Pancheros Mexican Grill is a fast-casual restaurant that serves freshly prepared Mexican food. Unlike other Mexican-style restaurants, each item at every Pancheros restaurant is made in-house from scratch every day.
Let’s see what are the keto-friendly options at Pancheros Mexican Grill.
Speaking of Mexican restaurants, how can we forget about burritos? It is one of the most famous Mexican food. But since we are talking keto here, what about a burrito bowl?
A bowl with everything inside a burrito without the tortilla.
Pancheros have a simple menu with customizable dishes. And most of their dishes consist of tortillas. It is tricky to find a keto option there. So, here are my suggestions to go keto at Pancheros Mexican Grill.
How to survive keto at Pancheros Mexican grill
Tortillas are a big part of Mexican cuisine. Some of the famous Mexican dishes like tacos, quesadillas, and burritos are made with tortillas. They are also consumed as tortilla chips with dips like guacamole.
Another infamous Mexican dish is salsa. Traditionally, they are made with smoked tomatoes, Chilies, Garlic, onion, and Cilantro.
They have a smokey, tangy and fresh flavor. Salsas come in varying consistency like chunky or pureed, dry or liquidy.
Mexican cuisine is made with simple and fresh ingredients. That’s why Pancheros Mexican Grill offers only a few items that are made-to-order. They use fresh-pressed tortillas and fillings that have consistent flavor with each bite.
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Ordering keto at a Mexican restaurant like Pancheros Mexican Grill:
- Whenever you are dining at Pancheros Mexican Grill avoid corn chips and tortillas. Tortillas are made with refined flour so they fall under the category of high-carb food.
- Avoid tacos and quesadillas since they are also made with tortillas.
- Ordering bowls and salads are a safer option because then you don’t have to deal with tortillas, and they are less messy.
- Avoid any types of beans and rice in your bowl or salad because they are high in carbs. But If you want beans then choose Pinto beans over black beans since they are slightly lower in carbs.
- Sauteed veggies on the side would be a good addition since they are a healthy source of carbs.
- In terms of dips and dressings, avoid Cilantro lime vinaigrette and Queso. Queso may have thickeners like corn starch and added sugar. As a better substitute order Sour cream or Guacamole.
- All the types of salsa like hot tomatillo salsa, and salsa verde are safe to eat on keto. The mild Ancho salsa is also safe to eat, however, avoid the roasted Corn salsa because they are high-carb.
Now let’s look at what to eat on keto at Pancheros.
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Keto options at Pancheros Mexican grill
The menu of Pancheros has only 6 items, however, you can create a variety by changing the ingredients inside a dish.
Note: Pancheros Mexican Grill doesn’t have a nutrition chart for each dish but each ingredient. So, after you have built your dish add all the necessary components to find the nutritional value of the dish.
Burrito Bowl
For example, a Burrito bowl at Pancheros comes with Marinated and grilled meats or Tofusada, whole pinto or black beans, rice, cheese, and salsa.
You can either order it with marinated and grilled steak, chicken, carnitas, or with Tofusada. Order it without beans or with pinto beans. And you can also choose among different types of salsas.
However, ask the server not to add rice to your bowl.
All of these create a different tasting bowl and vary in nutritional value.
Nutrition information
Calories: 270 kcal
Total fat: 6.5 g
Net carbs: 4 g
Protein: 14 g
The nutritional value above is contributed by Steak (1.4 Oz), Shredded cheese (0.6 Oz), and Mild Ancho salsa (2.16 Oz). It will vary if you choose other combinations and quantities.
Salad
Another dish you can order is their Salad. Their salads consist of Lettuce topped with your choice of marinated and grilled meats or Tofusada, whole pinto or black beans, cheese, choice of salsa, and Cilantro Lime Dressing.
Remove the beans and Cilantro lime dressing because they are the major source of carbs here.
Nutrition information
Calories: 310 kcal
Total fat: 9 g
Net carbs: 4 g
Protein: 16 g
The nutritional value above is contributed by Lettuce, Carnitas (2 Oz), Shredded cheese (0.6 Oz), and Hot Tomatillo salsa (1.74 Oz). It will vary if you choose other combinations and quantities.
Salsa
What is a Mexican dish without its fresh, tangy, and spicy salsa? Here are the keto-friendly salsas you can order with your Burrito Bowl or Salad.
#1. Pico de Gallo (1.5 Oz)
Pico de Gallo is the chunkier version of salsa and It is less liquidy. It has tomato, cilantro, onion, serrano peppers, and lime juice.
Nutritional information
Calories: 10 kcal
Total fat: 0 g
Net carbs: 2 g
Protein: 0 g
#2. Mild Ancho Salsa (2.16 Oz)
The Mild Ancho Salsa is generally eaten with tortilla chips but you can also have it mixed with your salads and bowls. Its main ingredients are dried Ancho chile, tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro.
Nutritional information
Calories: 15 kcal
Total fat: 0 g
Net carbs: 3 g
Protein: 1 g
#3. Medium Salsa Verde (1.62 Oz)
The salsa verde is made with tomatillos and green chilies hence it has a green color. It is a spicy salsa and has a puree-like texture.
Nutritional information
Calories: 10 kcal
Total fat: 0 g
Net carbs: 2 g
Protein: 0 g
#4. Hot Tomatillo Salsa (1.74 Oz)
This is similar to salsa verde in texture and ingredients. It is made with tomatillos, jalapenos, onion, cilantro, and lime juice.
Nutritional information
Calories: 15 kcal
Total fat: 0 g
Net carbs: 1 g
Protein: 0 g
Dips
You can order dips to go on top of your burrito bowl or salad.
#5. Guacamole (2.1 Oz)
Who doesn’t like the creamy and tangy guacamole? It is eaten with chips but you can add them to your salad to add some creaminess and heart-healthy fats.
Nutritional information
Calories: 70 kcal
Total fat: 7 g
Net carbs: 2 g
Protein: 1 g
#6. Sour Cream (1.4 Oz)
It is a thicker and sour version of traditional cream. Unlike other dairy products, it is low in carbs. It is eaten as a dip with chips and is a staple in Central American cuisine.
Nutritional information
Calories: 80 kcal
Total fat: 7 g
Net carbs: 1 g
Protein: 1 g
Protein
Their meat are battered and grillled so it increases their carbs count so keep the serving small. To keep your order vegetarian order their tofusada instead of meat.
#7. Chicken (1.4 Oz)
Enjoy a healthy salad with chicken and sour cream along side sauteed veggies.
Nutritional information
Calories: 40 kcal
Total fat: 1.5 g
Net carbs: 4 g
Protein: 5 g
#8. Steak (1.4 Oz)
Enjoy the tenderness of steak with tangy and spicy Ancho salsa in a burrito bowl.
Nutritional information
Calories: 50 kcal
Total fat: 1.5 g
Net carbs: 1 g
Protein: 10 g
#9. Carnitas (2 Oz)
Carnitas are small pieces of pork that are braised or roasted and are tender and juicy.
Nutritional information
Calories: 90 kcal
Total fat: 4 g
Net carbs: 1 g
Protein: 12 g
#10. Tofusada (1.3 Oz)
The tofusada is marinated in Pancheros house sauce and sauteed on high heat till it gets crispy and golden brown in color.
Nutritional information
Calories: 40 kcal
Total fat: 2 g
Net carbs: 2 g
Protein: 4 g
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Conclusion
Pancheros Mexican Grill is not a place where you go to have three courses of a meal but a place to grab a quick bite. It has a few of the most popular Mexican dishes which you have to modify to eat on keto.
A Burrito Bowl and Salad are the best choices. You have to remove some ingredients like rice and beans to lower the carbs.
You can choose the type of meat and salsa that goes in the bowl. Or you can also make it vegan by substituting the meat with Tofusada.
Order some vegies and guacamole to make it more filling. Familiarising yourself with the menu will help you choose the suitable ingredients.
Just follow the tips given here and you can order keto at Pancheros Mexican Grill.