Jump to Recipe

Our easy homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe is a quick mix of chili powder, ground cumin, paprika, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. It’s the best mild taco seasoning for really flavorful taco meat that your whole family will love.

Homemade Taco Seasoning on a white dish.

The flavors in homemade taco seasoning taste better than the mass-produced packet stuff you get at the store. And if you’re watching your salt intake and trying to avoid artificial flavors and fillers, making your own homemade seasonings  is a better way to go.

Homemade Mild Taco Seasoning on a white dish.

We keep things pretty simple with our taco seasoning recipe. The combo of flavors in this homemade seasoning makes the best tasting taco meat!

Why You Will Want To Make This Recipe

  • Quick and Easy. You will likely have most, if not all, of the ingredients already on hand, so you can pull this seasoning mix together in a pinch.
  • Best Flavor.  This seasoning is far superior to the mass produced packet stuff you’d get at the store.
  • Select Ingredients. When you make homemade taco seasoning, you choose the ingredients you want to use and you control the amount of sodium and sugar to add. Plus there’s no artificial flavors, dyes or fillers.

What’s In Taco Seasoning?

Traditional taco seasoning is a simple mix of chili powder, paprika, cumin and oregano.  However, each taco seasoning recipe may taste distinctively unique because of the different amounts of each individual spice that is used for the recipe. Some recipes may add more chili powder than others, while some may add more cumin. Also, some recipes may add cayenne pepper making the seasoning more spicy, and other recipes may use smoked paprika which adds a smoky flavor to the seasoning. 

Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe Ingredients

  • Chili Powder. We use Gebhardt chili powder for this recipe.
  • Brown Sugar. Adding just 1-2 teaspoons light brown sugar to the mix mellows the tang of tomato sauce and bitterness of chili powder when you cook the taco meat. I don’t usually like to add sugar to recipes, but a little sugar in this seasoning really makes a big difference in the flavor of the taco meat. It’s SO good!
  • Paprika. Paprika adds another layer of flavor to the mix. We use regular paprika, but you can use smoked if you want smoky flavored taco meat.
  • Cumin. Cumin has a strong flavor which can at times be a little overbearing. So we add just a little cumin to the mix to enhance the flavor combo.
  • Garlic and Onion Powder. Both garlic and onion powder add flavor to the seasoning. 
  • Salt and Pepper.  We add just a little salt and black pepper.

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

Mild Taco Seasoning on a white dish next to a skillet of taco meat.

Variations

  • Add another 1/2 tablespoon chili powder if you want to add even more flavor to the meat.
  • Add 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano (you can use regular oregano if you’re unable to find Mexican oregano).
  • Add 1/2 teaspoon adobo powder if you want to add a smokey flavor to the taco meat.
  • We add 2 teaspoons light brown sugar to the mix. Use only 1 teaspoon or omit the sugar altogether if you’re watching your sugar intake. The added sugar makes this seasoning really tasty.

Ground Turkey Taco Meat in a white skillet.

How To Make Taco Seasoning

  1. Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl and use right away or you can store it in an airtight container with your other spices.

Ground Taco Meat in a white skillet with a serving spoon.

How To Use Taco Seasoning

Whether you make taco meat using  ground meat or shredded meat (beef, turkey or chicken), you will use all of the taco seasoning provided in this recipe with 1 to 1-1/2 pounds of meat. This homemade taco seasoning makes the BEST tacos! You can also use it to season fish, chicken, potatoes, fajitas, burritos and more.

Hard Shell Ground Meat Tacos on a plate.

More Seasoning Recipes

Homemade Taco Seasoning
Yield: 1 serving

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Our Homemade Taco Seasoning recipe is a quick mix of chili powder, ground cumin, paprika, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. It’s the best mild taco seasoning for really flavorful taco meat that your whole family will love.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon chili powder (We use Gebhardt chili powder)
  • 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon paprika (regular or smoked)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  1. Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl and use right away or you can store it in an airtight container with your other spices.
  2. Whether you make taco meat using  ground meat or shredded meat (beef, turkey or chicken), you will use all of the taco seasoning provided in this recipe with 1 pound of meat.

Notes

Variations

  • Add another 1/2 tablespoon chili powder if you want to add even more flavor to the meat.
  • Add 1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano (you can use regular dried oregano if you're unable to find Mexican oregano).
  • Add 1/2 teaspoon adobo powder if you want to add a smokey flavor to the taco meat.
  • We add 2 teaspoons light brown sugar to the mix. Reduce the amount using only 1 teaspoon or omit the brown sugar altogether if you're watching your sugar intake. The added sugar makes this seasoning really tasty though.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

1

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 77Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1297mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 4gSugar: 8gProtein: 2g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.

© Deborah Duncan
Cuisine: Mexican / Category: Seasoning Blends