Shared by DeniseM
I recently assisted my friend Karen from Honduras in making some soup. As she handed me various vegetables to chop, I came across some light green produce that I initially mistook for pears. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were something else entirely. Curious, I asked Karen what they were. She told me they were chayotes, a popular vegetable in her country as well as in Mexico. She mentioned that they can be used in soups, salads, and stuffed with ground beef and cheese, among other things.
Well, I’m very intrigued, so as our soup was bubbling away, I googled “chayote” and was blown away! I found it was a summer squash, so Virta-approved, and technically, it is a fruit rather than a vegetable. I wanted to check out the carb count specifically, but I also found out how healthy and nutritious they are, very low carb and low calorie, and how they really are a keto superfood!
Here’s the nutritional information. Very rich in nutrients and antioxidants!
Here are some of the amazing health benefits of chayote. This is a great article from healthline.com and a few excerpts. All the benefits just blew me away!
So important for those of us with diabetes and even for people without diabetes!
I’m telling my pregnant daughter-in-law about this one!
Not many complaints here!
Here are some ways to prepare chayote from WebMD. It is versatile and can be prepared in many different ways!
Beef Short Rib Soup with Chayote
This is the soup that started my chayote adventure! Very easy to make, and you can just make it your own with whatever veggies and seasonings you like. But this is what Karen and I did to make this delicious soup. Very easy, and all quantities are very much to taste.
Started by taking two long racks of short ribs and cutting them into smaller squares, about the size of four postage stamps. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper, or I use a seasoning salt. Then, sear the short ribs in your oil of choice until lightly browned.
Remove from pan and add one chopped onion, and add butter if necessary. Sauté onion for about five minutes, then add minced garlic to taste. I like a lot of garlic, so we added two heaping tablespoons, then add in any other veggies at this time. We used large chopped chayote, yellow squash chunks, some poblano peppers, spinach, zucchini, and mushrooms. All would be good! Also, a large can of crushed tomatoes would be delicious, but we didn’t add that.
Then pour in a couple of cartons of beef broth or stock, and return the short ribs back to the pan. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper, or any other seasonings you like.
Then just let everything simmer for about 30 minutes. Enjoy a great bowl of soup!
Chancletas in Tomato Sauce
The next day Karen made Chancletas in Tomato Sauce. Wow, so good! Chancletas means flip flops in Spanish. I’m not sure of the direct correlation with the recipe name, though. I need to ask Karen!
This YouTube video shows exactly how Karen made her Chancletas, except she used a type of quesadilla cheese instead of mozzarella. I think any melty cheese would work. See a more detailed description of how this great dish was made, as well as how to make the yummy tomato sauce.
Cream of Chayote Soup
I LOVED this soup so much. Creamy chayote goodness! Read the full description of the cooking process. I did omit the potato to make it keto with all the chayote.
Chayote Gratin
This turned out amazing. I changed the recipe just a little. I did not cut the chayote into strips but used round slices, and I switched the cheddar cheese with Gruyère cheese, but I’m sure the cheddar would be delicious. Havarti would be another good choice. I also garnished the top of the casserole with fresh thyme.
I bought the chayote at Walmart and they only had four small ones, so a very small casserole, but Karen buys chayote at a local Mexican market and they are larger, more plentiful and less expensive there.
My casserole and dinner plate are served with Keto Copycat Cracker Barrel Meatloaf, cauliflower rice, and avocado. So good!
Chayote Hash
I had a large box of mushrooms, so I just added the entire box, a bit different than the recipe suggested. So my version is a little more mushroomy! Read all the details of my cooking process.
Chayote in Salads or Sliced as a Snack
Chayote are wonderful added to salads and I will just keep them sliced and in the fridge for a a very healthy low carb snack! I just love them and all you have to do is add a whole chayote to boiling salted water and cook until tender. Approximately 30-40 minutes depending on the size and how many are in the pot. The seed you will see in the center is edible, but some people like to remove it. You could also just add it to soups like this!
This was delicious! I was so surprised at how much like apples this tasted. I used brown sugar Allulose for the sweetener and did not add any additional regular granulated sweetener. I think this is my new favorite keto dessert! You’ve got to try it!
I will definitely be making more chayote recipes, so be sure to check back! I hope I’ve presented some convincing evidence to include chayote in your keto journey. Maybe don’t let it take over your life like I’ve let it with mine! Ha!
Wishing you good health and happiness,
Denise🩷