Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix
72 comments » 
When I was a kid, McDonald’s never fazed me. I could take or leave a Happy Meal, no big deal. What I really craved was tacos. Point me in the direction of a Taco Bell and I was the happiest of campers. Looking back on it, I don’t really understand it. No one in my immediate family has ever been a big fan of Mexican food, and kids can be tremendously picky (I, for one, was notorious for never eating a morsel of anything green and clung to my peanut butter and jelly like there was no tomorrow). So where I picked up this love for tacos is beyond me. But if I found myself at the mall with my mom and the food court presented itself, I marched straight to Taco Bell. If I was given the opportunity to choose what my mom cooked for dinner on any given night, you guessed it. Tacos.
Needless to say, back in the day taco kits were certainly the way to go for homemade tacos – shells, seasoning mix and sometimes sauce all in one box. Easy peasy. Heck, even up until a few years ago I wouldn’t have thought to make tacos any other way. But then I entered into the world of food obsession, and have become infinitely more aware of the things that I eat and where they come from. Prepackaged seasoning mixes are full of salt and preservatives, artificial flavors and colors. For example, look at this ingredient list from a popular brand of taco seasoning:
Um, no thank you. Making my own seasoning and knowing exactly what’s in it makes me feel much better. Whipping up your own taco seasoning mix takes less than 5 minutes and you can keep it in your pantry for anytime a Mexican craving creeps up on you.
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
One year ago: Coffee-and-Espresso Layered Cheesecake
Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix
Yield: Enough to season about 7 lb. of ground meat
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepperDirections:
1. Whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Over medium heat, brown 1 lb. of ground beef and drain. Add 2 tablespoons of seasoning mix and ¾ cup water to the ground beef. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens and coats the beef, and there is not much liquid left.
3. Store remaining seasoning mix in an airtight container at room temperature.
(Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats)
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Thanks so much for sharing this! I agree – the pre-packaged stuff is WAY too salty!
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Dave on July 16th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
This is a great basic recipe, the only 2 things missing from it that I like to add to mine is cocoa powder and corn starch. I also add the salt to my mix and like touse a beer in place of the water.
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Indeed!!! I’ve been making my own seasoning (the same recipe as yours) for a few months now.
Happy Cinco de Mayo to you!
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I never had taco bell until I was way older, it must have been the commercials, which were never as enticing as the ones from MacDonald’s..haha. I find the prepackaged stuff has a weird aftertaste. Homemade is way better.
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Aww yeah. I LOVED tacos as a kid as well, and still do!
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Great idea! I should make a big batch of this and keep it in the pantry to have on-hand…we make tacos A LOT! Thanks for doing the leg work
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I’ve wanted to try this ever since Annie posted it, but your including the label of the premade taco seasoning has convinced me! I have no excuse not to make up a batch of this now!
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I made my own Mexican spice blend a few months ago for the same reason! (http://arteats.blogspot.com/2010/02/mexican-spice-blend.html) It kind of creeped me out to read the label of the packets you could buy at the store. Your version looks fun – I may have to try that next.
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So easy to make at home. Love it!
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thanks for posting this! my fella & i LOVE our nacho/taco nights, but have always sighed a little when we use the store bought more chemical/less food taco seasoning. i’m so excited to try this!
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Thanks, I look forward to trying this. One of the first things we ever made in 6th grade home ec (cooking – 7th was sewing) was tacos and the seasoning was not from a packet. I kept and used the recipe for years until it became tattered. Somewhere between undergrad and grad school, the recipe became lost (you’d think I’d have memorize it by then, no?) and I have been trying unsuccessfully ever since to find a recipe I like as well. Looking forward to trying yours!
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My son also loves tacos and will always choose them if I ask him what I should cook for dinner. That being said, he will never ever turn down a Happy Meal!! I’m excited to try this seasoning, it sounds so good and so easy!!
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Great idea Michelle! Much better than the store bought pack with who knows what inside!!
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I’m with ya on this one for sure! The store bought taco seasoning has way too much sodium for me. I either make my own or I buy Penzey’s, which is much lower in sodium and is a fabulous seasoning. I’ll try your recipe next time I make my own!!
And, I think I ate at Taco Bell almost every day for lunch when I was in high school…and now my son loves it as much as I did!
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Do you add any salt? I must have salt but was wondering how much to put into the mix. Thank you for sharing this recipe–this will save a lot of money in the long run–I use a lot of taco seasoning mixes!
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Great taco seasoning mix! Must make this! So much better than buying the packet kind!
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i’m so excited you posted this…I’m going to make a huge batch and use it up in, oh i don’t know, a WEEK!
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I love making my own taco seasoning! Yours looks yummy!
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Super!! You post just one great thing after another. Muchas gracias.
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Love it! This mixture would be a breeze to put together and SO much better for you (and I’d imagine better tasting) than the packaged stuff.
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Gotta love MSG added to packaged stuff – gross! It’s in so many things we don’t think about! Thanks for this recipe, can’t wait to try it!
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THANK YOU! Those ingredient lists scare me! This mix looks fabulous!
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Sounds great and much healthier for sure
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Thank you! After I took a look at the ingredients on that package a year ago, I’ve been trying to figure out how to make my own and nothing I’ve tried has turned out quite right yet.
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I’ve also been wanting to try this since I saw it on annies eats. But, to be honest, we haven’t had tacos in the meantime! Sheesh! And I looove tacos – and it is terribly entertaining to watch my 3 (almost 4) year old try to eat them. But he does, and with a vengeance – I really don’t think I’ve seen him eat anything with such delight
Okay, so tacos and homemade chicken fingers are a tie on that one.
Thanks for reminding me to give this a try! (especially after you go and slap me in the face with a picture of the “ingredients”! Hah!)
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:O! Thanks for this recipe. I’ll never have to buy pre-packaged taco seasoning ever again!
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BTW, I love your 100 list, and it inspired me a few months ago to have my own hand-written list. It has really motivated me – it got over my fear of yeast breads, and now I make sandwich bread all the time – we don’t buy any bread anymore! It’s so satisfying to check one off the list
Thanks for that!
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I love this idea! I can’t wait to try it! Alison
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I’m so grateful for this recipe. I recently became obsessed with making my own salad dressings and now I’m ready to move onto seasoning packets. Going to try to recreate Ranch this weekend.
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Ugh, no thanks is right! Thanks for this healthy and unpronounceable-free ingredient taco seasoning!
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Thanks so much for the recipe. I make a lot of Mexican food and I always seem to be out of taco seasoning.
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Oh, perfect! I am so with you about buying taco seasoning with ingredients I cannot pronounce – looks wonderful!
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Thanks so much for posting this! I love love love tacos, but salt, especially in the warmer months, is my enemy.
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I love making my own seasonings – and heaven knows we eat enough tacos around our house. It’s just such an easy meal to throw together!
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Love this! I, too, have become more and more aware of what is in my food and have started making my own homemade versions of many of the convenience items that I used to purchase and cook with when I was first married. Love your version of taco seasoning. I will definitely be giving it a try! I am a taco fanatic!
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Thanks for sharing. I’m looking forward to trying this out
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great post and great points! there’s no need for those processed bags of chemicals when so many fabulous spices are available.
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I am so excited to use this! I HATE buying storebought products with ingredients I can’t pronnounce – always better when you make it yourself anyway
Can’t wait to test it out!
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I am making this tonight! Can’t wait!
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We just had tacos the other night. What a great mix recipe. I’ll have to use it the next time we have Taco Tuesday!
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I do the same thing! It is so easy to make it homemade!
Shamrocks and Shenanigans
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Thanks for an alternative to the packaged junk. I plan on making a huge batch of this ASAP.
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Excellent recipe and a keeper!!!! I will never buy taco seasoning at the store again. Thanks for sharing.
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I finally made it! It was delicious! Thank you.
I also shared it with my mom who is Gluten Free! Since most store bought seasonings have Gluten in them!
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Thank you so much! I never buy packaged taco mix anymore. This is great on its own but sometimes I add chipotle powder to it for an extra kick. Thanks again!
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Michelle on October 28th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Love the addition of chipotle powder!
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I, too, am obsessed with Mexican food…my mother swears I must have been Mexican in a former life! Tacos, taco salad, burritos, etc. are all quick & easy dinner options at our house, and I’m glad to have come across your recipe, even if I am a year late seeing it. Thanks for re-posting!
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I using better taste homemade taco seasoning mix better then buy from store it taste different it add too much gulten , sugar, salt , other . not good
it better made it my own spices free gulten, sugar, salt and other
than ks
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I just tried your taco seasoning mix….it is terrible! You might be able to open a bakery, your mocha cupcakes were great….but if I would you I wouldn’t open a “Taco Truck”.
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I was the same way as a kid. I always wanted tacos, and it was “my turn” to cook once a week and of course, it was always tacos! I like this version better than the one I currently follow, which has arrowroot powder in it..I of course don’t have that on hand! But I make it with a touch of brown sugar…you should try it, its delicious!
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I very anxious to try this recipe, but I have a question first. How much of this seasoning mix would I use per pound of meat? Thanks for the great recipes!
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Sorry, please disregard my last comment. Next time I’ll read the entire recipe before asking a question!
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This is great, just because taco seasoning usually has ridiculous amounts of sodium. and this cuts that out completely! Thanks for the healthy alternative!
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Thanks so much for this recipe! I love to make taco salad, with taco meat served over shredded lettuce, with chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese, and sour cream, and chips on the side. For the taco meat, I use tomato sauce instead of water to make it more moist, and your homemade seasoning mix will make it even better!
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