How to Order Low Carb at Taco Bell

Learn how to order low carb Taco Bell like an expert.

Get my Taco Bell low carb menu with basic macros and nutrition stats for all 35 of their low carb and keto-friendly options. It’s a great fit for keto Taco Bell eaters or anyone eating Atkins, low carb, low sugar, or diabetic friendly.

I’m on a mission to order low carb at the top 30 fast food chains in the US. For each fast food restaurant I evaluate:

1. Availability of low carb entrees (less than 20 net carbs).
2. Satiety of low carb entrees.
3. Price of low carb entrees.
4. Taste of low carb entrees.
5. Ordering experience.

Taco Bell has three locations within three miles of my house. For you geometry nuts, I live in the centroid of a Taco Bell triangle. If this were circa 2003, that would be perfect. As a present day low carb eater, not so much.

What to order

I ordered a Power Menu Steak Bowl (“no beans, no rice”) with extra guacamole, ground beef, and creamy jalapeno sauce.

It was damn good. Gone in 30 seconds. I ate it so fast, that I was left wanting. I should have ordered two. I had to eat sliced ham, pepper jack cheese, and banana peppers at the house to feel good & satisfied.

I went back again with my family a few weeks later and ordered another Power Menu bowl. This time it was a Power Menu Chicken Bowl (“no beans, no rice”) with extra chicken and nacho cheese sauce.

It was delicious. I really liked how the chicken was tender and juicy — not dry as I was expecting. The nacho cheese was a nice touch as well. The problem was that this dish wasn’t that filling. I felt like I could easily eat two or three of these before feeling full. To compensate, I had to eat the meat and cheese out of two soft tacos that my wife couldn’t finish.

While doing some Taco Bell menu research the morning of writing this post, I discovered that they offered breakfast and had something on the $1 breakfast menu called the Mini Skillet. It came standard with eggs, nacho cheese sauce, pico de gallo and potatoes. By removing the potatoes and adding some extras, I thought I could build a filling low carb breakfast with it.

So I raced back to Taco Bell at 10:30am to try it. I got the Breakfast Mini Skillet with no potatoes and had them add extra steak, bacon, and guacamole.

It was delicious. The best breakfast item I’ve eaten on this fast food challenge to date. The nacho cheese sauce added a creamy and indulgent flavor that I wasn’t used to for breakfast, but really enjoyed. At $3.45 the Mini Skillet was a steal.

What you should order

For lunch or dinner, I recommend a Power Menu Steak Bowl (request “no beans, no rice”) with extra guacamole, extra ground beef, and creamy jalapeno sauce.

That’s 395 calories and 9 net carbs. If you’re pretty hungry, I’d recommend ordering two.

You can omit the pico de gallo if you want to save yourself a few carbs.

For breakfast, get the Mini Skillet with no potatoes. For extra caloric boost & deliciousness, I recommend adding extra steak, bacon, and guacamole.

Get a glass of ice water as your drink.

What you can order

For lunch & dinner, you can get the Power Menu Bowls without rice and beans. You may also be able to order other items like ground beef tacos and special request that it’s put in a bowl without the tortilla (I haven’t tried this as of writing this post but the drive-thru operator at my location suggested it was possible).

For breakfast, you can get a Mini Skillet without the potatoes.

For both the Power Menu Bowls and Mini Skillets, you’re going to want to add extras for more calories to make them more filling. Here’s a sample of the ingredients you can add:

• Add Fire Grilled Chicken
• Add Steak
• Add Seasoned Ground Beef
• Add Bacon
• Add Guacamole
• Add Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Add Sour Cream
• Add Jalapenos
• Add Extra Nacho Cheese Sauce

In terms of customizing your bowls and skillets for optimal calories & personal enjoyment, it would be advantageous to study my low carb Taco Bell menu before going.

What you should avoid

Avoid all of Taco Bell’s rices, beans, potatoes, taco shells, chalupa shells, tortillas, tortilla bowls, tortilla chips, and desserts. They’re too high carb.

They don’t really have any tricky items on their menu that seem low carb, but aren’t.