Looking for the easiest keto appetizer recipe? These zero-carb Keto Taco Cups are easy to make, unbelievably tasty, and so fun to eat! Plus, learn how to set up your own keto taco bar.
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Whoever first decided to make taco shells out of cheese deserves an award for the most brilliant recipe ever. It’s simple yet revolutionary and has probably led to a million “duh, why didn’t I think of that?!” comments over the years.
I was perusing some muffin pan recipes the other day and came across a recipe that used baked parmesan cheese to make mini cheese cups, and the thought struck me to go the cheddar cheese route and make mini Keto Taco Cups instead. (I thought this was sooo original until I fired up Google right before starting this post. Turns out I’m not the only one who thought this was a great idea!) They were a huge success.
Why You are Going to LOVE Keto Taco Cups!
- They are SO easy to make, unbelievably tasty, and so fun to eat.
- They make the perfect keto appetizer.
- Everyone will love them, keto or not. I had some taste-testers (aka family ;)) over and we devoured a dozen of these in the blink of an eye.
- They are perfect for a keto taco bar!
- You can make them plain or seasoned.
In this post, I’ll show you how to make Keto Taco Cups and I’ll show you where to find my easy Keto Taco Seasoning recipe for the ultimate keto taco experience.
What You Need for Keto Taco Cups
To make the cups themselves, you need shredded cheddar cheese and optional non-stick cooking spray depending on your baking tools. I highly recommend doing these on a cookie sheet covered with a silicone baking mat and in a silicone muffin pan. (I skipped my silicone cupcake pan for a prettier photo, but they’re easier to make with silicone.) Here is what I recommend:
Kitzini Silicone Baking Mat: These mats are great for easy clean-up! You do NOT need non-stick cooking spray if you use these mats.
Keliwa 12-Cup Silicone Muffin/Cupcake Pan: I love the convenience of this muffin pan. If you use this pan, you do NOT need non-stick cooking spray.
If you don’t use silicone, you’ll need:
- A non-stick cookie sheet + non-stick cooking spray (or oil)
- A non-stick muffin pan + non-stick cooking spray (or oil)
How to Make Keto Taco Cups
Step #1: Preheat oven to 350 F.
Step #2: The easiest way to make these is to use a cookie sheet covered with a silicone baking mat, as well as a silicone cupcake pan. If you aren’t using silicone, coat your cookie sheet and cupcake pan with non-stick cooking spray (or oil) for easy removal of the cheese cups.
Step #3: On your cookie sheet (preferably covered with a silicone baking mat), make eight circles using shredded cheddar cheese. Each circle is made from 2 tbsp cheese and should be approximately 3 1/2″ in diameter.
Tip: I read a great tip online to make the circles “lacey” (as in, leave some space between some of the cheese shreds) for the crispiest shells. You can see that I did this in the photo below.
Tip: To make taco-seasoned Keto Taco Cups, mix one cup shredded cheese (the amount you’ll use for eight taco cups) with 1 tsp Keto Taco Seasoning.
Step #4: Place cookie sheet in preheated oven and bake for 5-7 minutes until edges begin to brown.
Tip: Feel free to experiment with the 5-7 minutes baking range. I baked the cheese in the above photo for 7 minutes, which significantly browns the edges and makes them quite crispy, but they’re prone to breaking on the edges. In the muffin pan below, the cups in the left-most row were baked only 5 minutes. The cheese baked only 5 minutes was (as you would expect!) much more pliable when I pulled them off the cookie sheet and didn’t have any breakage issues, but they didn’t end up as crispy. I preferred the 7-minute cups.
Step #5: Remove cookie sheet from oven, let cool for 10 seconds, and then carefully remove each cheese circle and place inside a muffin pan slot to form a cup.
Tip: If some of the cheese circles begin to harden before you can remove them, place the pan back in the oven for a few seconds to make them pliable again.
Step #7: Let the Keto Taco Cups cool inside the muffin pan for at least 10 minutes before carefully removing the cups and filling them with desired fillings.
How to Make Keto-Friendly Taco Meat
You’re in luck… I have a recipe for that! Just head on over to my Keto Taco Seasoning recipe for a keto-friendly taco seasoning that will take you only two minutes to make.
What to Serve in Your Keto Taco Cups Appetizer + Keto Taco Bar Idea!
What I love about these Keto Taco Cups is you can play around with all sorts of different fillings! A few ideas:
- Seasoned taco meat (beef, turkey) — or skip this if you want to make vegetarian keto tacos!
- Sour cream
- Avocado
- Salsa (look for a jar without sugar for your lowest carb option)
- Shredded cheese
- Hot sauce
- Shredded lettuce
- Diced peppers
- … and more!
The best part of these Keto Taco Cups is they make the BEST Keto Taco Bar! Make the taco cups and let everyone add their desired fillings. (I usually guesstimate macros in situations like this, but you can go the extra mile and provide a food scale if some party-goers want to be 100% accurate!)
These Keto Taco Cups will certainly become a go-to recipe in your household. They’re just too good to resist!
For another easy keto recipe, make sure to try my Keto Crusted Buttery Chicken Casserole.
More Keto Taco Recipes
- You can eat tacos on the keto diet! Here is the recipe to help you make that happen.
- Eat your taco on our delicious cheese taco shells! You won’t regret it.
- Make this keto taco seasoning recipe for all of your taco dishes.
- Learn how to make keto taco casserole for the whole family to enjoy!
Keto Ground Beef Recipes
Need some more keto ground beef recipes? Here are some more that will satisfy your dinner needs!
- Learn how to make low carb cheeseburger casserole, you’ll be glad you did!
- You can learn how to make shepherd’s pie healthy for the keto diet by substituting this special ingredient for the potatoes.
- Make low carb meatball casserole for everyone as of your go-to keto Super Bowl food.
- You can eat low carb chili on the keto diet by following this easy recipe. And it uses this amazing homemade chili seasoning recipe!
- If you like the cheeseburger casserole then you are going to love this easy low carb cheeseburger soup.
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Keto Taco Cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- keto-friendly fillings as desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- The easiest way to make these is to use a cookie sheet covered with a silicone baking mat, as well as a silicone cupcake pan. If you aren’t using silicone, coat your cookie sheet and cupcake pan with non-stick cooking spray (or oil) for easy removal of the cheese cups.
- On your cookie sheet (preferably covered with a silicone baking mat), make eight circles using shredded cheddar cheese. Each circle is made from 2 tbsp cheese and should be approximately 3 1/2″ in diameter.
- Place cookie sheet in preheated oven and bake for 5-7 minutes until edges begin to brown.
- Remove cookie sheet from oven, let cool for 10 seconds, and then carefully remove each cheese circle and place inside a muffin pan slot to form a cup.
- Let the Keto Taco Cups cool inside the muffin pan for at least 10 minutes before carefully removing the cups and filling them with desired fillings.
Notes
- I read a great tip online to make the circles “lacey” (as in, leave some space between some of the cheese shreds) for the crispiest shells.
- To make taco-seasoned Keto Taco Cups, mix one cup shredded cheese (the amount you’ll use for eight taco cups) with 1 tsp Keto Taco Seasoning.
- Feel free to experiment with the 5-7 minutes baking range. I baked some cheese for 7 minutes, which significantly browns the edges and makes them quite crispy, but they’re prone to breaking on the edges. The cheese I baked only 5 minutes was (as you would expect!) much more pliable when I pulled them off the cookie sheet and didn’t have any breakage issues, but they didn’t end up as crispy. I preferred the 7-minute cups.
- If some of the cheese circles begin to harden before you can remove them, place the pan back in the oven for a few seconds to make them pliable again.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutrition facts are included as a courtesy only. They are accurate to the best of our knowledge based on the ingredients and brands used, but their accuracy is not guaranteed. If applicable, sugar alcohols have already been removed from the total carb count.
More Low Carb Family Meals
Learn how to make keto family meals that everyone will love! You can learn how to make keto-friendly pizza and make keto chicken casserole recipes.
On this site, you will find keto, low carb, gluten-free, and healthy recipes that don’t sacrifice flavor. 🍰 Thanks for visiting!
I have not tried the recipient yet, but look delicious. Let you know later.
Hi Carol, I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for visiting!
Hi! Super excited to try these! Did you use freshly shredded or pre shredded cheese? I wonder if it would make any difference with or without the anti-caking agents?
Hi Linds! For these, I’ve always used pre shredded cheese. I’ve never made them with freshly shredded, although I *think* it would turn out the same. Enjoy! 🙂