Taco Seasoning

Mireille · 08/12/2018 at 9:11 am

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You will love this Keto taco seasoning recipe for any of your taco dinner or fish dishes. Even your favorite vegetable dishes can get a kick from this homemade taco spice blend recipe. It is super easy to make and very cheap compared to store-bought packets. So, are you ready to learn how to make taco seasoning? Let’s get started!

Taco Seasoning Ingredients

To make your own taco seasoning, you will need to gather a few essential ingredients. Here are the key ingredients that go into a taco seasoning blend.

You can find all the ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Spices

The spices in taco seasoning provide the blend with its signature flavor. They include:

Chili powder: This is the main spice in taco seasoning blends. It gives the seasoning its characteristic heat and smokiness. Chili powder is a spice blend as well. Be aware that Chili powder in the United States is a mild spice mix while in Europe you can find Chili powder that is very hot. You can use store-bought or make your own Chili powder.
Cumin: This spice is also a key ingredient in many Mexican dishes, including tacos. It has a warm, earthy flavor that complements the other spices in the seasoning.
Paprika: This spice adds a mild sweetness as well as a bright red color to the seasoning. Use regular paprika or sweet paprika.
Garlic powder: This ingredient adds a savory, umami flavor to the blend.
Onion powder: This ingredient provides a subtle sweetness and depth of flavor to the spice blend.
Cayenne pepper: This spice adds extra heat to the blend. Use it sparingly if you don’t like your food too spicy.

Herbs

Taco seasoning also contains herbs that help round out the flavor profile. These herbs include:

Oregano: This herb has a slightly bitter, earthy flavor that pairs well with the other spices in the blend.
Thyme: This herb has a subtle, lemony flavor that adds brightness to the seasoning. This herb is optional in this seasoning.

Additional Flavor Enhancers

You can add additional ingredients that enhance the flavor, like:

Salt: This ingredient is essential for bringing out the flavors in the other ingredients.
Black Pepper: Adds a slightly spicy and pungent flavor to the seasoning.
Sugar: This ingredient helps balance out the heat and acidity in the spice mix.
Smoked paprika: This ingredient adds a smoky flavor to the seasoning. You can use both regular and smoked paprika in your blend.
Red pepper flakes: These flakes add extra heat to the blend.

Now that you know what goes into taco seasoning, you can experiment with different ratios of ingredients to create your own custom blend.

How To Make Taco Seasoning

Just as with my other homemade seasoning recipes making a dry seasoning is super easy. All you need to do is measure the spices as mentioned in the recipe card below.
Then add all the other spices to a mixing bowl and stir well for at least 1 minute to make sure the ingredients are evenly distributed.
This recipe is for two servings. If you need more just double or triple the ingredients and make a big batch. You can store the spice mix in a glass jar.
Store it in your kitchen cabinet. You can use it for at least 1 year.

Homemade Taco Mix Recipe

If you normally buy store-bought packets of taco seasoning then this recipe is for you. Try it and you will be amazed by the difference in flavor and taste.

It is kid-friendly and your family will love it! Bonus points as this seasoning mix is easy, fast, convenient, hand-mixed, gluten-free, and way cheaper than any spice mix you can buy in the store.

It also fits perfectly in a low-carb or keto diet. Mix up a big batch of this recipe and store it in a glass jar like these cute spice jars. You can use this DIY taco spice blend for months.

Start with the ingredients required in the recipe and then move on from there and adjust it to your liking. As a result, your spice mix might vary.

No worries your taste is not the same daily. So, play around with it. That is why I always advise you to add what you like and remove what you do not like.

You may think that the best homemade taco seasoning can only be used for your tacos and Mexican recipes but that is not the case. Take a look at all the great recipes below that you can use with this seasoning.

Spice Up Your Seasoning

As with all of my Tex-Mex spice blends this mix contains a little bit of heat to give it the right amount of spice.

Taco seasoning is a rather mild seasoning but there are several ways to spice up your seasoning:

Chili flakes – in this recipe red pepper flakes are made from a mix of crushed dried red peppers. You can dry red peppers yourself and crush them with a pestle and mortar or buy them crushed.
Chile pepper/powder – is grounded chili peppers that also have a high intensity of heat. If you use it in your taco spice blend use it sparsely and increase if desired.
Cayenne pepper – is another way to heat your spice mix. Cayenne pepper can be hotter than chili flakes. However, it does depend on the number of chili seeds that are in the chili flakes. Cayenne pepper is hotter so when using cayenne pepper start with half the amount of chili flakes and increase according to taste.
Chipotle powder – this powder can be categorized as medium to high heat. Compared to chili flakes or cayenne pepper has more heat. It has a smokey taste. This ingredient is used in Mexican seasoning. If you want to apply it to your taco spice mix start with a very small amount and increase to taste.

Chile, chilies, and cayenne are all used to increase the flavor but the more you use it the more it kills your taste as well.

It is all a matter of finding the right balance between flavor and heat. As everybody experiences heat and spiciness differently the only thing you can do is test your seasoning.

Variations

While this basic recipe is a great starting point, you can customize your taco mix to suit your tastes. Here are a few variations that you can try:

Spicy Taco Seasoning: If you like spicy tacos add some additional heat to your tacos by increasing the amount of chili powder, more cayenne pepper, or chili flakes.
Smoky Taco Seasoning: Substitute smoked paprika for regular paprika to give your seasoning a smoky flavor.
Herby Taco Seasoning: Add fresh or dried herbs like cilantro, parsley, or thyme to your seasoning for a fresh, herbaceous flavor.
Citrusy Taco Seasoning: Add dried lime zest to your seasoning for a citrusy flavor.

Experiment with one or more combinations of spices and herbs so you can find your perfect taco seasoning blend. Once you’ve made your taco seasoning, you’ll never go back to the store-bought packets!

See How To Make A Taco Seasoning Mix

Want to see how easy it is to make your taco seasoning mix? Then watch the instructional video in the recipe card below.

How To Store Taco Seasoning

There are various ways to store your taco spice mix:

Glass jar
Airtight container

Always store it in a dark kitchen cabinet. You can keep it for months without it losing its taste. Your seasoning will be preserved much better when it is stored at a constant temperature.

So do not keep it in the sun, near a stovetop, or in the dishwasher. When seasoning comes into direct contact with warmth your seasoning will deteriorate faster compared to storing it in a dry and dark place.

How To Use Taco Seasoning?

If you want to use your own seasoning in a recipe start with 2 tablespoons of the spice blend. This is the equivalent of 1 package of taco seasoning.

Taste and add more if desired.

Other Culinary Uses

Taco seasoning can be used in a variety of other dishes beyond tacos. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Burgers or meatballs: Use it to season ground beef or turkey for burgers or meatballs.
Dip: Mix some seasoning into sour cream or yogurt for a quick and easy dip.
Vegetables: Sprinkle it on roasted vegetables or potatoes for a flavorful side dish.
Snacks: Use it to season homemade popcorn for a spicy snack.
Spread: Mix it into cream cheese for a tasty spread.

The possibilities are endless! Just be sure to adjust the amount of seasoning to taste, as taco seasoning can be quite spicy.

This seasoning can also be used in a lot of great recipes like:

Organic beef tacos – this is the ultimate taco meat seasoning. Just add two tablespoons of seasoning to get delicious beef tacos.
Tender carnitas tacos – this homemade taco seasoning mix recipe is a great addition to this recipe.
Taco lasagna – the perfect combination of flour tortillas, ground beef, taco meat seasoning, and a skillet.
Veggie frenzy taco – add at least one tablespoon of this authentic taco seasoning to the vegetables in this recipe.
Taco pasta – a great combination of pasta and taco meat.
Taco salad – this is a super-fast salad recipe. You have this taco chicken salad on the table in 10 minutes.
Taco Pizza – this pizza is the best of both worlds. It is easy to make with 2 ingredients dough and topped with taco turkey meat and vegetables.