On its website, Ortega claims that Ortega Taco Sauce is the best-selling taco sauce in America, but is Ortega taco sauce keto friendly? While Ortega Taco Sauce isn’t overall the most Keto-friendly sauce out there – you might just be able to incorporate it if you practice caution. Let’s break it down.
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What Is Ortega Taco Sauce?
Ortega taco sauce is a tomato (and tomatillo, in the case of green version) and pepper-based thick sauce.
The big difference between the taco sauce and regular salsa is that all ingredients are pureed, which ensures a smooth texture.
Aside from tomatoes/tomatillos and paprika, all varieties of Ortega taco sauce contain; garlic, vinegar, salt, spices, cornstarch for texture, as well as preservatives such as citric acid, sodium benzoate, and xanthan gum.
Despite what the name may suggest, taco sauce isn’t just for tacos – it can be used in a variety of dishes, as well as a dipping sauce.
Nutritional Value Of Ortega Taco Sauce?
Ortega Taco Sauce may become a threat to your Keto diet unless you pay careful attention to the amount you consume.
Here’s a chart of the sauce’s nutritional value per 100g vs per 1 serving (defined by its producer as 1 tbsp/16g)
| Macros per 100g | Macros per 1 Tbsp (16g) |
| Carbs: 12.5 grams Protein: 0 grams Fat: 0 grams Fiber: 0 grams Sugar: 6.5 grams Calories: ~63 | Carbs: 2 grams Protein: 0 grams Fat: 0 grams Fiber: 0 grams Sugar: 1 gram Calories: ~10 |
Net Carbs In Ortega Taco Sauce
As there is no fiber and/or sugar alcohols in Ortega Taco Sauce, you get exactly what it says on the tin – the 2g of carbs per serving (which amounts to 12.5g of carbs per 100g of sauce) is the number of net carbs.
No need to do any math here.
Is Ortega Taco Sauce Keto Friendly?
Looking at the ingredients, Ortega sauce contains cornstarch, which is not keto friendly if you are undertaking a strict keto diet.
From this point of view, Ortega Taco Sauce isn’t particularly keto friendly, it nets far too high a number of carbs for that.
But the nature of the product itself complicates it all a little bit.
Adding 1 or 2 servings of Ortega Taco sauce to your meal isn’t likely to up the carb content to dangerous levels, unless the meal is already high in carbs, to begin with, this is if you are enjoying a non-strict keto diet which is more focused around the total carbs consumed and not as concerned with the quality of the ingredients that you are eating.
You should not be liberal with it, but adding a dollop to a cauliflower-tortilla taco isn’t going to kick you out of ketosis, as long as you stick to lower carb meals for the rest of the day.
What are the Best Keto Alternatives to Ortega Taco Sauce?
If you don’t want to waste precious carbs on a sauce, you can use a zero-carb hot sauce like Tabasco or Cholula for heat and/or make a keto-friendly tomato sauce at home yourself.
Or, you could make your own keto friendly taco seasoning.
Summary: Is Ortega Taco Sauce Keto Friendly?
So, Is Ortega Taco Sauce Keto Friendly? Yes and No! It is relatively high in carbs, and contains cornstartch, which is not keto friendly. From our point of view, as long as you are not eating a strict keto diet and you plan the carbs into your daily macros, you can still enjoy Ortega in moderation on a keto diet.
