Savory Sweet Life

Simply Delicious Recipes for Everyday Living

Taco Seasoning

Last update: July 15, 2016 By Alice Currah 64 Comments

The last ten months has been a roller coaster of emotions, major life changes, and everything in between.  We bought a new home and sold our old one.  The girls started school and my youngest child started his first year of preschool two days a week for two hours a day.  Add soccer practices, games, swim team commitments, play dates, and other family outings, by 10 p.m. I’m exhausted. By the time I get the kids to bed the only thing I want to do is watch Mad Men while eating ice cream.

Not a day goes by when someone doesn’t ask me how the unpacking and settling into our new home is going.  The truth is, most of our things are still in boxes in the garage.  My husband jokingly told me we should just donate all the boxes to charity and start over.  I thought he was so silly for even suggesting this in jest a month ago but the idea is becoming more tempting by the day.  Living out of boxes does have its privileges.  Our house remains pretty clean because there really isn’t much to mess up.  Eli’s toys are confined to a 18×18-inch box and most of the rooms are essentially empty.  The great thing about living in an empty house is letting the kids and their friends literally run around in circles.  I’ve also enjoyed cooking in my new kitchen, much more so than our old house.

On more than one occasion my husband has suggested I make hard shell tacos for dinner.  I found this rather odd coming from him because I think I’ve made ground beef hard shell tacos only two times during our marriage.  I’m not sure why I haven’t made tacos more often.  Perhaps it’s because I’ve grown accustomed to making and eating taco truck style tacos with carne asada and pico de gallo.  The only other reason I can think of is because of the off taste of those taco seasoning spice packets you buy from the store.  My mom used to make tacos and I never liked the flavor or aftertaste of those spice packets.  Something always seemed very unpleasant to me. Tonight I decided to indulge in my husband’s taco cravings and make my own taco seasoning mix.  After doing some research on the internet, most basic recipes commonly use chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.  To this, some people add oregano and others add cumin.  Some recipes called for salt and some omitted salt altogether.  I decided to experiment with my own proportions based on how I like to season food. I mix ground beef with my spice concoction and cooked it until done.  The blend of spices and flavor was so good.  It was so much better than those strangely powdered taco seasoning packets that any reservations I’ve held on to about making hard shell tacos seemed to not be an issue anymore. Best of all, the spices I used were the ones most people commonly have in their pantry.  Making your own spice packets not only is more economical, it is far superior in flavor than the package variety.

I ended up cooking one pound of ground meat and I was very pleased that ALL three of my kids loved dinner tonight.  Not one speck of meat was left – a mother’s victory on two fronts.  This is a great recipe by itself but can be a great baseline for making your own taco seasoning mix, especially if you prefer certain spices over others.  Feel free to tweak to your own personal liking. Enjoy!

4.9 from 15 reviews
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Taco Seasoning Mix
Author: Savory Sweet Life
Recipe type: Spice Blend
Prep time:  3 mins
Total time:  3 mins
Serves: 4-6
 
An easy homemade taco seasoning spice blend for 1-pound of ground beef
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1½ teaspoon cumin
  • 1½ teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
  1. Mix all the spices together and use it to season one pound of ground beef before cooking.
1.2.4

Filed Under: Condiment Tagged With: Gluten-Free, Low-carb, Seasoning, spices, Taco, Vegan, Vegetarian

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Comments

  1. Angel Nanton says

    April 22, 2018 at 8:00 pm

    Great recipe😊😉😏 thank you

  2. Alice Currah says

    April 22, 2018 at 7:46 pm

    Glad you enjoyed!

  3. Angel Nanton says

    April 22, 2018 at 6:31 pm

    Thank you. Great taco seasoning

  4. Sue says

    March 11, 2018 at 1:27 pm

    I made a large batch and now I have it on hand whenever needed!

  5. Allison says

    October 5, 2017 at 3:53 am

    This is a great recipe and I will never purchase store bought taco seasoning ever again. So easy to make your own and a whole lot better. However, I leave the salt out completely and you really don’t need it. My daughter and I prefer it this way.

  6. Debbie C says

    February 26, 2013 at 11:13 pm

    I love this recipe and have used it many times! Never need to buy those packets again. Thanks Alice!

  7. Beth K says

    June 30, 2012 at 1:41 pm

    What a great recipe! Instead of meat I used 2 cans of black beans. The tacos tasted great. 3 out of 4 of my kids don’t like tacos, but they loved these. Even my picky four year old! Thanks so much.

  8. Patricia Miller says

    January 10, 2012 at 6:14 am

    I made this and can’t believe how much it tastes like the packages you buy at the store (only better)! And it was all spices I already had in my pantry. Thanks so much for the recipe!

  9. sabrina clements says

    December 29, 2011 at 7:47 am

    Great post…. Thank you very much for this post….

  10. Winter Hats says

    December 15, 2011 at 3:14 am

    Add soccer practices, games, swim team commitments, play dates, and other family outings

  11. Gary says

    November 13, 2011 at 8:30 pm

    I have made my own seasoning for years, usually with paprika, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and seasoned salt. I never think to add oregano to it as I always think of oregano as an Italian spice, but I will defintely try it. Thanks for the idea. I love you blog.

  12. Sarah says

    November 12, 2011 at 7:08 am

    I am SOOO thankful for your recipe! I will check it out! Living in China the one thing ALWAYS on my list to be sent in a ‘goodie’ box is taco seasoning! Thank you, thank you! 🙂

  13. Cheap Recipe Blog says

    November 7, 2011 at 2:58 pm

    Lovely idea! This would even make a good gift if it is packaged prettily. Thanks for sharing! Love your blog.

  14. Jaisa says

    November 7, 2011 at 2:25 pm

    This is AWESOME. We just ran out of taco seasoning (which we use all the time) and never thought to make it myself which is so silly since I make just about everything else myself! Awesome post! http://www.hardlyhousewives.com

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Hi, and welcome to Savory Sweet Life. I am so glad you are here! My name is Alice Currah and you'll find easy delicious recipes to feed your family and other useful tips for everyday living. Continue reading more about Alice....

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