An easy weeknight dish to satisfy your cravings for Mexican food that won’t break your calorie bank (and they’re high in protein, too).

Cinco de Mayo is coming up- and of course it’s on a weekday. I know, I want to go to a cheap Mexican restaurant and fill up on chips & queso and a massive quesadilla too. I also don’t want to be full for the next two days while I’m at work, or ruin my macros for the week. So what do you do? You make mini taco bowls made with lean turkey meat and fresh veggies. It IS still Cinco de Mayo though, so pair this with my Natural Skinny Marg for optimal enjoyment.

Why are these mini taco bowls a good choice?

At 330 calories and 33 grams of protein for 3 (super filling) taco bowls, you’ll end your meal satiated and glad you didn’t cave and go out (and you still get cheese). Seriously, these are filling. I can never eat more than three- even when I’ve had a few drinks. You can top these with any hot sauce or salsa for added flavor, and add any veggie you like. For this demo, I used red onion, a bell pepper, and diced tomatoes. Sometimes I’ll switch up the cheese and use a Cotija or Asadero cheese. These don’t melt as well, though.

What you need to make these delicious mini taco bowls:

• 1 Tbsp peanut oil (or whatever oil you prefer to cook turkey meat in)
• 1 pound 99% lean ground turkey (or 93%, this will add minimal calories)
• 1 packet of taco or fajita seasoning (I use Casa Mexicana Fajita seasoning)
• 12 corn street taco tortillas
• 1/2 cup Mexican cheese blend-shredded
• diced veggies of your choice- I use red onion, tomato, and peppers
• salsa or hot sauce of your choice
• non-stick cooking spray
• a 12 count muffin tin

Prep your pan, oven, & veggies

Pre-heat your oven to 375 F and heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. While these are warming up, dice your veggies and set aside. Measure out your cheese and set it aside.

Cook the turkey meat and form the taco bowls

For the taco bowls (do this first so they can cook while you’re cooking the turkey) wrap four tortillas at a time in a damp paper towel and microwave for 15 seconds. Arrange them into the muffin tin (coat with non-stick spray first). They should look kind of like flowers, as the picture below shows. The first image is before they are baked. Put them into the oven for 7- 10 minutes until they become slightly golden like the second image. They will become harder as they rest, so don’t worry if they seem a little soft. They’re going to go back in to melt the cheese on top and will finish cooking.

Cook the turkey meat in the pan you’ve prepped and add the seasoning. Lean turkey meat does not get very dark, so expect a white/off white color when it is cooked. Add the seasoning halfway through cooking. Assemble the turkey meat into the bowls and top with cheese. Pop these back into the oven for about 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Top your mini taco bowls & enjoy!

Add your toppings and enjoy your guilt free meal. These are perfect for a family dinner, or even as an appetizer for a party. If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t create this alone. I used to make street tacos frequently for my boyfriend and I, and one day he said “why don’t we try to make them into little bowls or something”. Thus, the mini taco bowl was born.

Drop me a comment and let me know what you think!