Keto at Del Taco: How to Stay Low-carb at Del Taco in 2023
Sometimes you just get the craving for some quick and easy Mexican food. Del Taco has traditionally been a popular place for me to nurse a hangover, but with all the tacos and tortas on the menu, it can be difficult to keep your carbs down when eating there. Fortunately for you, we’ve put together this guide to help your stay keto at del taco and enjoy some fast Mexican food without leaving ketosis.
Before eating at Del Taco
Sticking to an eating plan like keto will always require a little bit of research and preparation. So, before heading to Del Taco it would be wise to read through the menu beforehand and know what your options are. You can check out the Del Taco menu here.
Similarly, if you are being very careful about your macro ratios (whether for dieting or health reasons), you’ll want to have a look at the nutrition information which Del Taco also provide.
Tips for eating keto at Del Taco
Here are some quick fire tips to stay keto next time your want Del Taco:
- Go for bun-less burgers: unlike most Mexican joints like Chipotle, Del taco actually offer burgers which gives you the opportunity to enjoy a keto-friendly meal. Just make sure to ask for a bunless burger
- Avoid burritos and quesadillas: these dishes are not only high in carbs but they can’t really be opened up for you to avoid the tortillas. It’s been to go for things like burgers or tacos when the carb can be removed.
- No crispy chicken of battered fish: the crispy chicken and battered fish at Del Taco are both high in carbs so you’ll want to stick with the grilled meats.
- Be careful with salads: the salads themselves can be a great keto option because of the grilled meats and cheeses. Just be careful of the dressings as they can often sneak a lot of carbs in your dish.
- Go with salas, guac and sour cream: unlike some other chains, Del taco make these fresh which mean they don’t have a bunch of added carbs and sugars. When possible, use these instead of the other sauces on the menu.
- Cruchy over soft: While it’s certainly better to ditch the shell altogether, if you do have a little room for carbs then you should go for the crunchy shell over the soft one. The soft taco shells contain far more carbs so is a definite no-go.
- Load up on fats: Del Taco offer extras like guacamole, bacon and cheese, if your feeling extra hungry, load up on these options to avoid the temptation to break.
- No dessert: the entire dessert menu it filled with sugary treats and unfortunately not keto friendly. Just have an entree and maybe make dessert at home.
- Diet sodas: you can order a diet soda to go with your meal – just remember that these still contain some carbs so drink in moderation and make sure you’re tracking them.
What to order at Del Taco?
Here are the best things to order from the Del Taco menu while staying low-carb.
Breakfast
Most of the breakfast dishes come with a tortilla, so just make sure to ditch it and stick to the fillings. The easiest way to do this would be going with the double cheese tacos or the breakfast rollers as these haven’t been pressed. Also remember to avoid the hash brown sticks as these are just pure carbs.
Salads
All the choices here can work well as long as you avoid the added chips. I will say the Taco Salad with Fresh Guac (Seasoned Beef), Taco Salad with Fresh Guac (Carne Asada) and Taco Salad with Fresh Guac (Grilled Chicken) are better than the Taco Salad with Fresh Guac (Beyond Meat®) as the beyond meat option does use more carbs. However, if you are also going vegan that don’t worry too much. Just again, avoid the chips and extra sauces.
Burgers
As long as you avoid the bun, all the burgers on the Del Taco menu can be a good choice. If you’re hungry I’d say the Bacon Double Del® Cheeseburger is the best choice. But remember, don’t order any fries of crispy chicken.
Tortas
I’d typically avoid these but if you take off the bread you can get away with it. Of these, the best bet is the Carne Asada & Queso Torta without bread.
Tacos
Most of the tacos can work pretty well if you eat it without the shell. I would recommend avoiding options like the Beer Battered Crispy Fish Taco or Original Crispy Jumbo Shrimp Taco as these items are battered and therefore have unncesarry extra carbs.
If you do have some carbs to spare and really want to hit a craving, the Crunchy Snack Taco only has 8g of carbs so you could potentially have this and not break ketosis. Just obviously the wary of overeating.
Burritos
Again, the main thing here is you want to avoid the wheat tortilla . Just make sure to go for things like the grilled chicken in things like the Del Combo Burrito while avoiding extra carbs in things like the Epic Crispy Chicken & Guac Burrito.
Drinks
Stick to either diet sodas like Diet Coke or just something simple like water. Anything else will be filled with tons of sugar which is obviously not keto friendly.
What to always avoid
The following menu items are just too high in carbs that can’t be avoided so I would recommend just not ordering them:
- Desserts: nothing on the menu is keto friendly.
- Quesadillas: because these are pressed and grilled, avoiding the tortilla is simply not possible.
- Nachos: these are just tortilla chips and cheese so obviously not keto friendly.
- French Fries: these are another side that’s just too high in carbs.
- Sugary soda: anything other than diet soda will be filled with sugar.
- Crispy chicken: the batter these chickens are in is very high in carbs.
Summary
While Del Taco definitely has a lot of high carb options like quesadillas or trots, with a little bit of careful selection you can make low-carb options work. Stick to things like salads or tacos without the shell, bunless burgers and diet sodas and you’ll definitely be able to enjoy your Mexican fix while staying keto at Del Taco.
