These cheese taco shells are low in carbs and high in flavor! I would recommend these taco shells to any cheese lover, even if you do not follow a low carb or keto diet. They are fun to make, easy to shape, and absolutely delicious! In addition to being keto friendly, these cheese taco shells are vegetarian, egg free, and nut free.
Shaping keto cheese taco shells
The cheese isn’t going to form a nice taco shell shape by itself! Before you start cooking your cheese taco shells, you need to create a mold to shape the cheese into taco shells. The easiest way to do this is to grab an object that is around 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick and cover it in some tin foil and saran wrap. Then you just drape the warm cheese over this object and let it cool in a taco shell shape.
I use a wooden cutting board (pictured below) as a mold for my taco shells but there are many other options. You can use a cookbook, packaging food or kitchen accessories, a thick walled serving dish, or anything else you can find. One thing to keep in mind is that the larger the object you use, the more taco shells you will be able to make at once. The amount of space you have available on your mold(s) will dictate the number of taco shells you can make per batch.
How long cook keto cheese taco shells
In order to make cheese taco shells that are crispy and able to hold a taco shape, you need to bake them in the oven on a tray lined with parchment paper. The amount of time you need to cook your cheese taco shells will vary based on the type of cheese you use and the thickness of the cheese slices but I generally cook my taco shells for around 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
You will be able to tell when the cheese taco shells are done cooking by visually inspecting them. You want your cheese taco shells to have a deep brown coloring around the edges and patches of lighter brown on the interior. I included a picture of what my cheese taco shells looked like when I took them out of the oven below.
What kinds of cheese to use for taco shells
There are two main questions that need to be answered when it comes to selecting a cheese to make keto cheese taco shells. The first question is what style of cheese to use. Shredded cheese and cheese slices are both viable candidates, but I would highly recommend using prepackaged cheese slices. Cheese slices already come in a uniform thin layer so there is no need to worry about carefully placing individual pieces of cheese to make sure the taco thickness is uniform. Of course, if you do not have access to pre-made cheese slices you can always use shredded cheese. If you do this, I would recommend using a bowl to draw circles on your parchment paper that you can fill with shredded cheese. This helps you make taco shells that are similar in size and uniformly shaped.
The second question you have to think about when making keto cheese taco shells is what type of cheese to use. I prefer to use a mild semi-hard cheese such as provolone, monterey jack, or gouda. I like to start out with a cheese with a mild flavor because baking cheese develops a lot of additional flavor.
Tips for making keto cheese taco shells
Here are a few final tips to make sure your cheese taco shell making experience goes smoothly.
- Only make a few taco shells at a time. After you take the taco shells out of the oven, timing is pretty important. You have a small window where the cheese is malleable enough to be shaped into taco shells but also solid enough to maintain a shape and not fall apart. It is hard to hit this time period right if you are making a dozen taco shells at once.
- Set up the mold you are going to use before you put any cheese in the oven. The first time I made cheese taco shells I did not do this because I figured I had around 10 minutes to set up a mold. The problem was that the mold kept falling over and I barely finished fortifying the structure in time.
- If you are having trouble shaping the cheese into taco shells, you could also make flat cheese tostadas or nachos. To make cheese tostadas you just let the cheese cool flat on the parchment paper you baked it on then pile toppings over it. If you are making nachos, I recommend cutting the cheese into nacho sized bites prior to baking the cheese.
- My final tip is not necessarily about making the process easy – it is more about making it fun! You can also make small bite sized cheese tacos as an appetizer. These bite sized tacos are the perfect finger food to pop in your mouth at a potluck or event. As with my recommendation for making cheese nachos, you should cut the cheese into small circles prior to baking the cheese.
Keto cheese taco shells
Ingredients
- 8 slices provolone cheese (substitute monterey jack cheese or gouda)
- 1 pinch salt (optional)
Instructions
- Set up the structure you will use to mold your cheese slices into taco shells. Find an object that is about 1 inch thick and drape it with saran wrap or tin foil.
- Bake the cheese slices in the oven at 350 degrees on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Take the cheese slices out when they are a deep brown along the edges and golden brown in the center. This should take about 10 minutes.
- Let the taco shells rest for about 1 minutes so that the solidify enough to hold a shape when you pick them up
- use tongs to drape the taco shells over your mold and let the shells cool for a few minutes.
Other cheesy recipes you will love
Are you looking for another fun way to use leftover slices of provolone cheese? Check out this recipe for keto cheese tostadas. These tostadas are made with one simple ingredient – cheese!
If you are in the mood for a cheesy keto friendly snack then you should check out this recipe for a jalapeño cheese ball. There’s no such thing as too much cheese!
If you like cheesy Mexican food, you should check out our recipe for cheesy pineapple quesadillas! These quesadillas feature caramelized pineapple, caramelized onions, and jalapeños and needless to say – they are absolutely packed with flavor.
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