Taco Pie Made with an Almond Flour Crust
Taco pie
Amber Dahnke
This taco pie turned out so well that it is going to become a regular feature dinner in our home. I am trying to eat less wheat and sugar and am trying to keep the family eating better. I have been looking at the Paleo diet and finding recipes to try that the family might like. This taco dish is inspired by a few recipes I have seen online. I recently ran across a video about making almond flour and decided it would be a good thing to try to make.
The almond flour turned out great and was so easy to make with my Cuisinart blender. I now intend to use almond flour much more in my baking, since it is healthier than regular flour. It only takes a few minutes to reduce the almonds down into a flour-like texture. It is grainier than traditional flour, very similar to cornmeal. It was fairly crumbly after being cooked, but it was also extremely flavorful crust! Once it is out of the oven, top with cheese and tomatoes. Garnish with lettuce, avocado, red peppers, sour cream or salsa. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as my family does!
Making the almond flour from whole almonds
Amber Dahnke
Sifting the flour into a large bowl
Amber Dahnke
This is the final texture of the flour
Amber Dahnke
In this picture, you can see the almond butter starting to form in chunks, I will use the leftover chunks in breakfast muffins
Amber Dahnke
Browning the meat and onions
Amber Dahnke
Press the dough into the pie pan to form the crust
Amber Dahnke
Cook Time
| Prep time | Cook time | Ready in | Yields |
|---|---|---|---|
20 min | 35 min | 55 min | 4 - 6 servings per pie pan |
Ingredients
- 2 Cups almond flour
- 1/3 Cup Butter, melted or clarified
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 lb. ground chuck
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 packet taco seasoning
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced
- 1/2 Cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 tomato, diced
- pinch salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- If you do not have almond flour on hand, don't worry, it is really easy to make at home! I was looking online at prices and it is much cheaper to make your own flour with whole almonds than to buy the flour in the store. I was surprised how quickly my Cuisinart blender reduced the almonds (unsalted) into flour. Pulse the machine a few times for about 20 seconds each. The almonds should break down rather quickly into small pieces. You do not want to blend too much or it will turn into almond butter and it really sticks in the blender.
- Sift the flour into a bowl to keep the large almond pieces out of the flour. The large pieces can be ground down into smaller ones a couple of times. Remember, if you blend too long, you will end up with almond butter. I do plan on making this in the near future, but didn't want it today. I will use the large chunks of almond that didn't reduce well in some muffins that I'm making later for tomorrow's breakfast.
- Melt your 1/3 cup butter in the microwave or a saucepan. Add this to the two cups of sifted almond flour and 1 tsp of salt. Blend until you get a mealy dough. Spread this into a pie pan to form the crust for the taco pie.
- Heat a skillet with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add the onion and saute until the onion is almost clear. Add the ground chuck to the pan and brown it. Then add the taco seasoning plus 1 tsp cumin and cook on low for about 5-10 minutes. Drain the grease from the ground chuck and add it to the pie pan. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes. The crust will be very crumbly and yummy.
- Top with cheese, tomatoes and your choice of other ingredients. My kids would not eat it with all of those toppings so we keep it simple. To make this a true Paleo dish, you would need to get rid of the cheese (and sour cream) and make sure you use clarified, unsalted butter, or ghee, when making the crust.
Comments
dobo700 from Australia on October 29, 2012:
Sounds delicious, I will have to give this this one go. :)
Amber White (author) from New Glarus, WI on October 27, 2012:
Thank you for checking out my recipe! I have been eating leftovers today, yummy! tacos were always my favorite as a kid. Hope you enjoy it if you try it! Almond flour can be used in most recipes and as I'm finding seems to be healthier than wheat flour, so I like the idea of using it more myself.
Helen Murphy Howell from Fife, Scotland on October 27, 2012:
What a delicous and awesome looking recipe this is! I haven't actually heard of almond flour before but I'm going to have a go at using this with a couple of recipes - including this one!
The instructions and photographs are excellent as well and are a huge help to someone like me who needs good and clear guidance!
Wonderful hub + voted up and shared!!
