Secret-Ingredient Grain-free Taco Shells (Paleo, AIP, and Vegan)
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Are you grain-free, but love tacos? You will love these Paleo Taco Shells. They're made with just a few simple ingredients and taste amazing!
If you've been trying to avoid grains, and are in need of some new recipes to add to your recipe box, these Grain-free Taco Shells are going to be a game changer.
They're made with a “secret ingredient” that you might not have cooked with much, and they work for most any special diet since they're paleo, AIP, gluten-free, and even vegan.
So what are they made of?
About Plantains
Ever notice those big giant freaky-looking banana-like creatures in the produce section?
Yes! The plantains!
You might have thought these same questions when seeing plantains in the store:
- Do you eat plantains when they're still green?
- Are they supposed to be so black like that if they aren't green?
- When are plantains ripe?
And so on.
As it turns out, plantains are quite versatile and can wear many hats in the kitchen.
You can steam plantains, fry them into chips, or mash them up for baby food, just like other bananas. What makes them different is that the green ones are much starchier, and much less sweet. Green plantains almost have the flavor of potatoes when cooked at this stage.
Once ripened, plantains can become VERY dark, much darker in fact than smaller bananas we peel and eat.
Once blackened, they become much sweeter, though not as sweet as their mini counterparts.
Paleo Taco Shells
When giving up grain, certain foods become MUCH trickier in trying to create, like tacos.
Thankfully, plantains have a perfect starchy disposition while naturally being void of inflammatory grains like corn.
Score!
To be fair, these plantain taco shells take a little extra work but they're an incredible substitute for those avoiding grains and dairy.
Of course, you are going to need Taco Seasoning for your Taco Shells, right? This Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe and AIP Taco Seasoning are both the perfect recipes to use with these shells.
Recipe Notes
- The somewhat sweet flavor of the ripe plantains goes really well with the savory fillings. You can use unripe plantains to avoid that sweetness (if you prefer shells that aren't that sweet) and reduce the carb content, but you might have to boil them first with the peel on to soften them.
More Grain-free Recipes You'll Love
- Paleo Pizza Crust – so good, we've eaten it without toppings!
- Grain-free Tortillas – super tasty.
Paleo Taco Shells (grain free & vegan)
Ingredients
- 3 ripe plantains
- 1/2 cup avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic sea salt (more if desired)
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional – you can use more if you like)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 (if your oven runs hot, you might need to lower just slightly)
- Combine all ingredients in blender until they are pureed. If using green plantains you will need a more heavy-duty blender or processor for this.)
- On a parchment lined baking sheet space out sizable scoops of the puree (you can use an ice cream scoop)
- Using the back of a spoon (or an oiled hand) spread out each scoop into a flat circle; mine were each out the size of my hand spread out (flat)
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until the “tortilla” becomes solid yet flexible
- Remove baking sheet from oven and wait a minute for “tortillas” to slightly cool
- Next “hang” each tortilla by folding it over the baking rack directly (see photo below)
- Bake like this for another 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. The center might be slightly more chewy depending on thickness and cooking time.
- Remove from oven and prop them open while they cool slightly. If they cool closed, they are harder to fill with taco fixins. Alternatively, you can also use this taco oven rack!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Have you worked with plantains before?
Wanna give it a shot?
Jennifer of Predominantly Paleo is a wife and mother of 3 in pursuit of better health for her family. After being gluten-free for 4 years, and having many health issues, there was still too much processed “food” in her pantry. Jennifer began feeding her family more meals from WHOLE foods and fewer from boxes. Her recipes are predominantly paleo, meaning they are free of grain, gluten, dairy, and refined sugar. But she does make allowances for a few treats and sweets. She believes food can be medicine when used appropriately and that a few changes now can mean huge benefits later.
I love this recipe. Next time will try w/all green, as this time did one green and two ripe and they were sweet. Excellet for breakfast tacos w/ a green spinach cilantro avocado salsa, eggs, and more plain spinach and avocado and TJ’s Hatch salsa. Yum! Plus I got a lot of shells, probably a dozen though I didn’t count. top and bottom racks were full of ’em hangin’!
YUMMMMMM! That sounds amazing! Wish I lived nextdoor!
I am diabetic and love tacos thought about trying this but when I looked I found out plantains have 57 get of carbs. I try to stay under 40 a day. Is there a certain type that may be better.
Greg,
I believe the greener they are the less sugar they have, but you may need to verify this. You might consider using less plantain and making it thinner like a tostada if you want to cut back on carbs. Good luck!
In some of the articles I’ve read they claim green bananas and plantains are undigestable starch so doesn’t spike insulin. I don’t know though. Its worth it to me to try it and see how it impacts my blood sugar (by testing it) because I don’t see myself going the rest of my lifetime without eating hard shell tacos or nachos.
Genius!!!!! While I usual just make taco salads out of convenience, it would be nice to change it up sometimes and these look so easy I am definitely going to give them a try! I never would have thought to use plantains as the base. Great idea. Pinning now! Stopped over from Real Food Wednesday.
Lauren you could try making these large enough to be a shell for your salads too! Hope you like them!
Hi Adrienne,
This recipe is amazing. I made bread with plantains once and liked it- I have 6 plantains in my refrigerator right now that I was too lazy to use. I can’t wait to try this recipe with the crock pot refried beans I’m making today.. visiting from real food Wednesday blog carnival. I just subscribed.
Hope you love them!
I think you just changed my life!
Well – yippee!
Can I use grapeseed oil instead of avocado? Yummy!
I have not used grapeseed oil for these in particular. You could try. Coconut oil is another possibility or even olive oil. Good luck!
Amazing! Pinning!
Wow, what a good idea! I bet they would work well cut up into nacho chips too! I might just try that!
Yes! I have also been experimenting with this!
What a creative recipe! I’ve never bought or tasted a plantain before but I got some this week to make plantain rice! I cant wait to try your taco shells too!!!
Have a great day!
-Cassidy
Hope you love them!
How many did you get from this recipe (just 3)??
I got about 6-8 taco shells from this recipe!
Do you know exactly how many shells you got? “about 6 to 8” do you mean sometimes when you make this recipe you get 6, and other times you get 8?
We have 3 plantain trees in our yard and we would mash them up and fry them (similar to hashbrowns) but we have Chinese plantains, which are a lot smaller than regular bananas, not bigger.
We can go to the market or the produce stands along the streets, to buy the bigger ones if we want. The smaller Chinese ones are almost as sweet as bananas, but the locals here in Panama just salt them and fry them.
I wish I lived near you – wow!!!