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My go-to, easy homemade taco seasoning recipe made with just 6 ingredients you already have in your pantry. When it comes to making tacos at home, nothing beats making your own spice blend.

Easy Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe

Next time you’re planning to make tacos, skip the store-bought taco seasoning packets and whip up your own taco seasoning. It’s the best taco seasoning recipe, I’ve been using this for years! I scaled this up from my popular turkey taco recipe, I’ve tried many variations, but I always come back to this combo which is flavorful yet mild enough for the kids. It’s great with ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken or use it in my taco dip. Plus, it’s easy, economical, and you can adjust the flavor to your liking. The best part, it’s free of preservatives and additives that store-bought mixes may have.

Ground beef with Homemade Taco Seasoning

Why You’ll Love This Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe

Healthier: Since you’re making it from scratch you have control of what goes into this. I use organic spices to keep it free from pesticides. No added filler or artificial ingredients.
Kid-Friendly: The mild spice mix makes this perfect for all palates.
Make-Ahead: Easy to make a batch and keep in in your spice drawer, ready anytime you have some ground beef, ground turkey, etc to whip up tacos.
Budget Friendly: Cheaper than buying individual packets each time you make tacos.

This homemade taco seasoning recipe is perfect for taco lovers and picky palates. The kids will love it because it’s mild and flavorful. I always keep a batch in my pantry ready to use. Here’s what you need:

Ingredients for Mild Taco Seasoning

This recipe makes 1 cup of seasoning, perfect for approximately 9 servings for about 1 pound of ground meat. Feel free to modify this to your taste. If you like it spicy, add cayenne pepper.

garlic powder
ground cumin
kosher salt
chili powder
sweet or smoked paprika
dried oregano

Mix all of these ingredients together in a small bowl, and store in a glass spice container.

Storage

For the best flavor, homemade seasoning is best stored for up to 6 months, but can be stored for up to 1 to 2 years if it’s kept in a cool, dry place and in a tightly sealed container or mason jar.

What is the main ingredients in taco seasoning?

Chili Powder: The backbone of this seasoning, it provides a spicy kick and a deep, rich color to the mixture
Cumin: This spice gives the seasoning its characteristic earthy, slightly spicy flavor, reminiscent of many Mexican and Latin American dishes
Garlic Powder: It adds a savory, robust flavor to the seasoning
Paprika: Gives a mild sweetness and vibrant color to the mix
Oregano: Enhance the flavors of the other ingredients
Kosher Salt: enhances the flavors of all the other ingredients, making them more pronounced

Additional spices you can add:

Onion powder
Ancho chili powder in place of chili powder
Smoked paprika in place of sweet
crushed red pepper flakes, chipotle chili powder or cayenne pepper, to make it spicy
black pepper, to taste
Make it low-sodium by using less salt or omit altogether

How to make taco meat with this seasoning:

Brown 1 pound of ground beef, ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork or ground tofu in a large skillet with 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of this taco seasoning, 1/4 cup minced onions, 1/4 cup minced red bell pepper and about 1/2 to 3/4 cup water then simmer, covered for 5 minutes.
Spoon onto warmed taco shells and serve topped with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, pico de gallo, cheese, salsa, sour cream, black beans, avocado, guacamole, etc.

Another popular seasoning you may like is my recipe for Sazon seasoning.

More Taco Recipes

Prep: 5

Cook: 0

Total: 5

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Yield: 32 servings

Serving Size: 1 1/4 teaspoons for 2 tacos

Ingredients

▢ 3 tablespoon garlic powder
▢ 3 tablespoon cumin
▢ 3 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, use half for table salt or Morton's Kosher Salt (see notes below)
▢ 3 tablespoon chili powder, *
▢ 3 tablespoon sweet paprika
▢ 1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

Last Step:

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Notes

Use 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons (per 1 lb meat) for 4 servings.

To replace 1 packet taco seasoning mix (6 servings) use about 2 tablespoons + 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mix.

Homemade taco seasoning can be stored for up to 1 to 2 years if it’s kept in a cool, dry place and in a tightly sealed container. However, the flavor of the seasoning can diminish over time, and it’s usually at its peak for the first 6 months.

NOTE ABOUT SALT:

This measurement is approx 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt per serving. Diamond Crystal kosher salt is known for its coarser grains compared to the fine grains of table salt. This difference in grain size means that Diamond Crystal kosher salt has less salt by volume than table salt, so you’ll need to use less table salt if substituting.

Low Sodium Taco Seasoning: You can also make this a low-sodium seasoning by cutting the salt in half, or leaving it out altogether for a salt-free taco seasoning.

*check labels for gluten-free.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 1/4 teaspoons for 2 tacos, Calories: 8 kcal, Carbohydrates: 1.5 g, Sodium: 300 mg, Fiber: 0.5 g