This homemade Taco Seasoning takes just 5 minutes to make, it's savory, smoky, and spicy. Making your own spice blends is really easy, inexpensive, and healthier than any store-bought version! Plus, you can always adjust the spice level to your liking. It makes amazing tacos and so much more!
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Why You'll Love This Taco Seasoning
Packed with flavor - This seasoning is spicy, garlicky, and a little smoky. It's tried and true and totally failproof! It makes delicious tacos but it can be used in many other dishes. I recommend using fresh spices for the best flavor.
Better than store-bought - Making your own taco seasoning at home is budget-friendly and you know exactly what's going in! Store-bought spice mixes often have fillers, anti-caking agents, preservatives, or a ton of salt. You can avoid all that by making yours at home and you can adjust the flavor to your liking as well!
Easy to make - You only need 7 spices and about 5 minutes to make this taco seasoning! You can mix it right in the jar you'll store it in and it can last you a whole year! You can easily make a double or triple batch as well!
Lots of uses - This seasoning has a ton of uses! You can use it for beef, chicken, shrimp, salmon, or steak tacos. Add it to taco soup, beans, veggies, or taco salad. It's delicious even on roasted nuts, popcorn, and more! Use it as you would a regular store-bought seasoning packet!
Ingredients
- Chili powder - This one can't be missing in any taco seasoning. Be careful not to mistake this for chili pepper powder. Chili powder is a blend of chili powder mixed with other spices like cumin, oregano, garlic, cloves, coriander, and allspice. Do NOT use the same amount of just plain chili pepper powder, it would be way too spicy. I like this chili powder.
- Dried oregano - This is the main ingredient that distinguishes taco seasoning from Fajita Seasoning which doesn't have oregano.
- Cumin - Ground cumin adds that classic warm earthy flavor that can't be missing in any taco seasoning.
- Paprika - I used both sweet paprika and smoked paprika in this recipe for more flavor. You can use either or both depending on your preference. Using only smoked paprika will make the blend extra smoky.
- Cayenne pepper - This one is optional but if you want to add even more heat to the spice mix, add some ground cayenne pepper. Be careful with cayenne because it's very spicy.
- Garlic and onion powder - I always use garlic and onion granules, not the fine powder. It's what you usually find in grocery stores labeled as garlic powder and onion powder which may be confusing.
- Sea salt - This is optional but I added salt to the recipe because it's often found in premade taco seasonings. If you want more control over the sodium content, you can add salt to your dishes separately.
Variations and Substitutions
- Cane sugar - You don't need too much but I like to add 1-3 teaspoon of cane sugar to this taco spice to balance out all the flavors, especially if I'm also adding salt. It also helps caramelize whatever you're cooking.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Add all spices to a small bowl and whisk until well mixed.
- Transfer the taco seasoning to a spice jar and store it in your pantry for up to 6 months. Keep away from heat and direct sunlight.
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Tips & Tricks!
- Mix everything in the jar you'll store the seasoning mix in to save dishes! You can just shake it to mix everything and you're done!
- Use fresh dried spices whenever possible. When you use dried herbs and spices that have been sitting in your spice drawer for a long time, the seasoning won't stay fresh for as long and will lose its flavor much faster.
Serving Suggestions
- Ground beef - Ground beef tacos are a classic and they're absolutely delicious with homemade seasoning. You'll need 2 tablespoons of the seasoning for one pound of ground beef. It's also delicious in ground turkey!
- Fish and seafood - Shrimp tacos are my favorite, try my Spicy Shrimp Tacos with this taco seasoning! It's also delicious on roasted or grilled salmon and other fish.
- Chicken - Roast or grill your chicken marinated with this seasoning for some delicious chicken tacos!
- Soup, salads, and sides - Use it to season roasted veggies, potatoes, and beans, or add it to taco soup or to season your protein in a taco salad.
- Snacks - Aside from using it for main dishes, you can also use it for snacks like roasted nuts, seeds, and even homemade chips or popcorn! Don't knock it till you try it!
Storing
You can store the spice mix in an airtight container or a jar for up to 6-12 months. Always store it at room temperature in a cool, dry place, and away from sunlight.
The shelf life will depend on how fresh your spices were when you made the spice mix. Use new, fresh spices whenever possible. The fresher they are, the longer the blend will last. Spices don't really go bad but they do go stale and lose their flavor over time. If your spices have been sitting in your cupboard for a while, the spice mix won't taste as fresh for that long.
FAQs
They're both very similar but taco seasoning has dried oregano and it tends to have more chili powder and less cumin than fajita seasoning. This means taco seasoning will be spicier. My version also has cayenne pepper which you can omit to keep it milder.
This may vary based on the brand but I recommend using 2 tablespoon of homemade seasoning per packet of store-bought seasoning.
I like to first toss whatever I'm cooking with oil and then with the spices because I find it coats everything better. The order doesn't matter too much, the most important thing is to put the cooking oil on your meat, fish, or shrimp, and not on the pan. Adding oil to the pan creates more splatter.
More Seasoning Blends
I love making my own seasoning mixes so there are many on my site. Once you start making them at home, you realize how easy and cheap they are to make and you'll never want to use store-bought ones again! If you want to try some other ones, check out the five recipes linked below! To see all the latest ones, head over to Spice Blends.
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Print📖 Recipe
Taco Seasoning
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: ⅓ cup 1x
- Category: Seasoning
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This homemade Taco Seasoning takes just 5 minutes to make, it's savory, smoky, and a little spicy. It's easy, inexpensive, and healthier than any store-bought version!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp sea salt (optional)
- ½ tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional, adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp cane sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Add all spices to a small bowl and whisk until well mixed.
- Transfer the taco seasoning to a spice jar and store it in your pantry for up to 6 months. Keep away from heat and direct sunlight.
Notes
Storing: Spices can last a very long time but this will depend on how they're stored and how fresh each spice was when you made the blend. They don't necessarily go bad after the 6 months but the flavor of each spice and the dried herbs gets weaker and less potent as they sit exposed to air and light.
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Veronika Sykorova says
So much better than store-bought and cheaper too! Once you try it, you won't want to go back!