If you've seen those viral Big Mac smash tacos on TikTok, you already know they look insanely good. We gave our Big Mac smash tacos a healthy twist by making them high protein and low carb by using low carb tortillas, lean ground beef, and our healthy Big Mac sauce.
Our smashed tacos are juicy, crispy, cheesy, and packed with everything you love about a fast food burger. They're just way lighter and more macro-friendly. Plus, they're ready in 20 minutes!
What Is the Viral Big Mac Tortilla Recipe?
The viral Big Mac tortilla recipe is a social media trend that takes all the classic flavors of a Big Mac (ground beef, cheese, pickles, onions, lettuce, and special sauce) and layers them onto a tortilla instead of a bun. The beef is smashed and cooked directly onto the tortilla, then flipped, topped, and folded like a taco. It's a fun, handheld twist on a smashed burger!
Things to Know Before You Cook
- Smash the beef onto the tortilla for best results, not into the pan.
- Use lean ground beef (we used 93/7) to keep things healthier yet flavorful.
- Low carb tortilla tip: We used Mission Carb Balance, but cloud bread, egg wraps, or lettuce wraps work too.
- Toppings matter: Cheese, pickles, onion, and our creamy special sauce make it taste just like the Big Mac classic.
- We include our healthy Big Mac sauce in the post, we also have a keto Big Mac sauce recipe on our site if you want to swap the burger sauce for a richer flavor.
💬 Fun fact: I first created a Big Mac-inspired recipe back in 2018 with my viral Big Mac salad, and it's still one of the most popular recipes on the site. So you know this flavor combo seriously holds up. For more fast food inspo, you'll also want to try our Big Mac casserole.
✨ Grab your free printable list of high protein foods to help plan more protein packed meals like this!
👉 Click here to get the list
How to Make Big Mac Smash Tacos
1. Make the sauce
Start by making the sauce so it has time to chill while you prep everything else.
Ingredients for the Big Mac Sauce:
- ½ cup blended cottage cheese (120g) (or more light mayo)
- 3 tablespoon light mayo (27g) - we used Best Foods brand (aka Hellmann's), it tastes the most like full-fat mayo.
- 2 tablespoon relish or grated or finely chopped dill pickle (30g)
- 1 teaspoon pickle juice
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar-free ketchup
- ¾ teaspoon yellow mustard
- ½ teaspoon monk fruit sweetener (or your favorite sweetener to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
🌟 Cottage cheese swap: Don't want to use cottage cheese? Just increase the light mayo and adjust seasonings or sweetness to taste.
Instructions:
- Blend the cottage cheese until smooth using an immersion blender or mini food processor.
- In a small bowl, mix it with all the remaining sauce ingredients.
- Stir until smooth and chill for at least 30 minutes so the flavors come together.
🌟 Make-ahead tip: This sauce keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days and tastes even better the next day.
📌 Grab the full sauce post here →
2. Prep the beef and heat your pan
Divide 1 lb of lean ground beef into 6 equal balls. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
🌟 Try this: Ground turkey or chicken also works great for a lighter option.
3. Smash the beef onto tortillas
Place each beef ball on a 6" low carb tortilla and press it flat until it nearly reaches the edges. Season with salt and pepper.
🌟 Lower carb swap: Try our cottage cheese cloud bread or 0-carb egg white wrap instead of a tortilla.
4. Cook the beef side
Place the tortillas beef-side down into the hot pan (in batches if needed). Cook for 2-3 minutes until browned and mostly cooked through.
5. Flip and melt the cheese
Flip each taco so the tortilla side is down. Turn the heat to medium-low. Add a slice of cheese on top of the beef, then cover the pan until the cheese melts-about 1 minute.
We recommend cooking one smash burger taco at a time so the tortilla gets nice and crispy.
🌟 Cheese ideas: We used American cheese to be as authentic to the original as possible, but shredded or thinly sliced cheddar, Colby Jack, or pepper jack all work great.
6. Add toppings and serve
Top each taco with shredded iceberg lettuce, minced onion, pickle slices, and a big drizzle of your homemade Big Mac sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds or everything bagel seasoning if you like!
🌟 No tortilla? Turn this into a Big Mac bowl with all the same toppings.
Makes 6 tacos. Serving size = 2 tacos.
FAQs
Are smash tacos and smash burger tacos the same thing?
Yep! Both terms refer to the viral TikTok trend where ground beef is smashed directly onto a tortilla, then cooked, flipped, topped with cheese and classic burger fixings, and folded like a taco. Some people call them "smash tacos" for short, while others use "smash burger tacos" since they have a burger-style flavor.
What kind of tortillas work best for smashed tacos?
We used 6-inch Mission Carb Balance tortillas for a low carb option that crisps up nicely without cracking. You could also use flour, gluten-free, or almond flour tortillas-just avoid anything too stiff or thick, or it won't crisp properly.
Are these smashed tacos keto?
They definitely can be part of a keto diet! Our version is made with low carb tortillas, high protein beef, and a cottage cheese-based sauce-making it much lower in carbs than many of the Big Mac smash burger taco recipes out there.
🌟 To make these even more keto-friendly: You can zero-carb egg white wraps or keto cloud bread instead of tortillas and be sure to use sugar-free ketchup and pickles.
Is this Big Mac Smash Taco recipe Weight Watchers friendly?
Yes, this is a Weight Watchers Big Mac smash taco recipe with a few easy swaps or tips. You'll want to plug it into the WW app based on the brands you use, our estimate as written is 7 points per smash taco.
- Choose a low-Point tortilla (Mission Carb Balance is a common pick)
- Use light cheese or go easy on the amount
- The sauce already uses light mayo and low-fat cottage cheese, which helps lower the Points.
✅ Nutrition Info (Per Taco - 6 servings)
Estimated using 93/7 beef, low carb tortillas, American cheese, and 2 tablespoon sauce per taco. 2 Tablespoons of sauce is a generous amount! You can cut it in half to reduce the calories and fat even more.
- Calories: 285
- Protein: 24.7g
- Fat: 17.6g
- Total Carbs: 23.4g
- Fiber: 17.2g
- Net Carbs: 6.2g
Healthy Hamburger Meat Recipes
- Blackstone Big Mac Smash Tacos
- Healthy Taco Casserole (Low Carb)
- Hamburger Green Bean Casserole
- Air Fryer Frozen Burgers
✨ Grab your free printable list of high protein foods to help plan more protein packed meals like this!
👉 Click here to get the list
If you loved our recipe, please leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and leave us a comment too! Connect with us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube!
Recipe
Healthy Big Mac Smash Tacos (Low Carb)
Equipment
- 1 large skillet or nonstick skillet
- 1 spatula
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef we used 93%/7% 454g
- nonstick cooking spray
- 6 6" low carb tortillas 43g, we used Mission Carb Balance
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup iceberg lettuce, shredded 72g
- ¼ cup sweet onion, minced 24g
- 1 dill pickle, sliced 35g
- sesame seeds or everything bagel seasoning
Ingredients for the Big Mac Sauce
- ½ cup blended cottage cheese 120g
- 3 tablespoon light mayo 27g
- 2 tablespoon pickle relish or grated or finely chopped dill pickle 30g
- 1 teaspoon pickle juice (skip if using pickle relish)
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar-free ketchup
- ¾ teaspoon yellow mustard
- ½ teaspoon monk fruit sweetener or your favorite sweetener to taste
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Make the sauce by combining blended cottage cheese with the remaining sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside in the fridge. For best flavor, make it 30 minutes before cooking.
- Divide the ground beef into 6 equal size balls. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray the skillet with cooking spray.
- With clean hands, flatten a ground beef ball until it's almost to the sides of the tortilla. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Continue with the remaining beef patties and tortillas.
- Lay the tortillas beef side down in the skillet. You may be able to cook multiple at a time depending on the size of your pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes until almost cooked through. Flip the tortillas over and turn the skillet down to medium-low.
- Add a thin slice of American cheese or cheese (or shredded cheese) on top of each beef patty. Cover the pan with a lid or baking pan until the cheese is melted (about 1 minute).
- Remove the smash tacos with a spatula and top them with shredded lettuce, minced onions, a few dill pickle slices, everything bagel seasoning, and a drizzle of Big Mac sauce. Enjoy! Recipe makes 6 smashed burger tacos.
Notes
- To get the tortilla nice and crispy, we recommend making one smash burger taco at a time. Putting multiple in a pan crowds them and keeps the tortilla from crisping up.
- Want a Big mac sauce without cottage cheese? Try our viral keto Big mac sauce recipe
- Adjust the seasonings and sweetness level to taste! Flavors can vary greatly depending on the brands you use.
Nutrition
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