Keto friendly tortilla chips that actually stand up to all your favorite low carb dips and salsas. These homemade tortilla chips are easy to make and have less than 1g carbs per serving. They truly satisfy that need for crunchy snacks! Watch my video to see just how easy they are to make.
Looking for crunchy keto snacks? Look no further than these keto nacho chips, a recipe that I created for my first cookbook, The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen.
What a hit these truly crunchy low carb tortilla chips are. When I was first writing my book, I played and experimented a lot to get this keto chips recipe just right. And when I hit upon the magic formula, they were so good, my family devoured them all in one sitting.
Good thing that they have almost no carbs per serving! And they are the perfect accompaniment for my Sugar-Free Margaritas, too.
I didn’t want to just do the old toasted cheese crisps. Those can be delicious but they are just cheese and they just don’t taste like real tortilla chips. Plus the amount of dairy can be a bit hard on the tummy.
What’s a good tortilla chip lover to do?
Enter the ever beloved keto snack: pork rinds
Are Pork Rinds Healthy?
After the bad rap pork rinds got during the low fat era, many people are still pretty freaked out by the liberal use of them in on the keto diet.
I am not one to advocate for eating pork rinds all day every day, but they can indeed be part of your healthy keto diet. I think it really depends on a few factors. The kind of pork rinds you choose to purchase plays a significant role here.
I truly love the pork rinds from 4505 Meats, because they clearly care where their pig skin comes from and source only from small family ranches that embrace humane animal welfare practices. No factory farms for them!
If it’s the pig skin angle that worries you, consider the fact that you are reducing waste by eating the whole animal. Our ancestors ate so much more of the animals than we do and it’s good practice to follow in those ancient footsteps. And people have been eating chicharrones (aka pork rinds) for centuries.
Want to try making your own homemade chicharrones? It’s laborious but fun!
The healthiest pork rinds are actually those that are fried in their own fat and not in other extraneous oils. Shocked? Well you might be, with the emphasis on unsaturated fats for a healthy diet. But the fat from pork rinds cooked in their own lard is actually 43% unsaturated and most of that is oleic acid.
Not to mention that lard doesn’t become unstable at high temperatures as some fats and oils do. So it’s the ideal fat for deep frying.
Have I convinced you of the relative health benefits of pork rinds? Again, they are a snack food and not meant to be your only source of nutrition. But they are a good choice for keto snacking and they are the secret ingredient in my super crunchy low carb tortilla chips.
Tips for Making Low Carb Tortilla Chips
I’ve made these chips numerous times and I’ve nailed down my process here. Here are my best tips for success
- If you grind your own pork rinds, be sure to measure them out after you grind them. They are so light and fluffy in their whole from that it takes quite a bit of them to make 1 ½ cup of crumbs. You’re looking at 3 to 4 ounces, at least.
- If you purchase them already ground, I like the ones from Pork King Good. The chicharonnes they use are fried in their own animal fats so that’s good news.
- Grinding your own pork rinds does mean the chips may be a bit chunkier looking, since it’s hard to get them as fine as the commercial ones. But it still works really well, you just may not be able to get them quite as thin.
- Roll out your dough on parchment or a silicone mat. They will cook a little faster on the parchment, since it’s less protective, so watch them closely.
- How thin you roll them also matters. I love the thin ones because then I get more chips out of the dough but they do crisp up faster. I actually burned one batch while making this video!
- The taco seasoning can be storebought but be careful of the brand. I like the ones from Primal Palate as I know they have no junkie fillers.
How to Serve Keto Tortilla Chips
Okay, seriously, do I really have to answer this? The real question is… what won’t you serve with them? They truly are sturdy enough for salsa and guacamole.
But here are some other delicious keto dip ideas:
Low Carb Tortilla Chips
Ingredients
- 2 large egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups crushed pork rinds
- 1 cup shredded Mexican or cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300F
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites with the salt until frothy. Stir in the pork rinds, cheese, and taco seasoning until well combined.
- Turn the mixture out onto a large piece of parchment paper and pat into a rough triangle. Top with another piece of parchment and roll out very thinly, to at least 12 inches by 12 inches. Remove the top piece of parchment and slice the bottom piece onto a large baking sheet.
- Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to score into 2 inch squares, then score each square diagonally into 2 triangles. Bake 20 minutes, until the chips are starting to turn golden, then turn off the oven and let them sit inside until firm to the touch. This can be anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes, so watch them carefully.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely before breaking apart along the score lines.
Jane says
Hi there. I made the recipe, and the results were tasty, by the chips were the texture of chewy. What did 8 do wrong?
Was the ground pork supposed to be packed?
Carolyn says
It’s not ground pork, it’s pork rinds… just want to make sure you didn’t use ground pork!
Lisa Blunt says
Awesome in taste… epic fail in appearance and crunch 🙁
Would it be advisable to melt the TexMex cheese before adding to the rest of the mix? I ended up with a very tasty but kinda oily shredded cheese crepe of sorts lol
Or different cheese?
Wish I could add a picture lol
Hmmm… any thoughts Carolyn?
Carolyn says
No, you’re really supposed to just mix it in. Did you roll it thinly enough? What pork rinds were you using?
Betsy Meehan says
Hi Carolyn, i am definitely becoming dependent on your recipes- they all work so well!
I’m looking for a great taco shell/ tortilla. I’m wondering if you’ve ever tried making this recipe into tortillas and maybe not baking them quite as crispy so they could bend?
Looks like they could honestly taste like a corn taco shell!
Carolyn says
They wouldn’t work for the flexible tortilla type wraps although they might work for taco shells.
Catherine LaGrange says
Thanks again Carolyn. Another wonderful recipe. Made 2 batches today and we ate them plain! 1st batch, I must not have rolledthem out evenly and the middle ones did not crisp up. Solution… poped them in microwave. the amount I had required 30 sec.. Once cooled they were crispy.
Ellie says
Carolyn, Thank you for your recipes (and !
Do you think chicken chips (like Flock) would work the same in this recipe if I crush them up like pork rinds or would you recommend some sort of adjustment in the other ingredients?
Carolyn says
I honestly have no idea!
Julie Charette says
Love these. I cheated a bit, adding a whole egg and a little almond flour. Then once the dough was made, put my dough balls in the microwave for about 30 seconds. That made the dough pliable. I put a little almond flour down to help with rolling. I made sure they were good and brown, assuring a crisp chip. They turned out great! Carolyn, I think you make the BEST KETO recipes ever! Thank you.
Rhonda says
I love these. From Canada with love omg. So I made the taco ones and tonight I made ranch. They are amazing taking some to work tomorrow to see what the work team thinks. Should I tell them they are keto…. maybe haha. I just love your videos you explain it all so well. My keto life is going great thanks to you.
Brandi says
These are so freaking incredible!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!
Kelly says
Are they supposed to be on the greasy side? In mine got really dark your video seemed a tad darker but I think mine was darker than that how do we know when to pull them out of the oven
Carolyn says
If they’re dark, take them out. The grease will re-absorb as they cool.
Lexi says
Hi Carolyn,
Will any type of cheese work i.e. Mozzarella or Jack? Does it have to be finely shredded? Thanks!
Domino Truitt says
Thanks Carolyn for all your hard work. I’ve been following you for a while and am never disappointed!
Much appreciated
Carolyn says
Thanks!
Lynn says
Last night I had so much trouble making these!! My “dough” would not hold together, so it was difficult to roll and score – it kept falling apart. I used the ingredients exactly as written in the recipes. I went back and looked at the video again and can honestly say that the 2 large egg whites in your bowl looked about double the amount of my 2 large egg whites. I guess this is why my “dough” would not hold together. Maybe in Canada our large eggs are smaller than yours. I will try making them again with more egg whites but would love to know how much whites you get from your 2 large eggs. Like how many tbs or oz? Nobody has mentioned if these can stand up to using in beef nachos, but I am going to try.
Carolyn says
They can stand up to nachos, if you can get them to hold together. My egg whites are usually about 3 tbsp, but it varies egg to egg, of course.
Being Canadian, I can assure you that “large eggs” in both the US and Canada are about the same. Not sure what’s going on for you. Is the dough crumbly or is it wet?
Lynn says
My dough was crumbly.
Carolyn says
Good to know. So yes, not enough egg white. If you just want to buy carton egg whites and add enough until it resembles my dough, that should work.
Diana says
I love your recipes and look forward to trying this one!
What flavor pork rind do you use in this recipe?
Thanks
Carolyn says
Usually just salted.
Candice says
My bf and I tried these with sour cream dip for movie night and we’re hooked! Any chance you could develop a recipe like Doritos cool ranch??
Carolyn says
Well, I think I’d just do these and then some ranch seasoning! Bet you could make it up. 🙂
Renita says
These are sook good. How do you store them though? In the fridge or can you leave them out?
Carolyn says
Do NOT put them in the fridge, they will become chewy and awful. Just on the counter, not even covered, unless you live in a humid climate.
Lisa says
Thank you Caroline for a wonderful recipe as well as so many others! Honestly, I don’t know how you handle the snarky comments, people just slay me! Please know that many of us appreciate and utilize your delicious recipes and are dismayed by the lack of respect in some of the comments.
Carolyn says
Just like anyone, I have my good days and bad days…sometimes I handle them more gracefully than others!
Matthew says
My wife and I want to try eliminating as much cheese as we can. Is there a substitute we can use for the cheese? Thanks
Carolyn says
Honestly I don’t know. You would try more pork rinds.
Teresa Hickey says
I made these last night. I ground up my own pork rinds in my vitamix and the results were beautiful and smooth (2 4oz bags ground down to 1 3/4th cup). I had a bag of original and a bag of bbq, so ground them together, which I couldn’t really taste bbq in the end product, that I know of anyway. Will have to try again with just original and see if its different lol. I did have to bake about 10 min longer, maybe due to our high Colorado altitude, but they turned out great. They really do satisfy that crunch we are all missing with chips. Thank you! I really enjoy your videos and recipes.
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it!
Lee Ann says
Do I have to add the taco seasoning?
Carolyn says
Not if you don’t want to!