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.
“Is there anything I can use to substitute the zucchini? I am vegetable intolerant.” Come on people, if you know your diet restrictions you should know your substitutions too. Leave the poor people alone. I understand some people can’t eat wheat and some people can’t eat dairy and some people are vegan. Do your own homework.
Can’t wait to try this
These are in the oven and smell but even using less than a quarter cup I still only got six. Did I not pack the zucchini down enough?
Do you have nutritional information on these? Thanks
Sorry, no we don’t.
I plugged the ingredients into my MasterCook recipe software, and obtained the following nutritional information:
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 55 Calories; 2g Fat (38.4% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 30mg Cholesterol; 192mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fat.
Calorie count?
Not sure, but high on delicious.
I plugged it into My Fitness Pal and it came up with 55 calories apiece if you get 8 out of the recipe! Blows flour or corn tortillas away!! I’m thinking about making bigger ones to use making sandwich wraps.
Do you have a suggestion to substitute for the egg?thnx
Crystal, I am vegan, so use powdered egg substitute. It has worked the same as eggs in any recipe so far.
you can also use 1 tbsp flax seed meal and 2&1/2 tbsp water to make a “vegan egg”. Google it and you will find more info
Hi Crystal, You could use 1 tbsp flax seed meal and 2&1/2 tbsp water to make a “vegan egg”. If you google it you will find more info!
This looks like a great concept and as a vegan was wondering how the recipe could be tweaked? I can use egg substitutes , whole grain bread crumbs, but I know the melted cheese is critical to the chemistry of why this works….ideas for a functional substitute? Thanks!
I’d add a tablespoon of ground flax seed, or crushed chia seed. They’ll both absorb the moisture from the zucchini and become gelatinous enough to hold everything together. You might even need to add a teaspoon or two of water if they zucchini isn’t juicy enough. 😀
I am wheat free so will try this with another type of flour. Rice flour will not do so maybe almond flour or coconut flour. I will let you know how it turns out when I try it.
Garbanzo bean flour would work well
Please let me know, I am also wheat free and I was thinking the same thing…Sounded great and then I saw the bread crumbs in the recipe.
I am planning to use gluten free bread crumbs…I toast UDI white bread and make crumbs in my food processor 🙂
I was wondering the same thing. I also thought about using oatmeal ground up in my blender. I just tried these last night and they were amazing. I hope to hear about your trial of different the different flour used.
I tried these last night with Alton Brown’s steak recipe: http://altonbrown.com/steak-on-coals/. Then topped the meat with homemade pico de gallo and lime juice…..so amazing!!
I have one question: I’m lactose intolerant. Is there something I could do to replace the parmesan cheese? Like maybe add more bread crumbs?
I just recently heard you can replace the cheese with brewers yeast. It actually tastes very similar to the flavor cheese adds to recipes. I am making mine right now and did this. Hopefully I’m right! LOL!
Wait! I was told that there was no lactose in cheese, was I misinformed?
take a look here for lactose & cheese info:
http://lifehacker.com/the-best-cheeses-to-eat-if-youre-lactose-intolerant-1563386663
Can’t wait to try this!! Looking into substitutes for the parmesan and bread crumbs. Saw flax and yeast suggestions. I imagine that rice flour would work, it’s gluten free.
Can you tell me which of your Pinterest boards this is pinned on? I cannot find it under healthy or zucchini.
if you scroll in the upper left corner of any of the picture the pin it comes up or right at the end of the recipe it says pin 😉
Omg my husband ate 4. Used traditional hamburger, taco seasoning, cheese, lettuce, tomato, taco sauce. Better than regular taco shells!
These taco shells are a big newsflash to me! Holy smokes they look good and there’s zucchini in there, wow wife is gonna love this. She’s always trying to get me to eat more veggie to help with my cholesterol.
These are absolutely so creative! I have to try them sometime!
Zucchini is everywhere this summer, we can’t wait to try them as our taco shells! They look delicious, but very delicate — any tips for how to keep them in one piece after cooking?
I wonder if you can use frozen grated zucchini? After it is thawed
Is there a non-dairy substitute for the parmeson?
We haven’t tried any substitutes for the cheese. Maybe someone else out there has and can answer.
Try nutritional yeast, available at health food stores. Tastes like parmesan. And at my local store, it’s available in the bulk section.
My daughter can’t have dairy so she uses goat cheese
Sarah, health food stores sell non-dairy parmesan in a can. The Daiya cheeses are also wonderful substitutes, & they freeze well!