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
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Recipe originally posted August 2017, but updated to include new photos and information for your benefit!
Perfect for taco night. Will be making it myself from now on.
Glad you loved this taco seasoning, Jennifer!