Homemade Taco Seasoning

Homemade Taco Seasoning needs to be a staple in your kitchen! With this easy, cheaper, healthier version of Taco Seasoning, you can say good-bye to the processed packets forever! 

If you are looking for more homemade spice blends, check out Homemade Chili Seasoning Onion Soup Mix, or Homemade Seasoned Salt.

Probably my most used homemade spice blend of all time is Taco Seasoning. We love all things Mexican at our house, and tacos happen to be a weekly staple at this house.

Taco seasoning is easy to find in stores and is relatively inexpensive, so why make taco seasoning?

Most store-bought taco seasoning mixes are full of preservatives, corn additives, MSG, flour, and added sugars. By making Taco Seasoning at home, you can skip all those additives AND you can customize your taco seasoning blend to suit your taste buds.

Plus, you don't have to forgo taco night just because you forgot to purchase a packet of taco seasoning--chances are you already have ALL the spices on hand needed to make taco seasoning.

Ingredients Needed

The standard ingredients in taco seasoning are dried spices that are most likely already in your pantry. They are super easy to find at any grocery store and are inexpensive to purchase. Plus there is NO corn, NO sugar, NO MSG, and NO gluten in this taco seasoning!

• chili powder
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• cumin
• paprika
• dried oregano
• red pepper flakes
• salt

However, by making Homemade Taco Seasoning you can control the flavoring to your tastes.

• Don't like garlic? Omit the garlic powder.
• Can't handle the heat? Omit the red pepper flakes.
• Like it spicier? Increase red pepper flakes from ¼ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon.
• Need Sodium Free or Low Sodium Taco Seasoning? Omit the salt completely or cut in half. I promise this spice blend will still add great flavor to your recipes.

You can either prepare the recipe as directed, which yields the equivalent to one store-bought packet. Or you can follow the directions at the bottom of the recipe card to make a large batch of taco seasoning. I strongly recommend preparing a large batch, as the uses for taco seasoning are nearly endless.

How to Store

Homemade taco seasoning is great to make in large batches and keep on hand for any time the craving for tacos strike. It will last up to 6 months if stored in an airtight container. While safe to consume after 6 months, it has the best flavor in that time frame, as spices begin to lose their potency after 6 months.

One tip is to be sure to store taco seasoning in an airtight jar or container, like a ball jar, or small spice jar, so that it will not absorb flavors from other spices in your spice cabinet.

How to Use Taco Seasoning

This recipe for taco seasoning can be used in any recipe that calls for taco seasoning. And while it is the perfect seasoning for traditional ground beef tacos and chicken tacos, think outside the box and use taco seasoning to give your recipes a Mexican spin.

• In place of salt, use 1-2 teaspoons taco seasoning to season homemade fries.
• Mix 2 tablespoons taco seasoning with 1 cup sour cream for a quick dressing for Taco Salad or Southwestern Chicken Salad.
• Season sweet potato slices with taco seasoning and use and bake to use as the base for Sweet Potato Nachos.
• Instead of using hamburger seasoning in my recipe for Perfect Burgers, add 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning to ground meat and form burgers with a Southwestern spin.
• Add taco seasoning to Lentil Tacos, Cauliflower Tacos, or Black Bean Tacos for a meatless spin on taco night.
• Make a creamy taco dip by adding taco seasoning to cream cheese and sour cream.
• Add just the right flavor to Refried Beans, Rice and Beans, Bean Burritos, Chicken Chili, or Sweet Potato Burritos by using a homemade taco seasoning blend.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

This is an easy recipe for homemade taco seasoning made with pantry staples and without preservatives. 

5 from 12 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 1 packet

Calories: 46kcal

Author: Kristen Chidsey

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 Tbsp chili powder
• ▢ ½ tsp garlic powder
• ▢ ½ tsp onion powder
• ▢ ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• ▢ ⅛ tsp dried oregano
• ▢ ½ tsp paprika
• ▢ 1 tsp cumin
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ ½ tsp pepper

Cook ModePrevents your screen from going dark while preparing the recipe.

Instructions

How to Make Taco Seasoning

• Combine all ingredients and store in airtight container.

To Use Taco Seasoning

• Use teaspoon for teaspoon for recipes that call for taco seasoning. 
• To use this taco seasoning as a packet of taco seasoning to season taco meat, add 1 recipe of this taco seasoning with ½ cup water to browned meat and simmer until liquid has evaporated. 

Notes

Nutrition facts are for one full recipe. Each serving is about a ⅛ of a recipe. 

For every packet of Taco Seasoning: Use 2 tablespoons of this homemade mix. 

Low Sodium Taco Seasoning: Omit the salt completely or cut the salt in half. The other dried spices in this taco seasoning will still add incredible flavor to your dishes, just minus the sodium.

Bulk Taco Seasoning: To prepare taco seasoning in bulk, use the following amounts of seasonings to make the equivalent of 20 seasoning packets. Use 2 tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning per recipe that calls for 1 packet of taco seasoning.

• 1 ¼ cups chili powder
• ¼ cup garlic powder
• ¼ cup onion powder
• 1  tablespoon oregano
• 1 ½ tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ cup cumin
• ¼ cup paprika
• ½ cup salt
• ¼ cup pepper

Nutrition

Calories: 46kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 2463mg | Potassium: 209mg | Fiber: 4g | Vitamin A: 2940IU | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 3.8mg

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This post was originally published in January 2016 but has been updated with new tips in January 2020.