Cottage Cheese Taco Bowl (Low-Carb)

My Cottage Cheese Taco Bowl is a low-carb and high protein bowl meal inspired by a cottage cheese bowl that went viral on Tik Tok! And I’m recommending a variety of different sauces that kick up the flavor of the cottage cheese bowls and don’t add many carbs!

PIN the Cottage Cheese Taco Bowl to try it later!

This Cottage Cheese Taco Bowl is my version of  a viral recipe that had sweet potatoes and hot honey, and I knew those ingredients wouldn’t be a hit with many of my readers. So I experimented with Kara to make a cottage cheese bowl with taco ingredients that was low in carbs!

And we loved the bowl meal we came up with that has perfectly-seasoned taco meat, cottage cheese, diced avocado, and diced cherry tomatoes! Kara and I both liked this plain, but it kicked up the flavor even more when we drizzled it with some kind of sauce that goes well with tacos. So in this post I’m recommending a few options for sauce, and all of them only add a few carbs if you use a moderate amount.

And whether you drizzle with sauce or eat it as you see it in the photos, this cottage cheese bowl meal is low in carbs, high in protein, and gluten-free. And you can make the meat for Weekend Food Prep and then enjoy this bowl meal a few times during the week! I hope you try it soon.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• lean ground beef
• olive oil
• Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning Mix (or you favorite purchased taco seasoning)
• zero-carb hot sauce such as Cholula Hot Sauce (affiliate link) or Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link)
• Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) or Salt Free Spike Seasoning (affiliate link)
• water
• cottage cheese
• cherry tomatoes
• avocados
• sauce for drizzling over the bowl, see options below

What meat did we use for the Cottage Cheese Taco Bowl?

We made the bowl meal you see in these photos with one pound of lean ground beef which has 9% fat. You could use higher-fat ground beef or ground turkey in this recipe if you prefer.

What zero-carb hot sauce did we use?

We tried this cottage cheese bowl with both Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) and Cholula Hot Sauce (affiliate link) and both were good. Those are a both hot sauces with zero carbs, but use any low-carb variety of hot sauce you prefer.

What cottage cheese did we use?

For the Cottage Cheese Taco Bowls I highly recommend you use full fat Good Culture Cottage Cheese (affiliate link). Not only is this brand extra creamy and flavorful, it’s also lower in carbs and higher in protein than most other cottage cheese.

How low in carbs are the Cottage Cheese Taco Bowls?

If you use the ingredients in this recipe and make four bowls, each will have 7 net carbs and 36 grams of protein. If you make the ingredients into 3 servings as shown in the photos, each bowl has 9 net carbs and 48 grams of protein. (Kara and I started out with the larger size bowl, but both of us felt it was more we’d eat at one time.) I am tagging this recipe as Keto, but for strict Keto you may want to use slightly fewer tomatoes.

How to make the low-carb Cottage Cheese Taco Bowl:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Heat olive oil, add ground beef, and break apart. (I love the Hamburger Meat Chopper (affiliate link) shown in the photo, but you can also just break meat apart with a turner.
2. Cook over medium heat, turning often, until ground beef is browned.
3. Then add Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning Mix (or purchased taco mix), zero-sugar hot sauce, Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) or Salt Free Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), and water.
4. Reduce heat and let meat simmer until water is evaporated, stirring a few times.
5. (You could make this with thawed Slow Cooker Taco Meat or Instant Pot Taco Meat if you have that in the freezer.)
6. Measure out cottage cheese. I recommend Good Culture Cottage Cheese (affiliate link), but use the brand you prefer.
7. Cut tomatoes in half, and cut avocado into medium-sized pieces..
8. (If you’re not going to eat all the taco bowl ingredients right away, only cut up as much tomato and avocado as you’re going to use.)
9. While the meat is hot, quickly assemble bowls with ground beef, diced tomatoes, chopped avocado, and cottage cheese.
10. Serve right away with your favorite topping for tacos or one of the sauces mentioned below.

What sauce could you use to drizzle on the taco bowls?

We thought the taco bowl meal was delicious just like you see it in the photos. But Kara and I also loved it with a simple sauce or dressing drizzled over the ingredients. Below are some things we tried. All these will add only 2 or 3 net carbs if you limit the serving size.

• We loved the simple Salsa Ranch Dressing we made by blending together equal parts Pace Picante Sauce (affiliate link) and purchased Ranch Dressing in the Magic Bullet or food process0r. This has just slightly over 1 carb per tablespoon.
• The other sauce we loved was Cholula Cremosa Sauce, Cilantro Lime (affiliate link), which was tasty and has only 1 carb per tablespoon.
• The first time we worked on the recipe we loved it with Cafe Rio Salad Dressing, with only 1 carb per tablespoon.
• My recipe for Southwest Ranch Dip would be delicious with the flavors in this bowl, and it’s extra low in carbs, with only 2 carbs in one-fourth cup!
• People who like Ranch Dressing on their taco salad might enjoy this with my homemade ranch, with about 1 carb per tablespoon.
• Roasted Red Pepper Aioli with Garlic has only 1 carb per tablespoon.
• If you have another type of low-carb purchased dressing that’s good with taco salad, that would also be delicious on these bowls.

Want More Ideas for Bowl Meals?

You can check out Bowl Meals to see lots of other low-carb meals served in a bowl!

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Yield: 4 servings

Cottage Cheese Taco Bowl (Low-Carb)

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

This Cottage Cheese Taco Bowl is my low-carb version of a cottage cheese bowl that went viral on Tik Tok. And everyone who likes cottage cheese and tacos will enjoy this high-protein bowl meal.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. lean ground beef (see notes)
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 tsp. Taco Seasoning (see notes)
• 2 tsp. Spike Seasoning (or Salt-Free Spike Seasoning, see notes)
• black pepper to taste
• 1 T zero-carb hot sauce (see notes)
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 small avocados, diced

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Add ground beef and break apart as it starts to cook. (I love the Hamburger Meat Chopper (affiliate link) for that, but you can also just break apart with a turner.
2. Cook, turning often, until all the ground beef is nicely browned.
3. Then add Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning Mix (or you favorite purchased taco seasoning), Spike Seasoning or Salt Free Spike Seasoning, black pepper, zero-sugar hot sauce such as Cholula or Green Tobasco Sauce, and water.
4. Let the meat come to a simmer over low heat until all the water is evaporated, stirring a few times.
5. While the taco meat cooks, prepare other ingredients. First, measure out cottage cheese. I recommend Good Culture Cottage Cheese, but use the cottage cheese you prefer.
6. Cut cherry tomatoes in half, and cut avocado in medium-sized pieces.
7. (If you’re not going to eat all the taco bowl ingredients right away, only cut up as much tomato and avocado as you’re going to use.)
8. Quickly assemble bowls while the meat is hot, with ground beef, diced tomatoes, chopped avocado, and cottage cheese.
9. Serve right away with your favorite topping for tacos or one of the sauces mentioned in the post.

Notes

You could also make this recipe with thawed Slow Cooker Taco Meat or Instant Pot Taco Meat if you keep that in the freezer.

I used Kalyn's Taco Seasoning. Use any brand you have on hand, and use more or less Taco Seasoning to taste.

If you don't have Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) or Salt Free Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), use any all-purpose seasoning blend.

I love both Cholula Hot Sauce (affiliate link) or Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) but use any zero-carb hot sauce you prefer.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION IS BASED ON FOUR SERVINGS. Check the post for nutrition amounts if you prefer to make only three servings.

Recipe created by Kalyn and Kara, and inspired by a viral cottage cheese recipe on Tik Tok!

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 440Total Fat 28gSaturated Fat 7gUnsaturated Fat 21gCholesterol 84mgSodium 428mgCarbohydrates 15gFiber 8gSugar 4gProtein 36g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
If you make the Cottage Cheese Taco Bowl ingredients into four servings, each will have 7 net carbs with 36 grams of protein. If you make three servings, each will have 9 net carbs and 48 grams of protein. This cottage cheese bowl meal should work for any phase of the original South Beach Diet if you use extra-lean ground beef, low-fat cottage cheese, and limit the avocado.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Bowl Meals to see more meals in a bowl! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.