Taco Bowls with Cauliflower Rice

Your new favorite quick and easy meal - Low Carb Taco Bowls with Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice! They are packed with lean ground turkey, bell peppers, red onion, and homemade taco seasoning all served on a bed of cauliflower rice with lime and cilantro.

These easy low-carb taco bowls are so good you will want to eat them all week long and luckily you can! These taco bowls are perfect for meal prep. 

Lately, I have been struggling a bit when it comes to lunch. Usually, I rely on leftovers to fuel my lunchtime meals but lately, we haven't been leaving too much in the leftover department. Hungry family, I guess.

That's led to more take-out than I would like to admit and some pretty strange mishmash lunches using whatever is in the fridge. This weekend I set out to change things up and do some lunchtime meal prep.

We also love these Chicken Taco Bowls, Meditteranean Bowls, and Asian Rice Bowls for easy meal prep.

Ingredients and Swaps

• Ground meat: Make these easy taco bowls with ground turkey, ground beef, ground chicken, or ground pork. You can also use vegetarian ground meat.
• Bell peppers and onions: To add more veggies and flavors, I like to add cooked peppers and onions. Swap in any veggies you like.
• Taco seasoning: Taco seasoning is the easiest way to add tons of taco flavor without tons of ingredients. Use homemade taco seasoning or your favorite store-bought option. Taco seasoning is made with a combination of chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, and pepper.
• Cauliflower Rice: Make your own cauliflower rice from scratch or use prepared cauliflower rice from the frozen food aisle for faster prep. Swap in regular rice, beans, or veggie noodles if you prefer.
• Cilantro and lime: Cauliflower rice can be very bland so adding lots of fresh cilantro and lime juice ensures it is flavorful and delicious.
• Taco bowl toppings: The toppings are what take any taco bowl to the next level! You'll want to shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, shredded lettuce, salsa, and any other toppings you love.

How to Make Cauliflower Rice Taco Bowls

Here's the secret to making these taco bowls in just twenty minutes. We also love these Rotisserie Chicken Taco Bowls and Fish Taco Bowls when we are short on time. 

First, brown the ground turkey with the taco spices. You can use homemade taco seasoning, store-bought taco seasoning, or even add some store-bought salsa. 

Then while that is cooking, defrost a bag of cauliflower rice in the microwave and chop the peppers and onions. Remove the cooked turkey from the pan and add the peppers and onions. Feel free to add any other veggies you like. Add a sprinkle of taco seasoning if you like to make sure every bite is full of flavor. 

While the vegetables cook, it's time to flavor the cauliflower rice with fresh lime juice, lime zest, and cilantro.

Now since this dish is only about 250 calories, I like to bulk it up or I will be hungry an hour after lunch. Usually, I serve it a few different ways during the week to keep things interesting.

One day I will add some black beans and avocado. The next day I may melt some cheese on top and scoop it into some corn or low-carb tortillas. Sometimes I even drop this into a bowl of canned black bean or tomato soup. Just make sure to add anything you need to ensure you will be full and satisfied. 

Tips for Making these Meal Prep Taco Bowls

Follow these easy tips for making these tacos bowls for meal prep.

• Change the protein: You can use any ground meat for this recipe including ground beef, ground chicken, and vegetarian crumbles for a meatless version. You can also use chopped chicken breast or chicken thighs, like the leftover meat from these chicken tinga tacos.
• Packaged cauliflower rice: To keep things simple, I recommend using frozen cauliflower rice instead of making your own. I find it costs about the same and is so much faster than getting out your food processor.
• Add beans, rice, or corn: If you want to bulk things up, add some canned beans or corn. You can also mix some brown rice or quinoa in with the cauliflower rice. 
• Taco bowl toppings: When serving it, add your favorite taco toppings - avocado, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, lime juice, or salsa
• Serve it in tortillas: Feeling extra hungry? Serve this all wrapped up in some warmed tortillas for a lower-carb burrito or tacos. It also makes a killer quesadilla filling. 
• Switch up the way its served:  Turn this bowl into easy taco lettuce wraps so the meal doesn't feel the same every day.

What's in a taco bowl?

There are so many different elements you can include in a taco bowl but here are the essentials that should be a part of any great taco bowl in my opinion.

• Protein: I always start with protein when building a meal prep bowl. For a taco meal prep bowl, you can use virtually anything - ground meat, chicken breast, beef, pork, shrimp, fish, or tofu. Spice it up with taco seasoning or cook it in your favorite salsa. You can also use some salt and pepper and add all the flavor with the salsa and topping. Favorite protein options include carnitas, chicken tinga, shredded Mexican beef, and machaca.
• Rice or whole grains: The next step is to add some rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa, or another grain. Anything goes here and make sure to kick up the flavor by adding some fresh lime juice and cilantro. Chipotle's rice is famous for a reason.
• Beans: Although this recipe doesn't contain beans because I wanted a low-carb option, normally I would include some black beans or pinto beans. You could also use canned black soybeans for a lower-carb option.
• Veggies: My philosophy is to pile on all the veggies. Usually, I will meal prep mine with fajita vegetables, like in the recipe, and then to serve I will add lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, and avocado.
• Salsa: Grab your favorite salsa and pour it right on top. Any salsa will work including this tasty green salsa, red salsa, or even a spicy hummus or black bean hummus. 
• Toppings: Lastly add all your favorite taco fixings - cheese, guacamole, sour cream or yogurt, cilantro, baked tortilla strips, or anything you would normally put on a taco.

Best Cauliflower Rice Taco Bowl Toppings

There are many ways to top these bowls, but here are some of our favorites.

• Green salsa
• Ranchero sauce
• Pico de gallo
• Corn salsa
• Black beans or pinto beans
• Pickled onions
• Guacamole or avocado
• Shredded cheese or queso fresco
• Cilantro 
• Diced onion
• Jalapenos
• Shredded lettuce
• Sour cream or Greek yogurt