Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning Mix
I’ve been making Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning Mix for years and I think it’s worth the few minutes it takes to make it to be sure it won’t have added sugar or chemical ingredients! And I love the blend of flavors I used, and I bet you have most of these ingredients on hand.
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This Taco Seasoning Mix is a recipe I came up with on a weekend when I had tacos on the brain! It started when I bought a new type of low-carb flour tortillas that were the perfect size for tacos, and soon I’d decided I had to mix up a batch of taco seasoning. There are lots of reasons why making your own taco seasoning mix is a smart idea, not least of which is that if you have a well-stocked spice pantry, you can make a lot of taco seasoning for the price of one of those packaged mixes.
But equally important for me is the way that making your own taco seasoning also lets you control what goes into the mix, so you don’t get sugar, preservatives, or chemical ingredients you may not want. Another plus to me is and the reason this is called Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning Mix, is that when I make my own I can put adjust the flavors to emphasize those I like most in a spice mix like this.
Of course when you make taco seasoning it can be your version, so I encourage you to adapt this recipe to whatever spices you like most or have on hand. Use Tacos to find ideas for using the taco seasoning! (I did check some online versions when I was coming up with mine, and was inspired by taco seasonings from Food Renegade, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, and Green Lite Bites if you’d like to see some other options.)
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
- ground Ancho chile (affiliate link)
- chile powder
- ground cumin (affiliate link)
- dried cilantro (affiliate link) or use dried Mexican Oregano (affiliate link)
- sweet paprika, preferably Szeged Paprika
- fine grind sea salt
- Garlic Powder (affiliate link)
- Onion Powder (affiliate link)
- fine grind black pepper
- ground Chipotle chile pepper (affiliate link)
How should Taco Seasoning be stored?
I store this in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid and keep it in my spice drawer where it will stay good for several years.
How to make this recipe:
(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information. The recipe below also has larger amounts if you want to give it for a holiday gift.)
- My blend uses Ancho chile powder, chile powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, dried cilantro, sweet paprika, sea salt, and black pepper. (If you want more heat you can add a small amount of ground Chipotle peppers, which I forgot to put in the photo!)
- You could definitely just mix this together in a bowl, but I wanted the cilantro to be ground up more, so I put the ingredients into the bowl attachment of my immersion blender (affiliate link).
- After I buzzed all the ingredients for about a minute, the mix was a nice rusty color. This recipe makes about a cup of Taco Seasoning Mix.
- I put mine in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, and I think it will keep for at least a year this way. (I use wide adhesive tape and a Sharpie marker to make labels for the tops of my spice jars, since they’re stored in a drawer.)
Tasty Taco-Flavored Recipe Ideas:
Cheesy Low-Carb Taco Casserole
More Spice Blends to Give for a Holiday Gift:
Check out Spice Blends to Give for a Holiday Gift for lots more ideas for seasonal gifts when you don’t want to give sweets!
Kalyn's Taco Seasoning Mix
This homemade taco seasoning mix has no added sugar or extra chemical ingredients you don’t want, and I love the blend of flavors in my taco seasoning!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Ancho Chile Powder
- 2 T chile powder
- 3 T ground cumin
- 1 T dried cilantro
- 1 T sweet paprika (not hot paprika, unless you like it hot)
- 1 T fine grind sea salt (or slightly less regular salt)
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. fine grind black pepper
- 1 tsp. ground Chipotle Chiles (optional, but good if you want more heat)
Instructions
- You can simply combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir them together.
- I wanted a mixture that was more finely ground, so I put the ingredients into the bowl attachment of my immersion blender(or a small food processor would work) and buzzed them together for about a minute.
- Store Taco Seasoning Mix in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Recipe makes about one cup.
- Start with 2 T per pound of ground beef for regular ground beef tacos, then taste to see if you want it more spicy.
Notes
To Make a Larger Amount to Give as a Holiday Gift:
(makes 3.5 cups)
1 cup Ancho Chile Powder
8 T chile powder
12 T ground cumin
4 T dried cilantro
4 T sweet paprika (not hot paprika, unless you like it hot)
4 T fine grind sea salt (or slightly less regular salt)
8 tsp. garlic powder
8 tsp. onion powder
4 tsp. fine grind black pepper
4 tsp. ground Chipotle Chiles (optional, but good if you want more heat)
This recipe inspired by Kalyn’s flavor preferences and recipes from other blogs, especially Food Renegade, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, and Green Lite Bites.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
One great thing about making your own spice mix blends is that you can be sure they don’t contain added sugar, insuring that this mix is suitable for any phase of the South Beach Diet and also for low-carb diet plans.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
32 Comments on “Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning Mix”
Finally a unique taco seasoning mix…..was so excited  when reading the ingredients love ancho and chipotle….and tasted amazing …thank you
So glad you liked it!
I have actually been looking for a healthy and easy to follow taco seasoning mix and a good thing to come across this post. Thank you for sharing!
Your website has been such a blessing to me!! Â I was afraid to try and go low-carb, low sugar and high protein but this Kalyn’s Kitchen site is my bible!!! Â Keep it up and thank you! Â I have lost almost 10 lbs since January 29th!!!
So happy to hear that!
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Shannon, the recipe says "start with 2 T per pound of ground beef." Not sure what else to add since I have a few different recipes that use this.
Kalyn, could you add the directions about how you use the taco seasoning to the recipe? I keep forgetting and have to look the recipe up repeatedly since I have it printed in an old fangled binder. 😉 Thank you for this amazing resource!!
Ashley, when I use this mix I cook it in one of two ways. If it's going into a soup or stew, I add the taco seasoning mix to the onions after I brown then and saute for a couple of minutes so the seasoning is cooked and mixed with the oil. If I am using it to make taco meat, I add the taco seasoning mix to the meat after I browned it, then add about a cup of water, and simmer until the water is evaporated. I'm guessing that "cooks" the taco flavor into the meat more. Hope that helps.
I have a question. I've started making our own seasonings a couple of years ago, while most are great, the taco seasonings seem to not absorb?? Or something. The meat just tastes like meat w a taco sauce, my husband isn't a fan. Is there something I'm maybe doing wrong when I cook it?
I did used dried cilantro. I do think it's a waste as a substitute for fresh cilantro, but in a blend like this, or in soup or a marinade I do like the dried cilantro.
I was always told that dried cilantro was a waste of money – that because of the lack of essential oils in the plant, you were basically paying for a dried grass flavor – similar to parsley. Do you actually use dried cilantro or were you using coriander (cilantro seeds) and grinding them? Thanks for taking time to clarify!