Taco Seasoning Recipe (2024)

I also add a teaspoon of Mexican oregano. Crumble it with your hands to release the oils. It really adds another dimension. This is a really good recipe, although I've never added the cornstarch.

Cayenne ground pepper can give a more even heat if you prefer, over chili flakes. And try grinding your own mix of toasted ancho and chipotle chilis

Seems about right to me. We love home made tacos and use spices liberally. Do toast whole cumin seed and grind it fresh. Easy as pie and much more delightful. We also add corriander seed, toasted and ground. I love the comment to use rosemary. Will try!

Cornstarch! That will help the wetness of some recipes and is not something that occurred to me in my own recipe.I like to use a mortar and pestle with coarse salt and rosemary as the first step, and then mix in the remaining already powdered ingredients. The rosemary adds an earthy note, while being ground down makes the texture match.

Instead of corn starch, I add masa harina. It gives the mix a hint of corn flavor. Also sometimes I add a few tablespoons of Ro-tel tomatoes and green chiles.

I’m a fairly experienced cook but always get a tad confused by “chile powder”, especially as I’m in Canada and the only Chile powder I typically see is the generic supermarket stuff. And doesn’t that already have cumin in it? For this recipe, should I use the supermarket brand or should I visit my local Latin market and toast and grind dried Chilies? This looks good BTW. Not a sodium bomb like commercial taco seasonings.

Delicious! I’ll never buy taco seasoning in a packet again. Followed the recipe accordingly and added to a pound of ground beef. Some of the best tacos ever, I swear.

Probably a sacrilege to purists, but I add a teaspoon of brown sugar. Doesn't make the mix sweet at all, and helps caramelize the meat or tofu.

Has anyone tried this yet? It appears to be an awful lot of chile powder for 1 pound of meat.

What exactly is the chile powder in this recipe? In the UK this would mean ground dried chillies and 2 tablespoons of this would be lethally hot!

Added oregano, did not use powdered onion or garlic. Subbed about a third of the chli powder with chipotle chili powder and used less chili flakes (chipotle chili powder is spicy). Made about 3x recipe, used with 4# ground beef. One whole yellow onion, 4 cloves garlic, 2C beef broth. Spicy & yummy.

Delicious! Taste as you go when adding to your dish. For our tastes, 3/4 recipe per pound was perfect.

Cornstarch helps thicken the meat mixture as the water is reduced during cooking.

Like another commented, I always add some Mexican oregano. Also, Trader Joe’s Chile Lime seasoning is a staple in Mexican cooking for me, just beware there’s already a fair amount of salt in it!

Use a different chili flake for some of the total: New Mexico, ancho, chipotle, pasilla--all are mild and tasty. There are plenty more.

perfect combo, i use a mortar & pestle to combine

Made this exactly as written but only used 1/2 of it with a pound of meat. It was a huge hit with hungry teens and was immediately requested for dinner again next week.

I’ve made a lot of homemade taco seasoning mixes and this is the best. I do add some water so that it can simmer for a bit with the meat. It seems to blend the flavors better. Other than that I I made it exactly as written.

This was perfect. I added cayenne to mine to make it a bit spicier. This is easy and far better than the packets at the store.

Help!! I'm cumin averse! What do I substitute??

Skip cornstarch. Delicious without and not needed

In the UK and Australia don't substitute this 'Chile powder' for chilli powder, it's not the same! I have made this mistake before and made rocket fuel. I think in the US chile powder is made from dried ancho chilli peppers which are as mild as regular peppers but almost chocolatey. This is easy enough to make yourself but you need to source the dried ancho chili peppers in specialty stores or online, toast in the oven and then blitz in the food processor to make the powder. Worth the effort!

Just to be clear. Should one apply this seasoning after browning the beef, and then add with a cup of water and cook to the liquid is reduced?

I made this with exactly the ingredients and amounts in the recipe and was disappointed. I suspect there is way too much pepper with the black pepper and chili flakes. I’ll stick with the packets from my HEB.

1 TBSP chile powder2 tsp cumin2 tsp smoked paprika1/16 tsp red pepper flakesKinda not spicy enough

Welp, until I read comments, I had no idea there was a difference between “chile” and “chili” powder. I just assumed people couldn’t spell. So I used “hot Mexican chili powder.” Hot as heck, but still tastes good. Will do chile powder next time.

Way too much chili powder for me. Didn't taste like tacos.

Added oregano and subbed in some chipotle powder for chili powder. Amazing! I make it in bulk without the salt and the cornstarch. For tacos I add that to taste just before using. That way I can use the base mix on vegetables, hard boiled eggs, fajitas, etc.

I made this with Rancho Gordo Chile powder (100% New Mexico chiles), and 1/2 tsp Rancho Gordo pimenton (described as moderately spicy) + 1/2 tsp paprika. No red pepper flakes as my current batch is hotter than usual. I used about half the recipe for a pound of meat and it turned out slightly hot. I used a tsp or so for 1/2 C meat for the 4 year olds. Taste as you go! If it turns out too hot, sour cream on the side helps.

I used this mix tonight with black beans that I refried. It was delicious. My grandson thought they were about the best beans he ever had. I was delighted. Thank you!