Quick Homemade Taco Seasoning

Whipping up a batch of Homemade Taco Seasoning is much easier than you think. This combination of vibrant spices creates the perfect spice mix you need to spice up taco night. Once you make your own taco seasoning, you’ll never need store bought seasoning again.

Wondering what you can with DIY taco seasoning? Make taco night any night with this dump and go Saucy Crockpot Taco Meat recipe. We love this saucy slow cooker taco meat in tacos, burritos, and on nachos. However, it also makes the best base for a comforting Cheesy Tater Tot Taco Casserole.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

For years I roamed the ‘Mexican’ aisle of my local grocery store in search of those little yellow spice packets. Family taco nights always occurred on busy weeknights when speed and convenience reigned. It never even dawned on me that I could make my own taco seasoning recipe, which is THE definition of convenience food.

Making your own mild taco seasoning mix is so freaking easy and it takes MINUTES. You’ll probably spend more time looking for the spices in your pantry! This recipe contains regular spices that most people already own.

Feel free to substitute some of your own flavours or to decrease some of the spicy taco seasoning ingredients. The mixture makes the equivalent of one packet of taco seasoning; enough to season two pounds of ground beef for your next taco night.

However, ground beef tacos are just one way to use this Homemade Taco Seasoning. It’s also great on chicken fajitas, walking taco casserole, or as a seasoning for chicken strips and pulled chicken. Try it with pork or use it to season eggs for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Think outside the box, or ‘packet’, and use taco seasoning in a potato or macaroni salad, chicken tortilla soup, layered taco dip, chili con carne, baked beans, TACO BURGERS, or taco mac ‘n’ cheese.

Why Homemade Taco Seasoning is Best

If you read the full nutrition label of store bought taco seasoning there are always a few ‘extra’ ingredients than regular spices. When you make your own spice mix, you know exactly what you are feeding your family.

Maltodextrin is essentially a hydrolysed starch which acts to thicken foods, increase shelf life, improves flavour, and provides easy to digest carbs. It is considered safe for average consumption but may not be entirely gluten free.

Other ingredients include partially hydrogenated soybean oil, silicon dioxide, and ethoxyquin. While the soybean oil is there primarily for flavour and texture, the shelf life of taco seasoning packets is made possible by the latter two.

Silicon Dioxide acts as an anti-caking agent which keeps the components of the mixture from sticking together in the package. Ethoxyquin, is a preservative that allows the spice packets to sit on the shelf for months, even years.

Preservatives and anti-caking ingredients have a purpose but are not necessary in a spice mix. Use this homemade taco seasoning immediately or store it in an airtight container for a few months. If the mixture clumps together, simple break it up while cooking and add a bit of water.

Ingredients in Homemade Taco Seasoning

Let’s talk about what ingredients should be in taco seasoning. Everyone has their own taste preference and opinion of this popular spice mix and online recipes are a dime a dozen. Please use this taco seasoning recipe as a base, then customize it to your preference.

• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Oregano
• Ground Cumin
• Cayenne Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Red Chili Flakes
• Chili Powder

It goes without saying that if you are on a reduced salt diet, simply decrease or omit the salt in this recipe. There will be plenty of flavour without it!

Freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes bring a nice amount of heat to the mixture. However, this mild blend is anything but spicy. Feel free to add more or reduce them amount of these three spices.

I prefer to add Mexican oregano to this spice blend but if you can’t find it, regular oregano is great too.

I always add a little extra garlic powder and ground cumin, even though both are components of chili powder.

Other spices and seasonings that you might consider adding include a teaspoon onion powder or flakes, and sweet or smoked Paprika.

Pro tip: Always use the freshest spices to make spice mixes for best flavour results.

How to Make Homemade Taco Seasoning

To make your own homemade taco seasoning, simple measure each spice into a small mixing bowl. Mix well and use immediately or store in an airtight container.

Chile vs. Chili

Please note: American style chili powder is MUCH different than chile powder from other countries. While American style chili powder is a mixture of various spices, Australians (and most of the world) use straight ground chile powder.

When we lived in Australia, I found this out the hard way. The day I made our family favourite chili con carne recipe I unknowingly added the usual 4-5 tablespoons of chili powder.

What happened next was comical. The whole family dramatically spit out their first bite of chili and downed a glass of milk. There was no saving dinner that night and no saving that batch of chili. We ordered a pizza for dinner.

Hi! I’m Bernice Hill and I am the sole recipe developer, photographer, and writer at Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.

If you make this Quick Homemade Taco Seasoning recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section or in a recipe rating. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe, please share your photos and tag me on Instagram. I hope you like this recipe!