Healthy Zucchini Soft “Taco” Tortilla Shells
This popular zucchini tortillas recipe is one of our most popular recipes on our site, originally published in July 2015. It’s been a favorite low carb alternative to regular flour and corn tortillas.
Low Carb Tortillas Made with Zucchini
Last year in 2014 it started with this crazy zucchini tortilla inspiration because we couldn’t hardly find any reference to zucchini tortillas online. So we said “let’s make healthy zucchini taco shells!” Why not? Everyone was making pizza crusts with cauliflower so why not use up all this leftover zucchini? As odd as it many have sounded it actually has become one of our favorite year round recipes and can’t believe we’re finally sharing it almost a year later. We should have shared it right away when we made it last year, but our busy commercial photography lives got in the way.
When we drowning in zucchini recipes for our future magazine project, we had these zucchini soft taco tortilla shells on the top of our list. We invited 5 of our neighbors over for taste testing on the majority of our magazine recipes and these zucchini taco shells had some of the most enthusiastic responses. Maybe it was unique and something they had ever seen or tasted before. Or maybe it was healthy. What ever it was, it was always mentioned as the memorable and delicious tasting zucchini recipe they’ve ever had.
Think beyond the taco tortilla shell and these zucchini tortillas are also a great snack. We just made these again tonight and snacked on the shells alongside a martini and whiskey sour. That alone is a great pairing, you should try it with your favorite beer or cocktail! More taco recipes using these low carb tortillas coming to the blog soon!
-Diane and Todd
Video: Healthier Zucchini Tortillas Recipe:
Keto Friendly Options for Tortillas
Instead of using regular bread crumbs, there’s several ideal “breading” options to make these zucchini tortillas keto friendly. These low carb options are still delicious!
- Crushed pork rinds: for these tortillas to have the lowest carbs you can use crushed pork rinds. You can buy pork rinds already crushed or you can buy them in large pieces and grind them in the food processor. You’ll have a savory pork flavor in these tortillas.
- Almond Flour: use a little bit of almond flour for another low carb version. Using almond flour is an easy way to keep these tortillas vegetarian.
- Coconut Flour: this type of flour works great too.
How to Make Tortillas Made with Grated Zucchini (Tips)
- The key is to make sure to remove as much moisture as possible. We like to squeeze out the water with a paper towel. But don’t squeeze out ALL the moisture, as these tortillas need some during baking so they don’t burn and dry out. Once you make your first batch, you’ll know exactly how much moisture is enough to get the tortillas to your preferred texture.
- Some folks have also salted these grated zucchini to release water. This works great too but it’ll be seasoned with salt so no need to season any further.
- You can use yellow summer squash as well.
- Be patient when removing the cooked tortilla shells from the parchment paper. The zucchini tortillas can easily rip or tear, so it helps to take your time to ensure the tortilla releases in one big piece.
- Add some of your favorite seasonings to the mixture before forming them. We love adding lots of garlic powder. Or if you like spicy tortillas, add some crushed chili flakes.
- All recipe details are in the recipe box below.
Can you Freeze Zucchini Tortillas?
Yes, these freeze well. After they’ve been cooled, store them in air tight ziplock bags. Make sure to squeeze out all the air before sealing. These will freeze up to about 2 months. Try to eat them sooner than later because they will start to break apart and crumble when they thaw after being frozen for too long.
Healthy Zucchini Soft “Taco” Shells
Squeezing out as much excess water in the grated zucchini will make the taco shells a little more “firm”. One method is to microwave the zucchini till moisture releases, then squeezing out the water. Or lightly sautéing the zucchini for a few minutes, then squeezing out the water. Just be careful to not cook the zucchini too much or use too much oil, or else you’ll get mush.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (950 ml) zucchini , coarsely grated
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup (50 g) grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup (30 g) bread crumbs , or crushed pork rinds or almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Equipment
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 450°F/230°C.
- After grating the zucchini, remove as much moisture as you can from the zucchini. We like to use a paper towel and squeeze the water out of the grated zucchini.
- Add zucchini to large bowl and mix in remainder of the taco shell ingredients (egg, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, and cumin).
- Cover baking sheets with parchment paper or oven proof baking mat. Scoop about ¼ cup of mixture and press down on baking pan into a thin circle, about 5” wide. Repeat for remainder of mixture.
- Bake shells for about 25 minutes, or until the shells look “crisp’ and brown around the edges. We like to bake the shells a little longer for a more charred texture and flavor. Just be careful to not bake too long or else the shells dry out and are hard to peel off.
- After zucchini soft taco shells are cool, gently peel them off the parchment paper.
- Serve with your favorite taco stuffing, scrambled eggs for a breakfast taco or eat as a snack.
Tried freezing them and if so?
Laura- no we haven’t tried freezing them yet, but hoping a reader does and let us know the outcome!
This recipe is straight genius! Love it!
What is the outcome of cooking on a griddle sprayed with nonstick?
If you really want remove as much water as possible, you could shred the zuchinni and then add a tablespoon of kosher salt, toss and let sit 30 min.. Then squeeze off the excess water which will have wept out by now and rinse the salt off and dry. This same trick is used for crispy hash browns and will work wonderfully.
Fun idea! I might try with almond meal instead of bread crumbs.
Have you tried the almond meal yet? My daughter can’t have the bread crumbs so I was thinking like you.
I used almond flour instead of bread crumbs…less than 1/4 cup. Looked just the pictures. I used my leftovers to make me a grilled cheese sandwich with sliced avocado. It didn’t get crisp like today but still….yum! I also only had a smallish zucchini …less than 3 cups grated. Still turned put fine..just fewer tortillas made.
I’m looking forward to gluten free substitutions that others try. I don’t do gluten free bread. The recipe sounds yummy though! Can’t wait to hear what others try.
Hi Gina, I put a gluten free english muffin, 1/2 cup corn meal and 1/4 cup flax seed meal in the food processor to make my breadcrumbs. Once processed I used 1/4 cup of that mixture. The flax seed meal is a good binder.
I would think adding salt first let it sit for a bit would get more moisture out as once u add salt it’s going to create a lot of unnescary moisture right back in that u have tried to get rid of if that makes sence lol
Meagan- yes, that totally makes sense! But so far, the small amount of salt didn’t seem to have release too much moisture because it went straight into the oven. But it’s definitely a thought for anyone who makes the mixture the night ahead. Thanks!
This idea is the BOMB! I have a veggie garden + it’s summer, which means more zucchini than we know what to do with (as you know). I can’t wait to try these. Thanks for sharing! 😀
Would these freeze well?
Hi Jeannine – we’ve never frozen them, but if any reader has we’d love to know how it works!
I was wondering the same thing…wanted to use them instead of flour tortillas for breakfast burritos for the freezer. I may just try it anyway.
This looks fab! Anything I can sub for the parmesan?
Those look delicious! Like zucchini crepes. And zucchini and Parmesan is a winging combo always! Will use homemade GF breadcrumbs for them, have to try!
These look phenomenal. I love zucchini noodles, so I’m guessing I’ll love these. Love how pliable they look!
What a terrific idea! It seems to me that they are a bit like very thin zucchini patties, which everyone loves! Thanks for your innovative recipe! Definitely making these.
Do these keep well if made ahead of time or do they have to be made right before eating?
MaryAnn- They still taste good when they’re cold, but just not as soft.
Do you think that I could sub almond or coconut flour for the breadcrumbs? I’m carbohydrate-challenged and this looks fantastic — I’m about cauliflowered out. 🙂
Yes, you can use try to use it. We don’t see why it would’t work. Let us know how it turned out!
How about Flax? I find that as a good low-carb replacement!
Do you think I could use pork rings in place of breadcrumbs for low carb?
Hi Donna, we’ve never cooked with pork rings to replace breadcrumbs before. It does sound interesting. If you try it, please let us know how it turns out!
They look amazing and I’ve always wanted to make zucchini pizza crust but never have…these look even easier! I love that they’re baked and not fried and that it’s just really just zucchini, cheese, and breadcrumbs. I can totally see how snacking on them would be great with a drink in hand 🙂
Can I use shredded fresh parmesan instead of grated parmesan? (By grated parmesan I assume you mean the kind in the jar.)
Hi Penny- We used the fresh parmesan, not the kind in the jar. So it’s the same as your interpretation of shredded fresh parmesan. Thanks!