When I posted the Quick Quinoa & Turkey Taco Stew awhile back, I received a few questions about Taco Seasoning. I normally never buy those little packets, you know, the ones with WAY to much salt in them, but when I made the stew I happen to have a packet lying around from an old recipe and it worked great. When I make it again I’ll probably use my own seasoning.
Anyway, I made tacos the other night and measured out my own spices to give you some ideas. This combination can be used on anything, ground beef, chicken, I even used it in a double batch of Southwestern Turkey Burgers that I made today. 
For my tacos, I used 8 oz lean ground beef and the following spices.
- 1 ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp dried cilantro
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- Ground red pepper flakes to taste
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Now, if you are the type of person who buys those packets instead of keeping spices on hand, I encourage you to try this. It may be intimidating at first but most of the spices you see pictured were 99 cents each. That’s a heck of a lot of taco seasoning. Plus you can use the spices for other things as well! And don’t believe what all the “top chefs” tell you about replacing your spices every 3 months. Some of you may think I’m crazy but I’ve had some of my spices for years. They still “work” and add a lot of flavor to your dishes.
Anyone want to add anything to our taco seasoning? Any other spices you add?
Thank you for this recipe! We have been trying to reduce our sodium intake and after seeing all the sodium in premix taco seasonings I vowed to never purchase again! Glad to see I had everything for this version, and we have been using it since.
I used your taco seasoning recipe in a Cooking Light recipe for Mexicali Turkey Skillet (a staple in my household, but not sure about copyrights if I can share it). I forgot to grab a packet of taco seasoning mixed up a batch of your's instead. The husband is raving about how much better it is with your taco seasoning. Goodbye packets!
I like to use ancho chili powder in place of regular chili powder because, believe it or not, they hide salt in there!
Jason - Glad you liked it!
Thanks for the inspiration fellow foodie! I found this post a while back ago and it gave me a great idea for grilled chicken tacos. I modified the recipe a bit.. Used Chipotle Seasoning flakes instead of the Red Pepper Flakes, also used Granulated Garlic, and added some Mexican oregano. The results were fabulous!
Sounds awesome,I have never tried making my own taco seasoning although I make all my other spices.Thanks for sharing this recipe I will definitely be making a batch of this soon
Michelle - I'm not sure about a whole packet of traditional seasoning. I use the whole recipe for 1/2 pound of meat. So double it for 1 pound, triple it for 2 and so on. That should work out nicely.
Hope that helps! And please let me get through potty training before college! ;~P
Roni, great idea. About how many of these servings (How much should I double or triple, etc..) to equal a packet of seasoning?
PS: Love your site. I have a Ryan too, he looked very much like your boy at that age, now he's a Freshman in College. Good for you that he likes veggies!
Lisa - I used all of that (the entire recipe) on 8 oz of lean beef. So I guess you can say the recipe is a single meal serving. You can double, triple or quadruple it ad then add how much you want for the amount of meat you use.
Roni,
I just found your website and LOVE it! A quick question on the taco seasoning. How much do you add to season the meat?
Thnaks so much for the inspiration.
In addition to yours, mine uses paprika and cayenne pepper(instead of red pepper flakes). Mine does not use cilantro so I'll definitely try that!
When I go through the trouble of making mine I double, triple, quadruple the recipe, then store what I don't use in a resealable plastic baggy with the instructions (in my case mix 1.5 tbls. taco seasoning with 1 pound ground beef).
That way I have it on hand for evenings I'm more in the "get it on the table and go" mode.
I have the WW Take Out Tonite cookbook and there is a mexican recipe in there and it uses oregano, cumin, and garlic. tastes great!
I stopped buying all those sauce mix packets as well as most boxed items a long time ago. My family gets less sodium and much better tasting food. I hope my sons marry girls that can cook!
I haven't bought taco seasoning in forever either, but I have been looking (though not very hard) to figure out what is in taco seasoning... and I'm shocked to know that I already have all of the spices in my cabinet. When does that ever happen?! Thanks for the recipe, I'll definitely be mixing up a batch of this.
who replaces their spices every three months? land sakes, that's craziness! i'm with you--i use mine until they stop doing the job!
this is a great post--i recently stopped buying the seasoning packets and i haven't looked back.