This homemade taco seasoning recipe is so much better than store-bought and works with just about everything (ground beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, or veggies). We reach for it all the time when we’re making our favorite taco meat.
If you’ve tried our homemade chili powder or Cajun seasoning, you already know we’re big fans of making our own spice blends. This taco seasoning recipe is no exception! It uses spices you probably already have, plus one optional ingredient that takes the flavor over the top.
We love using this for pork tacos, beef tacos, and turkey tacos, but honestly, I sprinkle it on everything, from ground meat to seafood to veggies. And here’s a bonus: it keeps for months in your spice cabinet, but I have a feeling you’ll go through it fast!
Key Ingredients
- Chili Powder: We love using our homemade chili powder in this seasoning, but feel free to use your favorite. Ancho chili powder is a great store-bought option.
- Pantry Spices: We always reach for ground cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and oregano to make our taco seasoning taste extra rich and flavorful. If you like things spicy, add a little bit of cayenne pepper (we include it in our recipe below).
- Salt: I always add salt to my taco seasoning, so when I’m making my taco meat recipe, I don’t need to add any extra salt. If you’d prefer to season later on, feel free to reduce the salt or leave it out completely.
- Mushroom Powder (optional): This is our little secret for adding extra savory flavor. We like to make our own (check out our mushroom powder recipe if you’re curious), but you can also find mushroom powder blends at most grocery stores these days.
- Cornstarch (optional): I don’t always add cornstarch, but it’s a handy trick if you want your taco filling to be a little saucy. It mixes with the liquid in your recipe and helps everything thicken up, just like the store-bought packets do. If you want your seasoning to cling to the meat or veggies, a little cornstarch does the trick.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Taco Seasoning
Tip 1: Make the basic seasoning. The taco seasoning recipe below shares a basic blend, plus 3 optional ingredients. Most often, I make the basic blend and am really happy with it! When I have the extra ingredients on hand, I’ll add them. The optional ingredients are cayenne pepper for a spicy seasoning, mushroom powder for a more savory, umami seasoning, and cornstarch, which helps thicken liquids when using the spice blend.
To make the seasoning, add all the spices and any optional ingredients to a spice jar, then whisk or shake until well combined. Then, keep it in your spice cabinet for up to 6 months.
Tip 2: Using homemade taco seasoning. Our recipe below makes enough for 4 meals. When using it, you will need 5 teaspoons (or 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons) of the seasoning for 1 pound (450 g) of meat or veggies. (So, the recipe below makes enough for 4 pounds of meat.) I use this seasoning for the following recipes:
- Ground Beef Tacos
- Easy Pork Tacos
- Turkey Tacos (coming soon)
- Taco Soup
- Vegan Queso
More Homemade Seasonings
The Best Taco Seasoning
- PREP
- TOTAL
Over the years, we’ve really dialed in this taco seasoning recipe, and now we use it once a week (at least!). The recipe below includes three optional ingredients. This seasoning without them is incredible, but feel welcome to add heat with cayenne, extra umami with mushroom powder, and a thickener with cornstarch. I make this all the time without any of the optional ingredients and love it, so don’t feel like you’re missing out if you don’t include them. They simply make the spice mix a bit more interesting.
You Will Need
2 tablespoons chili powder, try homemade chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
4 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 to 3 teaspoons fine sea salt, see tips
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional for heat
2 teaspoons mushroom powder, optional, see tips
2 teaspoons cornstarch, optional
Directions
1Combine the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano, salt, cayenne (optional), mushroom powder (optional), and the cornstarch in a small spice jar. Stir or shake until well mixed.
2Store in an airtight jar for up to 6 months, and use 5 teaspoons (or 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons) for 1 pound (450 g) of meat or vegetables.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Store taco seasoning in an airtight jar in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months.
- Dialing in the salt: I use 3 teaspoons in my mix, but that’s because I either use mushroom powder with no salt added or none at all. If you are using store-bought mushroom powder with salt already added, consider reducing the salt to 1 or 2 teaspoons. The full amount of salt makes this highly seasoned, so use your judgment in reducing based on how you plan to use it and taste.
- How to use: For 1 pound (450 g) of meat or veggies, we add 5 teaspoons (1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons) of taco seasoning. Cook the meat/veggies and taco seasoning in a skillet, add 2 tablespoons tomato paste and ½ cup of liquid (broth or water). Simmer until done. See our taco meat recipe for more tips.
- Mushroom powder: You may find it in stores, but we make our own (it’s easy). To make it, blend 1 ounce of dried porcini mushrooms until a fine powder, yielding about ¼ cup. You can store leftover mushroom powder in a spice jar for up to 6 months and use it whenever a dish could use a savory boost. For more details, here is our mushroom powder recipe.
- The nutrition facts below are estimates.
I did this last night, minus the mushroom powder. I had intended to add sauted chopped fresh mushrooms, but ended up eating them throughout the day. I may have been a bit heavy with the cayenne….we are Californians and don’t mind spicy. Very, very good. This is a solid recipe…
Yay! We are so happy you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Can I replace cornstarch with flour? I’m out of corn starch😩
Hi Rochelle, I’d just leave it out.
This seasoning is fantastic! Made it couple weeks ago for our taco Tuesday thing, including the dried mushroom powder, which I reviewed separately.. this here is a seriously awesome find for me! Certainly using this for my Cinco de Mayo thing tomorrow.. thanks, guys!
This is wonderful, Steve! So happy you found our recipe.
Thanks a lot for sharing such nice recipes.I look forward to many more of your recipes.
You are very welcome!
Made this seasoning tonight for tacos, minus the salt and dried mushroom powder. It was so good! Very similar to the commercial taco seasoning from stores, not as salty. We eat our tacos as salad with salty chips so didn’t notice the lack of salt there, but would if it was part of a recipe or without salty chips or whatever. I have made other homemade taco seasoning mixes and they were a completely different taste, waaaay too spicy and generally disappointing. Keeping this recipe for sure and if I can find dried mushrooms will it with that next time!
What wonderful news, Sami! We do hope that you get the chance to try this with the mushroom powder added. If you loved the recipe without it, we know you will be over the moon after adding it. Happy cooking!
I’d like to try this to get away from the high sodium in packaged taco seasoning. When cooking it with ground turkey do you add a cup of water and let it simmer like the directions on packaged seasoning?
Yes, we do add a little water. I don’t usually need the whole cup, but since we have added the cornstarch to the mix the sauce will thicken just like the packaged seasoning. I’d start with 1/3 cup and add from there as needed.
I have shied away from the packaged seasoning mixes because of the overwhelming sodium. (Salt restricted diet!) This solves THAT problem and it tastes so much better than the commercial variety. Thank you for this!
We completely agree and actually find this homemade blend more flavorful than the packets at the store.
Sounds like a great addition! I will use your recipe the next time I make homemade taco seasoning. I make it in a bigger batch but I will just double this. This reminds me of a trick I learned from a friend’s mother who made homemade chili and always put a jar or can of mushrooms in drained…The texture they impart is great but no flavor. I always include either fresh or jarred mushrooms to my chili. A trick I do for taco meat is I add some cilantro stems at the beginning of cooking and raw spinach leaves in the last minute or so…Thanks for the nice tip!
Love all of your tips, Rhonda. Thank you for sharing them with us and we hope you enjoy the seasoning.