This is my family’s favorite homemade taco seasoning recipe! It’s much better than store-bought and works with chicken, fish, shrimp, pork, beef and vegetables! This easy recipe is for goalkeepers!
If you’ve seen our homemade chili powder or Cajun seasonings, you’ll know we love making homemade seasonings. Our taco seasonings are mainly spices you may already have in the spice cabinet and an optional special ingredient that makes this blend very delicious.
Our readers call this mixture “wonderful,” “goalkeeper” and “much better than store-bought brands.” I used it to make our simple pork tacos and happily sprinkle it on ground beef, chicken, seafood and vegetables. And, if you are not convinced, the mixture will last in your spice cabinet for months (although I bet you will use it soon once you try it!).
Key Ingredients
- Chili powder: We love using homemade chili powder in this taco seasoning, but feel free to use what you like. Ancho Chili Powder is an excellent store buying option.
- Storage room spices: For a rich and delicious mixture, we use concave cumin, smoked paprika and cilantro. To increase calories, you can include Cayenne Pepper.
- Corn starch: This is the trick to make sure the seasonings adhere to the taco ingredients. Store-buyed taco seasoning packs usually contain thickeners. When corn starch is combined with liquid and heat, it creates a sauce that helps season the cake to grind meat, vegetables, or other ingredients.
- Salt: You can add salt to this mixture for a one-stop seasoning. If you omit it, remember to add salt to the plate as needed.
- Mushroom powder: This is the special ingredient I mentioned earlier. If you’ve ever seen umami mixtures of umami in the spice aisle, they’re made with mushroom powder! We shared this secret a few years ago and were so happy that it finally caught up in the store! I make homemade mushroom powder and add it to this mixture. This is easy to make. Buy dried pig mushrooms, add them to the blender, and mix them into powder. complete! Then when added to a seasoning mixture like this taco seasoning, it really enhances the flavor and deliciousness of anything you use. Believe me this!
How to Season Tacos
This seasoning is very simple. Everything except mushroom powder, you can measure each spice, add the measured spice to the bowl, and mix it. As I mentioned above, I bet you already have most of the spices!
For mushrooms, you want to buy a small packet of dry pig mushrooms and add it to the blender. Mix until fine powder, then mix it into the taco seasoning.
You can store all the remaining mushroom powder in other dishes. I added it to anything that could benefit from a more delicious flavor, like meat patties, spaghetti meat sauce and beef chili.
The best homemade taco seasonings
This homemade taco seasoning tastes much better than anything you buy in the store. Most of the ingredients may already be sitting in the spice cabinet. The secret ingredient is mushroom powder. You can make it yourself or buy it (this is our homemade mushroom powder). Taco seasoning will still be great without it, but we highly recommend if you can include it. Also, the amount of cayenne pepper is up to you. We requested 1/2 teaspoon, which allowed the spices to be mixed in medium to medium levels.
Make 6 tablespoons
You will need
2 tablespoons chili powder, try homemade chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon fine salt
1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
1½ teaspoons ground cilantro
2 teaspoons corn starch
1/2 teaspoon chili, or more depending on the spicy flavor of the mixture you want
2 teaspoons mushroom powder, optional, see tips
direction
1Combine 2 tablespoons chili powder, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika, 1½ teaspoons ground cilantro, 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 2 teaspoons in a small bowl. Stir until well combined.
2To heat, stir in 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp chili (1/2 tsp is light to medium heat). Add more to the seasoning.
3Stir 2 teaspoons of mushroom powder (see tips).
4Store it in a tight jar for up to 6 months and use 1 to 2 tablespoons of meat or vegetables per pound.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- storage: Place taco seasoning in an airtight jar in a cool dark place for up to 6 months.
- How to use: For 1 lb (450g) of meat or vegetables, we added 1 to 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning. You will need a little liquid (such as water or broth), starting with 1/4 cup and adding as needed.
- Mushroom powder: You may find mushroom powder for sale in the store, but we make it ourselves (it’s easy). To do this, mix 1 ounce of dried boletus mushrooms in a blender until fine powder is added to make about 1/4 cup. You can store the remaining mushroom powder in a spice jar for up to 6 months and use it when you need a taste of flavour. For more details, here is our mushroom powder recipe.
- The following nutritional facts are estimated.
Nutrition per serving
Service size
1 tablespoon
/
Calories
20
/
protein
1G
/
carbohydrate
4G
/
Dietary fiber
2G
/
Total sugar
0G
/
Total fat
1G
/
Saturated fat
0G
/
cholesterol
0mg
/
sodium
885mg
We are Adam and Joanne, a couple who are passionate about cooking and sharing delicious, reliable recipes since 2009. Our goal? Inspire you to enter the kitchen and cook fresh and delicious meals confidently.
