Taco seasoning is one of those convenience foods that I kept buying long after I had eliminated lots of other stuff. It's silly, really. But it was so easy to just buy a pouch of mystery dust for taco night.
A couple years ago, though, I started to make my own taco seasoning. I've spent loads of time mixing and matching taco seasoning recipes I found online, and it's been getting better and better all the time. I have declared myself the taco seasoning recipe god.
This taco seasoning mix tastes better than the stuff in pouches and it's just salty and spicy enough to give it a bit of a kick. :D
This recipe makes around 1/4 cup, and half of that will season a pound of meat, though I admit I normally add a little more. I've tried it with pork, chicken, and ground beef - all delicious! It's even fantastic on sauteed/roasted onions and peppers. I've roasted potatoes with it too - sweet potatoes are especially friendly with taco seasoning.
what you need:
Now never eat the stuff out of pouches again! :D
A couple years ago, though, I started to make my own taco seasoning. I've spent loads of time mixing and matching taco seasoning recipes I found online, and it's been getting better and better all the time. I have declared myself the taco seasoning recipe god.
This taco seasoning mix tastes better than the stuff in pouches and it's just salty and spicy enough to give it a bit of a kick. :D
This recipe makes around 1/4 cup, and half of that will season a pound of meat, though I admit I normally add a little more. I've tried it with pork, chicken, and ground beef - all delicious! It's even fantastic on sauteed/roasted onions and peppers. I've roasted potatoes with it too - sweet potatoes are especially friendly with taco seasoning.
what you need:
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 tablespoon paprika
- 1/2 tablespoon cumin
- 1/2-1 teaspoon salt (start with 1/2 teaspoon, taste and add more if you want!)
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
Now never eat the stuff out of pouches again! :D
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If you run out of chili powder (which can sometimes have some random herbs in it), ground ancho chile (which is one type of chile pepper instead of a blend of peppers and other seasonings) works well and is very mild.
If there's a magic bullet somewhere at headquarters, you could use the grinding blade to grind up whole cumin and coriander so you didn't have to buy the ground stuff. More of the volatile oils stay intact that way so you get more flavor.
I tend to skip the paprika and oregano while using fresh garlic instead of dried (if I have it on hand) and sometimes ground chipotle and black pepper, but I know I'm a weirdo. :) Sometimes I add some lime zest and juice and a touch of honey to the taco meat mixture, as well.
And I like black pepper too! I actually added a little in to this batch.
- Have you ever tried this with, Mexican Oregano, or toasting the cumin
seed, before grinding them?
You're definitely taco seasoning recipe god.
So happy you liked it. I love the coriander too - I feel like it gives it a nice citrus-y pop. :)
Sunshiine
thank you for sharing.