bowl. It's what I like to do, and it turns out pretty great.
  4. Grilled Chicken Power Bowl (no rice or beans): This Grilled Chicken Power Bowl is definitely one of the best values for your money at Taco Bell! It’s got guacamole, pico de gallo, tons of tender chicken, sour cream, avocado ranch dressing, and lots of low carb lettuce. Oh, and this was practically double the size of the other containers. Also, it’s incredibly filling, so you could probably make two meals out of one order. Of course, you’ll want to get this with no rice and no beans.

Classic Keto-Friendly Options

Here are our favorite keto-friendly choices at Taco Bell. They all contain 10 grams or fewer of net carbs (total carbs minus fiber) per serving. We’re including items that you can order straight off the menu as well as menu items you can ask to have modified.

  1. Crunchy Taco: Taco Bell’s Crunchy Taco contains seasoned beef, shredded cheese, and lettuce on a crunchy corn tortilla shell. Tortillas are generally too high in carbs for a keto diet, but this one is on the small side. Even with the shell, this item contains (1, 2):Calories: 170Protein: 8 gramsFat: 9 gramsTotal carbs: 13 gramsFiber: 3 gramsNet carbs: 10 grams
  2. Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos: Like the regular Crunchy Taco, the Doritos Locos Taco contains seasoned beef, lettuce, and cheese. However, the shell is dusted with Nacho Cheese Doritos flavoring. It contains (3): Calories: 170Protein: 8 gramsFat: 9 gramsTotal carbs: 13 gramsFiber: 3 gramsNet carbs: 10 grams
  3. Black Beans: Taco Bell offers a small bowl of seasoned black beans as a side option. Although beans are typically too high in carbs for a keto diet, this small serving can fit into a keto diet in a pinch. This is a valuable tool that you may want to play around with if you’re planning a keto Taco Bell meal (5).
  4. Chicken Power Menu Bowl (no beans or rice): A Power Menu Bowl is probably your best option for a keto-friendly meal at Taco Bell. Although this usually comes with beans and rice, you can remove these items and still get a bowl containing chicken, shredded cheese, guacamole, lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, and an avocado-ranch sauce. Best of all, it’s only got 4 grams of net carbs. One bowl provides (5):Calories: 240Protein: 21 gramsFat: 14 gramsTotal carbs: 7 gramsFiber: 3 gramsNet carbs: 4 grams
  5. Steak Power Menu Bowl (no beans or rice): You can get the Power Menu Bowl with steak instead of chicken, although it’s a tad higher in net carbs. It contains (5):Calories: 250Protein: 20 gramsFat: 16 gramsTotal carbs: 8 gramsFiber: 2 gramsNet carbs: 6 grams
  6. Beefy 5-Layer Burrito (no tortilla): The Beefy 5-Layer Burrito consists of seasoned ground beef, refried beans, sour cream, cheese, and cheese sauce on a large flour tortilla. However, if you remove the tortilla from the equation it’s a fairly keto-friendly meal. It clocks in right at 10 grams of net carbs. It contains (5): Calories: 200Protein: 10 gramsFat: 11 gramsTotal carbs: 16 gramsFiber: 6 gramsNet carbs: 10 grams
  7. Burrito Supreme (no tortilla): The Burrito Supreme contains seasoned beef, sour cream, onions, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, red sauce, and beans in a large flour tortilla. Without the tortilla, it contains 10 grams of net carbs - making it an OK choice for keto. It provides (5):Calories: 190Protein: 10 gramsFat: 9 gramsTotal carbs: 17 gramsFiber: 7 gramsNet carbs: 10 grams
  8. Crunchwrap Supreme (no tortilla or shell): The Crunchwrap Supreme is a Taco Bell specialty that contains seasoned beef and cheese sauce, a crunchy taco shell, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream - all wrapped in a large flour tortilla and grilled. To make it keto, you’ll need to remove the shell and the tortilla. With these changes, it contains (5): Calories: 180Protein: 6 gramsFat: 10 gramsTotal carbs: 10 gramsFiber: 2 gramsNet carbs: 8 grams
  9. Chicken Quesadilla (no tortilla): Taco Bell’s Chicken Quesadilla contains grilled chicken, shredded cheese, and a creamy jalapeño sauce in a large grilled tortilla. With no tortilla, it’s one of the most protein-packed keto-friendly items you can get at Taco Bell. It contains (5): Calories: 310Protein: 22 gramsFat: 21 gramsTotal carbs: 5 gramsFiber: 2 gramsNet carbs: 3 grams
  10. Steak Quesadilla (no tortilla): The Steak Quesadilla contains grilled steak, cheese, and a creamy jalapeño sauce. Like the Chicken Quesadilla, it’s a great keto option if you ask for no tortilla. It provides (5): Calories: 320Protein: 21 gramsFat: 22 gramsTotal carbs: 5 gramsFiber: 2 gramsNet carbs: 3 grams
  11. Nachos BellGrande (no chips or beans): Taco Bell’s popular Nachos BellGrande are usually loaded with carbs from tortilla chips and a hefty serving of refried beans. If you order it without the chips or beans, you’ll get seasoned beef with sour cream, tomatoes, and cheese sauce. It provides (5):Calories: 180Protein: 6 gramsFat: 12 gramsTotal carbs: 12 gramsFiber: 2 gramsNet carbs: 10 grams

Keto Taco Bell Beef Options

Of course, no Taco Bell keto menu list would be complete without beef! And there are a few really solid options to choose from.

  1. Steak Burrito Supreme (no tortilla or beans): Ordering the Steak Burrito Supreme this way comes out to $4.50 - so just under $5 - and it’s got 5 net carbs. Just like the chicken burrito bowl, I totally enjoyed this. The steak is juicy & tender and goes well with the red sauce and vegetables!
  2. Grilled Steak Taco (no tortilla): When you order the Grilled Steak Taco without the tortilla, it's only about 3 net carbs. Not to mention, it costs just $2.89! Honestly, compared to the steak burrito supreme, this has about the same amount of steak! So, I think you get more "bang-for-your-buck" with this option. Plus, it’s a little more flavorful! At least I think so. I just love the combination of the charred steak and the cheese on this one. Seriously, this grilled steak taco is one of my favorites from this taste test! And, honestly, every keto Taco Bell order should have a grilled steak taco as part of the order. It's a menu item not to be missed.
  3. Fresco Beef Taco (no tortilla): Okay, so we’ve talked about the Fresco Chicken Taco - now let’s talk about the beef version! As always, get this without the tortilla. It costs $1.89, so it’s cheaper than the chicken option! And the whole thing is just 2 net carbs. Also, I recommend adding some of the Taco Bell Hot Sauce to give the fresco beef some more flavor.

Three Delicious Keto Taco Bell Orders You Have to Try

  1. Mini Skillet Bowl: Order the Mini Skillet Bowl, but replace the potatoes with a meat of your choice. Up the fat with some guacamole, extra cheese, or a drizzle of any of the low-carb sauces. This meal costs about $3.45.Bowl: Eggs, steak, cheddar cheese, sour cream, guacamole, creamy chipotle sauce. Calories: 490, Fat: 46g, Protein: 14g, Carbs: 6g, Fiber: 1g, Net Carbs: 5g
  2. Fiesta Taco Salad with Chicken: Order the Fiesta Taco Salad and ask for no beans, no rice, no shell, and no Red Stripes (chips). This ensures your salad is filled with only the good stuff - lettuce, cheese, chicken, sour cream, tomatoes and salsa. Don't forget to add guac if you want more fat. This meal costs about $5.95.Bowl: Lettuce, chicken, cheddar cheese, sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, salsa. Calories: 210, Fat: 9g, Carbs: 10g, Protein: 21g. Feel free to sub seasoned beef for chicken.
  3. Power Menu Bowl: Power up with a keto version of the Power Menu Bowl. Omit the rice and beans and you’re left with a high fat, high protein keto taco bell lunch. We added lettuce and bacon for more volume. Wash it down with water or any of the diet sodas available for purchase. This meal is about $5.65.Bowl: Lettuce, shredded chicken, cheddar cheese, bacon, sour cream, guacamole, bacon, Avocado Ranch Sauce. Calories: 330, Fat: 24g, Protein: 21g, Carbs: 8g, Fiber: 2g, Net Carbs: 6g

Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto

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