Crispy Taco Cheese Cups Are A Great Low Carb Snack!

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These Taco Cheese Cups will be the absolute star of the show at your next party or family get-together. Cute, delicious, and low in carbs making them the perfect low-carb snack too! They will absolutely satisfy your Mexican food cravings!

I’ve got a collection of 70+ Mexican and Tex-Mex Recipes for you to try out – right-click and open them in a new tab to read next.

Taco Cheese Cups

The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions, to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required and understand the steps and timings involved.

These crispy cheddar cheese cups are the perfect solution when you are craving tacos, but don’t want all of the carbs that come with them.

The cups are made really simply using a little mound of Cheddar cheese, which is melted in the oven and then allowed to cool very slightly before being formed over inverted muffin tins!

They are then filled with taco-seasoned ground beef and topped with a blob of sour cream and some chopped fresh tomatoes and green onions. Chopped avocado would work well too.

Taco cheese cups make a great party appetizer, as well as a starter before a Mexican feast! They’d also work well as a dish to bring to a potluck.

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Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe

While most ingredients can be bought in grocery stores, for your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients and equipment needed for this recipe have been linked to Amazon or other stores if available online.

It may not include staple ingredients such as oil, salt, sugar, etc., as you’re likely to have those in your kitchen. The complete list of ingredients with measurements is found in the recipe card.

• Fresh Produce – Green Onion (Scallion/Spring Onion), Tomato, Lime
• Protein – Ground Beef (Beef Mince)
• Dairy – Cheddar Cheese, Sour Cream
• Ground Cumin
• Smoked Paprika
• Chili Powder – use mild or hot depending on your personal tastes and spicy heat preference!

Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog use both cup measurements and/or weighted measurements. American cups and kitchen food scales are handy pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen as it means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog. I try to give American, imperial, and metric measurements in my recipes. Please note, you can mix cup measurements with weighted measurements, but never mix imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.,) with metric (kilograms, grams, litres, etc.,).

More Recipes Using Cheese

One of the hero ingredients in this dish is cheese, so here are some more recipes using the same:

• The Absolute Best Five-Cheese Lasagna Recipe
• Stuffed Roasted Pears Appetizer with Bacon, Blue Cheese & Walnuts
• Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Cups – A Festive Party Appetizer

More Tex-Mex Recipes

Looking for more Tex-Mex dishes to make? Check these recipes out next:

• Taco Stuffed Avocados – A Low Carb Tex-Mex Dinner Idea
• Slow Roasted Pulled Pork Tacos
• Blackened Fish Tacos (Mahi-Mahi) with Coleslaw & Avocado Dressing

How Do I Make Taco Cheese Cups?

Check out the printable recipe card below with full ingredients and instructions. Any demonstration photos do not print out to save your ink.

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Taco Cheese Cups

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

These Taco Cheese Cups will be the absolute star of the show at your next party or family get-together.

Print

Ingredients

• 12 Tbsp shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 12 oz (340g) ground beef
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1½ tsp chili powder
• 2-3 Tbsp water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 scallion (green onion/spring onion), sliced
• 1 tomato, seeded and chopped
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
2. Spoon shredded cheddar cheese onto the prepared baking sheet using 1 tablespoon per mound. Lightly spread out, leaving 2-3 inches between each mound. You will be able to bake 6 at a time on a standard baking sheet.
3. Bake until the cheese rounds are melted in the center and the edges begin to brown. Set aside to cool for 1-2 minutes but do not let harden.
4. Lift each melted cheese rounds with a spatula and press on the back of an inverted muffin tin to form cups. The cheese will be very pliable while warm.
5. Allow the cheese to cool and firm up before removing the "cups" from the muffin tins.
6. While the cheese cups are hardening, add the olive oil to a medium pan over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is nicely browned. Drain any excess fat.
7. Add cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, and 2 tablespoons of water to the pan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, just until the spices become fragrant, and the meat is nice and juicy. If necessary, add an additional tablespoon of water to obtain the proper consistency.
8. Fill the cheese cups with taco beef, chopped tomato, scallion, and a teaspoon of sour cream per cup. Squeeze in some lime juice over the top and enjoy!
   
   

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 805Total Fat: 54gSaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 25gCholesterol: 251mgSodium: 379mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 73g

This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.

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Make It A Special Dinner!

You’ve made the appetizer, but what about the rest of the courses? (Suggestions may not be low-carb)

Here are additional recipes to create a menu for a special meal or dinner party:

• Soup: Loaded Cauliflower Leek Soup Recipe – Can Be Served Hot or Chilled!
• Salad: Mexican Chopped Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing
• Main Dish: How to Make Instant Pot Pork Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Porked)
• Side Dish: Quick & Easy Spicy Salsa Recipe
• Beverage: Frozen Mixed Berry Margaritas
• Dessert: Awesome Chunky Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe with Extra Peanuts!

There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy – please feel free to check them out too.

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