Homemade Taco Seasoning

Make your own Homemade Taco Seasoning with ingredients you have right in your spice cabinet. Easy to make spice mix with all of the flavor but none of the preservatives!

WHY HOMEMADE TACO SEASONING?

We eat a lot of Mexican food here.  I love the spices and flavors…I have since I was a young child.

Tacos especially are a big favorite of my boys. When school is in session, we’re always rushed at night because of sports and other activities, and I need meals I can get on the table fast. Tacos are one of my go-to dinner recipes when I’m in a rush.

My husband started making his own taco seasoning about a year ago. He helps out with dinner during the week fairly often and if we haven’t planned ahead, we know we can make tacos because we always have everything we need in the house. Everything, that is, except that little packet of spices. I try to avoid processed ingredients as much as possible, and often completely skip those aisles in the grocery store. It’s also cheaper to make your own taco seasoning.

While I don’t buy those taco seasoning packets, what I do have is an extensive collection of spices. I’ve talked about my cabinet full of balsamic vinegars and olive oils. Well, I have TWO cabinets full of spices. Spice-wise, I could probably pull together any sort of Mexican, Middle Eastern, or Indian recipe you asked for. I might not have all the ingredients to make the dish, but I most likely have all the spices.

MAKING TACO SEASONING WITH INGREDIENTS YOU ALREADY HAVE

My husband’s version was never quite spicy enough for me, so I started tinkering with it too.

For homemade taco seasoning, you’ll need chili pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, dried organo, paprika, and sea salt. You can also add pepper, but it’s optional. You probably have all of these spices in your spice cabinet. It’s a healthier option than the spice packets and it’s really easy to make…it only takes a few minutes to measure everything out, mix it together, and put it in a jar for storage.

If you want to tone it down the spiciness, cut back on the red pepper flakes. I usually add a little water when I add the taco seasoning to the ground beef…using water can also cut back a little on the spiciness.

In case you’re wondering how much taco seasoning mix to use when you’re cooking, a good rule of thumb is 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning per pound of ground beef.

 

Let me know what you think if you try my homemade taco seasoning recipe!

 

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