This post may contain affiliate links. Full disclosure policy
This Low-Carb Taco Board is a tasty solution for low-stress entertaining! With a delicious array of toppings, guests can take what they love and skip what they don’t. Perfect for families and picky eaters!
Why Boards Are the Perfect Solution for Picky Eaters and Easy Entertaining
Oh, how I wish boards had been a thing when my kids were little!
Seems every family has at least one picky eater, don’t they? I had three boys, and two of them had very distinct opinions about what they would and wouldn’t eat.
Naturally, each child’s “won’t eat” list was completely different. So, no matter what I served, somebody was going to end up very unhappy – including me! Boards like my Low-Carb Taco Board are an ideal dinnertime solution for families with picky eaters.
Really, boards are a good option for anyone, especially if you’re looking for a fun, low-stress way to entertain. Once you’ve assembled and arranged the ingredients, you just walk away and let folks serve themselves. That means you’ll have more time to enjoy your guests!
I’ve shared a few boards on the blog before, including my Grilled Romaine Salad Board and a really yummy Brunch Board.
But I just came up with a new one that I think you’re going to love – especially if you’re trying to cut down on carbs.
Low-Carb Tacos: The Lettuce Cup Swap That Actually Works
Like a lot of people, I’ve been trying to cut down on carbs.
Recently, I ate at a Thai restaurant and had some chicken lettuce cups. They were just delish and pretty low in carbs. That gave me an idea – why not do the same thing with tacos?
This concept is super simple. If you replace the taco shells with lettuce leaves, you’ll have a taco with pretty close to zero carbohydrates.
Heart of romaine is the perfect lettuce cup for these tacos. They’ve got a nice deep pocket to hold lots of toppings. The leaves hold together without spilling the fillings, and they’ve got a nice crunch.
And the best part? Tacos in lettuce leaves taste just as good as regular tacos – especially if you pile on your favorite toppings!
What You Need to Make a Low-Carb Taco Board
I’ve got a list of the ingredients I used on my board below. However, deciding what to serve on your taco board is really up to you! You can use my suggestions, or add your own.
Also, I’ve made my board low-carb by using lettuce cups instead of tortillas or taco shells. But if you really want regular tacos, go ahead and add some to your board. Low-carb or regular tacos, it’s all going to taste great!
The Protein
- Ground Beef – You can always use ground chicken or turkey, if you prefer. Shredded pork or chicken would work great, too!
- Taco seasoning – I like McCormick’s taco seasoning. It just makes everything simple. You could also use a blend of your own spices.
- Onion
The Best Lettuce for Taco Cups
- Heart of Romaine lettuce leaves – use a small to medium-sized leaf with a nice, firm pocket in the center
Toppings and Add-Ons
- Cheese – use more than one type if you want!
- Avocado
- Minced Jalapeno
- Salsa – use one type of salsa or a few, it’s up to you
- Chopped tomato
- Sliced scallions
- Chopped cilantro
- Sour cream
- Taco shells or chips – these obviously aren’t low carb, but you can always include them if you’d like.
- Whatever else you can think of! Pineapple? Bell Peppers? Tomatillo? It’s your board, add whatever you want to it!
How to Assemble Your Low-Carb Taco Board
Something I love about this board is that there is very little cooking involved!
The only thing you need to cook is the ground beef. I cooked mine on the stovetop with a little oil, onion, taco seasoning, and water. That’s it!
Apart from that, you just put the other ingredients into small serving bowls and arrange them on the board with the taco meat. The last step? Ring the dinner bell and let everybody dig in!
(One thing to note. If you put any of the ingredients directly on the board instead of into serving bowls, either use a food-safe board or line the board with parchment paper.)
Print
Low-Carb Taco Board
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 T oil
- ½ large onion, chopped
- 1lb ground beef (can sub chicken or turkey)
- 3 T McCormicks Taco Seasoning
- ¾ cup water
- 8 to 12 Heart of Romaine Lettuce Leaves, separated with stem trimmed off
- 1-2 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
- 1 avocado, seeded and diced
- ½ cup salsa
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup shredded cheese (your choice of flavor)
- 2 scallions, white and pale green parts, sliced
- ½ cup red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 2 T chopped fresh cilantro
- Optional – taco shells, taco chips, other ingredients of your choice
Instructions
- Place oil in saucepan over medium heat, cook onion until soft and translucent. Add ground beef to cooked onion, cook until no pink remains, breaking meat up into small pieces with wooden spoon or spatula.
- Sprinkle taco seasoning over cooked meat, add water and stir. Allow taco mixture to simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until liquid is reduced and sauce is thickened.
- Place prepared taco meat into a bowl. Place all the other ingredients – except lettuce leaves (or taco shells) into individual bowls.
- Arrange the ingredient bowls on the board, along with the Romaine leaves (or regular taco shells, if using). If you’d like you can use fill the empty spaces between bowls with tortilla chips.
- Place serving spoons in bowls and enjoy!
