The Best Homemade Taco Seasoning

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Why buy taco seasoning from the store when you can make it easily? This taco seasoning recipe is made in bulk and doesn’t have any questionable ingredients!

Why Should You Make Your Own Taco Seasoning?

I have been making the best taco seasoning for years now, and I will never go back to store-bought taco seasoning! It just has a few simple ingredients, none of which are included for any reason other than flavor! Store-bought taco seasoning can contain MSG, and other fillers or preservatives.

Let’s look at the ingredients:

Let’s take a look at the standard ingredients of store-bought taco seasoning: Corn flour (or corn meal), maltodextrin, salt, paprika, modified corn starch, spices, ancho chili pepper, sugar, citric acid, yeast extract, natural flavors, rosemary and green tea extract, and silicon dioxide. Do any of these ingredients raise a red flag for you? For me they do, which is why I decided to start making my own taco seasoning.

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Why in the world do we need corn, sugar, and yeast extract in our taco seasoning? The corn is obviously a filler, but the other ingredients don’t make a lot of sense. What is silicon dioxide? It is found in quartz. This is added to prevent caking, but I can tell you, in all of the years I have made my own taco seasoning, I have never had an issue with caking.

Maltodextrin is added to improve flavor. If you are celiac, you need to watch out for this ingredient, because it is made of several different types of starches, including corn. Did you know all grains contain traces of gluten? Eating a diet high in foods with maltodextrin added suggests you eat a lot of carbohydrates and sugars, which is not a healthy diet overall. We definitely don’t need this in our taco seasoning.

Natural flavors:

When we see the words “natural flavors” on ingredients labels, that can be pretty misleading. This is an umbrella term, and the word natural means nothing in the world of ingredient labels. They can label GMO products with the word natural if they want to, it’s a marketing tactic. So what is covered under this umbrella term? Natural flavors can be anything from different food additives, to preservatives. They can even disguise MSG as “natural flavors” on the food labels!

How to Make the Best Taco Seasoning

Tools needed for making taco seasoning:

Ingredients needed for taco seasoning:

I use spices with no added fillers or extra ingredients. My favorite place for buying organic groceries and ingredients is Azure Standard. If you don’t have access to this where you live, I have linked the best ingredients I could find above!

Steps for Making the Best Taco Seasoning

Step 1:

Measure your ingredients and add them to a mixing bowl.

Step 2:

Mix until well combined.

Step 3:

Use a funnel to store in your quart sized jar. Label and enjoy!

If you don’t have a label printer, this one is great! It is inkless and the refill labels are inexpensive! I use this for labeling all of my spices and home-canned goods!

taco seasoning in a quart jar

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Stop buying taco seasoning from the store and learn how to make your own, with no questionable ingredients!
Total Time 20 minutes

Equipment

  • 1 Mixing Bowl
  • 1 Spoon for mixing
  • 1 Quart sized jar for storage
  • 1 Funnel

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Chili Powder
  • 1 cup Cumin
  • 1/2 cup Salt
  • 1/2 cup Black pepper
  • 4 tbsp Smoked paprika
  • 2 tbsp Granulated garlic
  • 2 tbsp Onion Powder
  • 2 tbsp Oregano
  • 2 tbsp Red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp Cayenne optional

Instructions

  • Measure the ingredients and put them into the bowl
  • Mix until well combined
  • Use a funnel to pour the mixture into the jar
  • Label and cover with an airtight lid

FAQ About Homemade Taco Seasoning

Is this spicy?

If you add the cayenne, or use a hot chili powder, then yes. The cayenne only gives it a little kick, but not too spicy.

How can I keep it from caking?

I have never had issues with caking, but if you live in a humid area, this may be a problem for you. You can add in some of the packets meant for adding to dried foods to keep it from obtaining moisture.

How long will it last?

If you keep it in a airtight container, it will last several months! Usually I use mine up pretty quickly because we eat a lot of tacos. If you don’t use taco seasoning often, you can cut the recipe in half.

How much do I need for a pound of ground beef?

I like my taco meat well seasoned, so I use 2-3 tbsp so per pound of beef. You can season it as much or as little as you’d like!

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