by Holly
This easy Homemade Taco Seasoning recipe is the perfect way to spice up your chicken or beef!
Creating your own taco mix at home allows you to control what ingredients go into it while saving money!
The best part is that this DIY taco seasoning takes just minutes to make and you likely have all of the ingredients you need on hand!
I love Homemade Taco Seasoning!
I use it for so many dishes in the kitchen, like soups, casseroles, and even as a rub when I grill chicken or steak!
Store-bought seasoning tastes delicious, but it can be loaded with additives and flavor wise, nothing compares to homemade taco seasoning!
This taco seasoning recipe takes almost no time to make, and is easily customizable to suit your family’s liking. I like to make mine with reduced salt for our family.
I love anything spicy, but if your kids aren’t big on spicy foods, you can certainly create a mild taco seasoning.
What’s in Taco Seasoning?
So, exactly what spices make taco seasoning?
All of the spices used are normal everyday pantry items. You will most likely have all of the ingredients you need to make this homemade taco seasoning recipe at home!
Chili Powder makes up the largest portion of this taco seasoning mix and adds a southwestern flavor.
Cumin is another favorite and it adds a slightly nutty warm flavor while onion and garlic powder are the aromatics in this recipe.
Salt and pepper are in almost every seasoning including this taco seasoning.
The great thing is you can control how much salt you would like to add. I add black pepper but also a pinch of cayenne (add more if you prefer more heat)!
If you’d like to make a this homemade taco seasoning mild, reduce or eliminate the pepper and skip the cayenne!
Since this is made from spices, it’s naturally gluten free (just make sure your chili powder and all spices are GF).
What Can You Make With Taco Seasoning Mix?
Whether it’s weeknight Tacos, or Fajita Friday, you’ll definitely love having this easy taco seasoning ready to go in your spice cupboard!
This taco seasoning works for ground beef, ground chicken, or even pork or chicken cutlets! It can be added to almost anything you’d like.
I love using this recipe to make Dorito Taco Salad and Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos at home. Sometimes, I even sprinkle this seasoning on my popcorn for a delicious treat!
The best part of this recipe is how inexpensive it is. You can make it for just pennies at home!
Once you make it, you will never want to go back to store-bought taco seasoning.
Homemade taco seasoning will last 6 month stored in a cool, dry place like your spice cupboard, which means you’ll definitely end up using it!
I use cute little spice jars found on Amazon to keep my spices, but anything you have will work – even a ziplock bag!
I usually make a triple batch so it’s ready to go whenever I need a little taco mix!
Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings 8
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ tablespoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- pinch of cayenne pepper optional
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Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together.
- Store in an airtight container.
- Store for up to 6 months in a cool dry place.
To Use:
- For tacos add 2 Tablespoons (or to taste) to 1 pound of cooked ground meat (optional, add diced onions).
- Add ½ cup water and simmer until most of the water has evaporated.
Nutrition Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
I love this recipe because some of the packaged taco seasoning is quite salty. I substitute dried cilantro for the oregano.
Holly, Call me amature, but does this recipe use “chile powder” (powdered chilies), or “chili seasoning”?
Hi Mark, great question! This uses chili powder that is a mix of chilies. You can see my homemade versions of the chili powder here. Enjoy it!
Mixed correct amounts and types of spices. This seasoning is far too spicy. Would not recommend it.
You can easily adjust the spiciness to your liking, which is one reason I love this homemade seasoning recipe! Simply leave out the chili flakes and cayenne pepper. You can then add chili powder until it is as much as you like. I’d suggest adding a double batch of the other seasonings to your existing batch to reduce the spiciness.
Am having a problem printing the recipes out. Please sign me up. Will be using the Italian seasoning for a church get togathing this weekend.
Welcome Kathy! You will find a Print Recipe button right above the full Ingredients list by the recipe. To receive emails with new recipes, you can click here to sign up to receive emails. Look forward to sending you recipes!
I am delighted to find the Italian seasoning recipe. I bake my Spelt bread with lots of Italian seasoning. The result is heavenly.
Sing me up please!
Welcome Tete! To receive emails with new recipes, you can click here to sign up to receive emails. Look forward to sending you recipes!
I normally buy a blend from my local spice store. I noticed it had lactose in it and I’m diary intolerant. I found this recipe and made it today. I added a little chipotle for added flavor. It was spicy, because we like it that way, but you can definitely tone if down with milder chili powder, no cayenne…Love it. Will use this blend from now on. Thank you. Great job. We used turkey, but I be it would be good with all meats. Am going to try it in my Taco Soup recipe next.
Love love love this recipe!! Thank you for sharing it!
Can anyone give me the measurements you used of the ingredients to make a larger amount? I’d gladly appreciate your sharing!
When you go to the print page, you can change the number of servings to a large amount and it will automatically increase the amounts in the recipe. Hope that helps!