Homemade Taco Seasoning

I tried several recipes I found online for homemade taco seasoning and every one of them received a thumbs down from the family. They really wanted me to go back to buying the packaged kind, but I was bound and determined to make it from scratch.

You see, a little over a year ago, I decided to try my hand at making some of my own homemade mixes. Partly to cut back on the amount of processed food items in my pantry, partly for cost effectiveness and partly for fun.

So despite my family’s grievance, I tweaked and tweaked and finally came up with a recipe they all liked!

I also figured out why the other recipes weren’t working for us. It all boiled down to the ratio of two ingredients: chili powder and paprika.

Most homemade taco seasoning recipes feature chili powder as the main ingredient and promote the mix as being able to be used interchangeably between tacos and chili. However, my family doesn’t want tacos that taste like chili or vice versa.

Craving Chili? Click here for my homemade chili seasoning recipe!

When I reduced the amount of chili powder in the recipe, it just didn’t work out. It lacked the savory flavor and color of packaged taco seasoning.

So I played around a bit, still decreased the chili powder, but also increased the paprika by a good amount. The extra paprika not only provided an extra kick of smoky flavor, but also the desired color.

I also added a small amount of thickening agent to create the same consistency as packaged seasoning.

Now my family can’t tell the difference between store bought or homemade taco seasoning!

I like to double this batch several times and store in an airtight container so it’s convenient and easy to add to recipes. These are my favorite pantry storage containers.

To save even more money, I buy the following seasonings in bulk.

I like to order from Amazon because they have competitive prices and it ships to my door FREE with either Prime or Subscribe & Save. I can also save an additional 15% off my entire order if I purchase 5 or more items through Subscribe & Save. Works for me!