Keto Blackened Chicken Tacos w Cilantro Cucumber Slaw
Taco night is still a “go” on the Keto diet! Hard taco shells are made with a shredded Mexican cheese blend. If you don’t have shredded Mexican cheese available to you, shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese are the perfect substitutes. Each taco shell is filled with chopped blackened chicken that’s savory and just a little spicy. On top of the chicken is a scratch-made cilantro cucumber coleslaw to cool the palate and add extra crunch. There’s room to spare for more of your favorite Keto taco toppings, so include them at the dinner table! Keto taco toppings include shredded lettuce, sour cream, sliced avocado, chopped tomatoes, and guacamole. This recipe shows the macros for just 1 taco, so you can include as many as you like in your food log. The recommended serving size for a meal is 2 tacos.
How to Make It
Step 1
Prepare the coleslaw by combining shredded green cabbage in a mixing bowl with diced cucumber, diced cilantro, mayonnaise, lime juice, and salt. For the cabbage, you can use pre-shredded cabbage that comes in a bag or freshly shredded cabbage from a head. For the cucumber, make sure to really dice it into small pieces to ensure the slaw fits nicely in your tacos later. Stir the slaw together, wrap it, and set it in your refrigerator to marinate for at least 1 hour.
Step 2
Next, you can make the taco shells. Grab a large muffin tray and set it aside upside down by your stove, Then, select an 8” or 10” non-stick pan, and spread a ½ cup of shredded cheese out into a circle in the pan about 6” wide. Heat the pan over low heat on the stove, leaving the cheese to melt in a circle. As the cheese melts, use a spatula to push the edges into an even circle and fix any uneven areas. Wait for the cheese to melt, bubble, release excess fat, and harden into a dark orange circle.
Step 3
Now, the cheese should be able to release from the pan while maintaining its circular shape. Use the pan and your spatula to gently tilt the cheese circle towards your overturned muffin tray, sliding the cheese between the muffin tins until it folds into a hard taco shell. At this point, the cheese will stiffen very quickly. Repeat this process of making taco shells until all of them are made. When all the taco shells are made, set them aside somewhere safe until you assemble your tacos later.
Step 4
For the tacos, cut boneless, skinless chicken breast into strips or tender-sized pieces. If you’re able to buy your raw chicken pre-cut as tenders, this will shorten your prep time significantly. Pat the tenders dry with a paper towel and add them to a small mixing bowl. Toss the tenders in olive oil first until they’re coated. Then, season the chicken with all spices listed. If your chili powder seasoning does not include salt, you may wish to include an additional pinch of salt when seasoning the chicken.
Step 5
Heat a non-stick skillet over high heat without any extra oil. Once the pan is hot, place the chicken tenders in it. Let the chicken tenders cook on one side undisturbed until the spices blacken and naturally release from the pan. Flip the tenders over and reduce the heat to medium-high. Cook undisturbed once again until the spices blacken on the other side and the chicken is cooked through. You can adjust the heat as necessary to avoid burning your pan.
Step 6
When the chicken is done cooking, let it rest for 5 minutes before chopping it into small pieces for your tacos. Bring the coleslaw out of your refrigerator and mix it together one final time. To assemble a taco, fill a hard shell with about 1 oz of chopped chicken. Fill the taco with ~1 ½ oz of cilantro cucumber slaw or serve the coleslaw on the side. At your discretion, you can include other Keto taco toppings you enjoy.
Ingredients
- Cabbage
4 oz
- Cucumber
4 oz
- Cilantro
1 oz
- Mayonnaise
4 tbsp
- Lime juice, fresh
2 tsp
- Salt
0.5 tsp
- Mexican blend cheese
4 cup, grated
- Chicken Breast Boneless Skinless Raw
12 oz
- Olive Or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
0.5 tsp
- Classico Seasoning Chili Lemon With Lime
1 tsp
- Chili powder
0.5 tsp
- Paprika
0.25 tsp
- Garlic powder
0.25 tsp
- Black pepper
0.13 tsp