Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe

I’ve been making my own taco seasoning for quite a while now. When I started really getting into food and watching Food Network a few years ago, I watched a lot of Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals, because that was relatable to me. Even when making a meal in 30 minutes or less, she always made her taco seasoning mixes, so I just started doing it too. Now I always prefer to make things as opposed to buying them whenever possible, and when it’s this easy, why not? Might as well use that cabinet full of spices! One time pretty recently, for whatever reason, I used a store-bought taco seasoning packet that I had in the pantry, and all I could think was, “Holy salt, Batman!” Now, I know salt is essential in cooking and brings out the flavors in the food. But I don’t want my food to taste predominately like salt. Not to mention all of that sodium is just not good for you.

This really only takes a minute or two to put together, and it’s so worth it! It’s delicious and you know exactly what’s in it (and you can pronounce all of the ingredients!). You can make a double, triple, quadruple batch – as much as you want. Then you store it in a zip top baggie or a small jar in your pantry. Just FYI, the store-bought packets contain one 5 Tablespoon serving; however, I find this to be more potent than the store-bought stuff, so I can get by with using less of this mix.

You can make this spicier by adding more cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes. The recipe below is what I would consider mild. I also like to add a little smoked paprika because I love the smokey flavor!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

• 2 Tablespoons chili powder (any blend you like)
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons paprika (I used half smoked and half regular)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon sea salt (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper (more or less to taste)

Measure all ingredients into a small container and mix well. Store in an airtight container.

To make tacos, add two Tablespoons of the mix to one pound of cooked ground meat of your choice. Add 1/2 cup of water and let it simmer until most of the liquid is gone.

Enjoy!