How to Make Homemade Taco Seasoning

Taco seasoning is a pantry essential, adding rich, spicy flavor to anything it touches. In addition to seasoning taco meat, it can be used a million different ways: as a dry brine for big cuts of meat, a seasoning for casseroles, and a flavor booster for chili, just to name a few. Making your own taco seasoning at home is as simple as whisking together some pantry ingredients. It gives you complete control over its flavor, tastes way better than anything that you can buy, and saves you from having to go to the store in the first place.

Here’s how to make the very best taco seasoning at home — and how to use it for tacos and beyond.

I grew up on those little yellow envelopes of taco seasoning and I loved every single thing my mom made with them. So it took me a while to come around to the idea that making taco seasoning myself was actually worth the expense and the effort.

This recipe is what finally convinced me. Most of the ingredients and spices are pantry staples I already have and use at home, and this from-scratch version makes everything, even basic tacos, so much more delicious. Tablespoon for tablespoon, homemade taco seasoning can actually be less expensive than buying a store-bought packet, too, depending on what ingredients you already have and where you buy your spices.

Fresh spices make for the best taco seasoning, which is part of why homemade taco seasoning beats the pants off of store-bought. Who knows how long those packets have been sitting on the shelves. Buying your spices in bulk, if possible, or from an online spice source like Penzey’s will ensure the spices are fresh. Buying in bulk is also often less expensive than buying them pre-packaged.

The base of this taco seasoning is a mix of paprika, chili powder, cumin, garlic and onion powders, oregano, sugar, and salt, as well as two additional ingredients that may surprise you. Coriander is a sweet and warming spice that adds richness to the blend. And cornstarch acts as an anti-clumping agent, while also helping to thicken cooking liquids when the mix is added to chicken or beef tacos.

Taco seasoning packets vary a little bit by brand, but most are about 1 ounce by weight, or 3 tablespoons. Use 3 tablespoons of this homemade version for every packet you’re replacing in a recipe, or for every 1 pound of protein, such as ground beef, chicken or tofu. In total, this recipe amounts to a little more than five packets and lasts for months stored properly in an airtight container at cool room temperature.

Homemade taco seasoning is destined for crispy beef tacos, but you can use it in everything from soups to casseroles. Lately, I’ve taken to upgrading my buttered saltine crackers with this spicy, robust seasoning mix. Here are a few more of our favorite ways to use it:

• Copycat Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme
• 6-Ingredient Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
• Beef Totchos
• Best-Ever 7-Layer Dip
• Slow Cooker Taco-Stuffed Potatoes
• Quick and Easy Sheet Pan Nachos
• One-Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta
• The Simplest Mexican Chicken Tacos