Taco seasoning is really easy to make at home and it tastes much fresher than store-bought packets. Add this seasoning to a variety of meats, seafood, veggies, soups, and stews for your next taco night or when you want a tasty Mexican feast on your table!
Why You’ll Love This Taco Seasoning
Many of you know that I’m a big fan of Mexican food and regularly whip up shrimp tacos, birria tacos, carnitas tacos, pulled pork tacos, and carne asada tacos. And when I want to forgo the tortilla, I’ll make my taco salad or taco soup — Mexican cuisine is my favorite! So as you might imagine, I use a LOT of taco seasoning in my kitchen. And there’s truly no comparison between homemade taco seasoning and those store-bought packets. Here’s why you’ll love the homemade version better:
- The flavor is superior: Freshly mixed spices result in a bolder, more robust flavor. And making it at home allows you to tweak the flavor profile to your preference. Want it a bit hotter? Just add a pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper for a little extra kick.
- There’s no filler: If you read the ingredient list of packaged taco seasoning you’ll find unnecessary fillers ranging from whey (dairy) to cornstarch, potato starch, caramel color, natural colors, sugar, and various preservatives — no thank you!
- It’s easy to make and store: You can easily double, triple, or quadruple this recipe for a larger batch to store in your spice drawer. This is what I do! That way, I’m always ready to go when the taco cravings strike.
Taco Seasoning Ingredients
- Chili Powder: American chili powder (which I’m using) is a blend of spices and not a single ground chili. Though you could always use simple ground chili as well, for a stronger chili flavor.
- Cumin: I love the warm, earthy, and slightly sweet flavor of ground cumin. Fun fact – it’s one of the most used spices in my spice drawer!
- Garlic Powder: I’m using garlic powder that is pure garlic granules and not a blend with salt. If yours contains salt, you may want to reduce the added salt.
- Paprika: I typically use sweet paprika, but you can use sweet or smoky, it’s up to you.
- Oregano: While Mexican oregano is more common in taco seasoning, Italian oregano works just fine as well.
- Salt & Pepper: A little kosher salt and ground black pepper round out the other spices.
How to Make Taco Seasoning
- Mix the spices together. Add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper to a small mixing bowl. Then stir it all together.
- Use immediately or store. Add the taco seasoning to your meals as you make them, or store them in an airtight container for future use. They will last for up to one year. And for storage, I usually quadruple this recipe and then store it in these glass spice jars. A kitchen funnel makes it easy to fill the jar without spilling, and I use an extra-fine paint pen to write the label.
How Much Seasoning To Use
This recipe makes about 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning, which is equal to one packet of store-bought seasoning. That’s the perfect amount to season one pound of protein — whether that’s ground beef, ground turkey, ground chicken, flank steak, or shrimp.
For More Delicious Mexican Recipes
- Carnitas: The most juicy, tender, and crispy shreds of pork.
- Birria: A rich and spicy shredded beef stew.
- Carne Asada: A perfectly marinated Mexican steak.
- Guacamole: The best homemade guac hands down.
- Pico de Gallo: The classic chunky salsa.
- Ceviche: A light and fresh lime-marinated seafood appetizer.
- And if you’re whipping up chicken fajitas, shrimp fajitas, or steak fajitas, make sure to check out my fajita seasoning recipe!
If you make this taco seasoning recipe, I’d love to know how it turned out in the comment box below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration (and exclusive content), join my free newsletter.
Description
Video
Equipment
- Glass Spice Jars My favorite jars for storing all my homemade seasonings.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika (or smoked paprika)
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper, optional
Instructions
- Mix all the spices together in a bowl. Use immediately or store in an airtight container.
Lisa’s Tips
- You can easily double, triple or quadruple this recipe to make a larger batch. Then, in the future just use two tablespoons of your taco seasoning mix per one pound of ground beef.
- I don’t add any onion powder to this mix because I typically add freshly diced onions to ground beef recipes. But feel free to add that spice as well, if you’d like.
- This seasoning will last for up to one year.
- To see inside my own spice drawer, don’t forget to watch my spice drawer organization video.
- For another delicious homemade seasoning, check out my brisket dry rub.
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Recipe originally posted August 2017, but updated to include new photos and information for your benefit!
Hi Lisa,
First let me say that I have used your Greek chicken marinade TONS of times and have shared the recipe with several friends. It is my go to for chicken marinade! My absolute fav!
I want to use this taco seasoning for shrimp. Should I toss the shrimp in olive or canola oil before adding the seasoning?
Hi Lynn – Oh yay! I’m glad the chicken marinade has a special place in your kitchen now. For this taco seasoning, I would pat the shrimp dry, toss in the seasoning, and cook with oil in the pan.
Just 1 problem, you say recipe is for 1 lb meat then at the end you say just use 2 tablespoons. Which one is it? All or 2 tablespoons? So I can’t try and ruine my meat in this economy.
Hi Chip – you’ll use 2 tablespoons of seasoning per 1 lb of meat.
The recipe listed is for 1# of meat. You can tell this because there is about 2tablespoons of product made at the end. You may have a tsp of ingredients left over (I would just toss that in the pan anyways) thats why it says the use immediately or store.
THEN if you wanted to make extra you would just use 2TBSP of seasoning on the meat.
Hope this helps it to make better sense.
Love your recipes .
Bought your book sooooo good n yummmmm recipes.
Thanks so much, Geetha! Happy you’re enjoying the recipes on my website and in my cookbook. :)
If you are going to use store bought chili seasoning, you might as well use store bought taco seasoning.
Hi Ed – I disagree. Store bought chili seasoning is a simple spice blend. Store bought taco seasonings often have anti-caking agents and preservatives.
The recipe calls for chili powder, not chili seasoning. Those are two distinctly different things, and I would agree with you if the recipe called for chili seasoning.
Easy and very tasty! Definitely prefer this to store bought.
Homemade taco seasoning is always best. :)
Appreciate this exist
HELP How do you use this seasoning? Does the recipe mean (“1 serving”) equals using all of it on your 1 lb of hamburger OR 2 tbsp as stated in your tips? very confusing. It would be nice if you could give direction on how to use it in the Instruction including if you use water in he cooking process. Am using all of it tonight (tastes good) with no water. Hope that is right Thank you for the recipe
Hi Shirley – The seasoning amount will depend on the recipe you’re using it for. If you go to any recipes using this seasoning, such as my taco soup or taco stuffed zucchini boats, the instructions will say how much of the seasoning to use. Hope that helps!
I made taco meat with ground beef using this spice mix and it was great!! Will definitely make it again and it’s so easy I’ll never buy prepackaged taco spice mix again.
It’s always a good idea to keep this taco seasoning on hand!
For the 1x measurements how much onion powder would you mix into this recipe.
I previously asked how much seasoning to use for one pound of ground beef, but I see it’s included in the notes.
This recipe is a game changer for all recipes needing taco seasoning! Especially for Downshiftology’s Taco Soup recipe!! You’ll be glad you made it.
Thanks for making delicious cooking easier!
It’s always a great idea to keep this taco seasoning on hand!
Hi I am opening a cafe to raise funds for feeding program. Here in the Philippines they called nachos with mayo n some strange flavoured sauce tacos. It’s awful.
I want to sell proper tacos. Thanks for seasoning recipes
Hi Nannie – What a wonderful thing you’re doing! I’m glad this recipe came in handy to help people in need.
I use this recipe every week for taco Tuesdays at our house. It’s a winner! Thank you.
Awesome! And I love that you have regular Taco Tuesday’s.
Do you add the onion powder or no?
I don’t add any onion powder to this mix because I typically add freshly diced onions to ground beef recipes. But feel free to add that spice if you’d like.
Your recipes NEVER disappoint! I’ve been making my own taco seasoning recipe for a few years now but yours is #1. My adult daughter who is also celiac, recently discovered that her go-to pre-packaged taco seasoning (which used to be GF) now contains wheat starch. So I made a big batch of this for her, put it in a small glass mason jar, along with a recipe card. I think anytime we can control our own ingredients instead of relying on companies to do it for us is a win-win for our health and well-being. Thanks again! 🌮
Ah yes, you have to be so careful with those packaged spice mixes. But how sweet of you to make a big batch of this recipe for her! Glad you’re enjoying all my recipes, Lee. :)
Your taco seasoning has found a permanent home in my pantry. Thank you!
I’m happy to hear that. Thanks Miranda!
Do you add water like store bought mix? I’ve used recipes that call for soy sauce, oil and lime juice. So I’m just curious?
There’s no need to add water!
This is the best! Store-bought taco seasoning irritates my GI so I gave up on Tacos for a bit. But now I’m back due to your seasoning. Super tasty and has no GI irritation.
Homemade seasonings are the way to go :)
I made this taco seasoning but something is missing. The flavor is somewhat bland. What can I add to make the “taco” seasoning pop??
I had the same issue, and I wound adding a little more salt. That did the trick.
How much onion powder would you include in the recipe if fresh onions were not going to be used? Thank you!
Btw you say 1/2 tsp “salt” but 1/2 tsp of table salt vs Kosher are a pretty different amount. Thankfully it’s clear in your pictures and video that you used kosher salt but you might want to clarify for those that don’t catch that. :)
Great catch Nathan, I just fixed it in the recipe card. And I’d probably add about 1 teaspoon of onion powder.
Hi, I just stumbled on this great recipe. My daughter loves Tacos! What do you mean by Chili powder? Just plain chili ? I would like to make this spice mix but cannot find the chili powder and would like to order it only. I did order chili flakes. Would that work?
Thank you so much for sharing!!
You can typically find chili powder at any market! Otherwise, just search for chili powder online and you should be able to find options :)
Love this seasoning!
What is the equivalent amount to use in lieu of a packet of store-bought packets? I have a recipe that calls for 2 packets of taco seasonings. Thank you in advance.
Hi Carol – I’m not exactly sure as I haven’t bought a store-bought packed in years, but I’d estimate about 2 tablespoons.
How do you come up with 1300 mg sodium ?
The nutrition information is calculated automatically from the ingredient list. In this case, the sodium is coming mainly from the salt.
To fill a standard size spice jar, like one of the Simply Organic size you recommend, how much of this recipe should I make?
Hi Denise, thinking you can multiply the recipe by about 3 times?
No exaggeration- this recipe is life changing!! We always have a batch of this prepared and put it on chicken or veggies all the time. The flavor is incredible, and makes anything taste great! I love putting it on cauliflower and then baking it. This has become a staple in our pantry and it adds so much to every meal we use it with!
My Husband loves tacos but those takeouts are so salty. He loved this. Thank you so much.
Hi Irene – I’m glad he loved this homemade taco seasoning. The great thing is you can always tweak the spices yourself.
Taco tuesday turns into Taco wednesday, thursday, friday with this recipe!! I am in the midst of Whole30, so I needed something that was packed with flavor and compliant to the diet— DID THIS DELIVER!!!!!
Awesome! Happy to hear this was a winning seasoning :)
I make this seasoning almost weekly now. So good and so easy. And so much better than store bought. My friends are asking me for the recipe now, but cannot take the credits for that of course ;-)
I just love this combination! Reminds me of my childhood in Bolivia when my mom would make tacos…. ❤️
Hi Linda – So glad to hear this seasoning brings back a sense of nostalgia! :)
How much onion powder would you add to this for this who don’t use fresh, please?
The best, most fresh seasoning. So much better than store bought paper packets. Make a bunch and keep on hand!
Hi Terri – Definitely much better than buying store bought! :)
Awesome recipe! My son is allergic to many of the additives to taco seasoning so I always buy the expensive health-food store, additive-free kind. We’ll save money while making yummy food for the whole family. Thank you!
So glad you loved the taco seasoning recipe! Taco seasoning doesn’t need all those additional ingredients, plus this is healthy and easy to make :)
Do you have any substitutes for the garlc powder? I can’t have garlic or onion. Thanks Sam
It would change the flavor profile a bit, but you could try it with celery salt or ginger. Or you could just leave it off. :)
Thanks!
Will never buy taco seasoning in the store again! Thank you!
You’re welcome Anne! It’s amazing how easy it is to make taco seasoning at home, isn’t it? :)
I love having taco seasoning around for so many recipes – tacos included, but even beyond. I love the idea of making m own, and your combination of spices is so delicious!
Thanks Valentina! Yes, making your own taco seasoning is so easy and it’s perfect for a variety of recipes. Enjoy! :)
Easily the best taco seasoning recipe I’ve run across yet. The recipe makes 2.75 tbsp as is, so I believe using closer to 3 tbsp per pound of beef as opposed to 2 tbsp to be more accurate, if you’re recommending one recipe taco seasoning per pound of beef.
I added 1/4 tsp onion powder per recipe, multiplied it by four to have extra, then used 3 tbsp per pound ground beef.
Also added a mini (5.5 oz) can of low-sodium V8 and a little water to the whole thing, then simmered a half hour. Really good.
I’m happy you loved the recipe Paula! And good catch on the total amount, I’ve corrected it in the description above. Thanks! :)
Is it smoked or sweet paprika you’re using here?
I use sweet paprika.
Great tip! I also love to make my spice mixes ahead, love all the ingredients in your taco seasoning, will make it right away!
Awesome! I hope you enjoy the taco seasoning blend Patty!
I love making my own taco seasoning! SO much better than store bought and you can adjust the flavor for your liking!
Yes, absolutely! And it just tastes so much more flavorful and fresh. :)
This seasoning is so much better than the sodium and preservative loaded mixes – fresh flavors and easily customizable!
Agree! It’s amazing all of the nasty ingredients that sneak into store bought taco seasonings. Homemade is definitely best! :)
I love to make my own seasonings, and this is a perfect one to always have on hand! Saving to make this in the next couple days!!
Wonderful! I hope you enjoy the recipe Susan!
Hi
Just wondering if you use smoked or sweet paprika?
I use sweet paprika. :)
Awesome! Thank you
You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy this seasoning on many tacos!
I made the taco soup or it was actually more mince meat but it was delicious. The taco spice mix is a go to. Amazing.
Yay – happy you enjoyed the recipe Belinda!
I’m not a very good cook yet so for clarification is the chili powder a plain ancho or cayenne or the premixed chili powder that has some of the other stuff in it?
(I stumbled on your site yesterday and am so happy I did!! Can’t wait to try out all sorts of recipes on here!!)
Thank you so much!!
Hi Kay – glad you’re loving my recipes! :) This is the chili powder I use: http://amzn.to/2HKQGLr
You might consider adding a wee bit of dutch processed chocolate powder to this recipe. I find it adds depth to this mix. For the amount you have here I’d suggest one quarter of a teaspoon to experiment with. I am looking forward to learning more from your work. Thanks for sharing with ll of us.
That’s a brilliant idea Dave! Chocolate makes everything better, right? ;)
This is brilliant!! I love creating my own spices blend too and this helps a lot as you can control the ingredients.
Yes! So important to have quality ingredients, even on things like spice blends. :) x
i love making my own spice blends! It really is frightening looking at the ingredients in a simple spice blend!! Why? It’s terrible!
I know, so crazy what’s in packaged food. But good news is it’s easy to make at home. Enjoy Beth! :) x
Lovely flavor combinations! amazing clicks too
Thank you!
I’m Mexican, and yes, this recipe is spot on.
Thanks Maggie – happy to have that stamp of approval! :) x
I love all these flavors!
Simple but delicious!
Just wondering how spicy this is? Would it be suitable for young children unused to much heat (I usually use Old El Paso).
Hi Liz – I don’t think it’s spicy and my niece and nephew (ages 11 and 13) love it on their taco meat. But what you could do is mix up a batch and just use half of it the first time (with one pound of ground beef), to see how they respond. :) x
Just mixed a batch and used to coat chicken breast. Yummy! Plan to use the rest to whip up some taco soup.
That sounds like some mighty tasty chicken! Enjoy! :) x