Low Carb Tortilla Chips with Homemade Salsa

One of the many many many (I could literally repeat this word a thousand times and still not feel like it conveys my feelings accurately) foods that I miss while on Keto are Chips and Salsa. I LOVE going to our favorite Mexican restaurant and pigging out…when not on Keto of course. :) Along with the Covid risk, that has also imposed a little hold on going out to restaurants, in general, even if you are going to eat Keto while out. I decided enough was enough. We WERE having tacos with a side of chips and salsa, and nothing was going to stop me. Except for my husband’s disdain for fresh salsa…but, it wasn’t going to deter me too much. I just tried to alter it a bit so it wasn’t a pico.

I’m a simple girl, and I love to use canned tomatoes, so don’t judge me for that in this recipe. The ease is a blessing sometimes. Feel free to go with fresh if you have them. Also, we’ve recently started being able to harvest jalapenos from our little plant, so what better time to make salsa than now? Below is the salsa recipe. We’ll get to the chips in a few.

Homemade Salsa

2 can tomatoes, drained
2 medium jalapenos, stems removed, but everything else goes in
Cilantro to taste – I used about 8 sprigs. If you like a lot, use a lot.
1 small onion, peeled and halved
5 garlic cloves, peeled – This gave a strong garlic flavor, so back it down a clove or two if you don’t like a strong garlicky salsa.
Pinch of salt and pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend it until it’s to the consistency you prefer. Since I was trying to avoid the pico style, I blended and blended to try and get that restaurant quality texture. Refrigerate, and the longer you refrigerate, the longer the flavors have to meld together.

I served it in a taco bar arrangement of sorts with taco meat, shredded cheddar, queso and lettuce. In the end, it was still too “fresh” for the husband. However, it did get a better approval than the last time I made it. So…that’s something. :) I might explore adding in a little dab of tomato paste next time to rich it up a bit. Thoughts?

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For the tortillas, I used our stash of Mission Carb Balance Tortillas. I know our carb count is super low during the day, so at night, we can afford to have a little extra. These were so incredibly easy to make, and I will DEFINITELY be making them in the future. The quantity below made enough for maybe 3-4 “I slightly like chips and salsa” people, but in all honestly, it was only enough for the two of us “I REALLY like chips and salsa” people. I also had some El Terrifico Queso Dip from Food Lion, and that stuff is beyond amazing to dip these chips in as well.

Low Carb Tortilla Chips

5 Mission Carb Balance Flour Tortillas, fajita size (4g net carbs each version) – We’ve seen these mainly at Food Lion, but I do see that Target has them. Also sure Walmart would have some version
Avocado Oil
Salt, and whatever other seasoning you might like on your chip (garlic powder?)

Directions

Brush both sides of each tortilla with the avocado oil, and stack like pancakes. Mmmm…pancakes. Then use a pizza cutter or large knife, and cut them into whatever size or shape you want your chips to be in. Lay them out on a large pan covered with parchment paper, and sprinkle them with salt and any additional seasonings. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Flip halfway through the baking time. Mine took a little bit longer than 15 minutes, so just start keeping an eye on them around the 12 minute mark. Definitely flip them halfway through though.

Serve your chips and salsa with Lettuce Tacos, and enjoy! I purchase the artisan heads of lettuce from Harris Teeter. They tend to be better taco boat shapes, in our experience, without having too much lettuce to wrap up before trying to bite.