My recipe is

4 T chili powder 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp crushed red pepper 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp paprika 2 T ground cumin 4 tsp sea salt 4 tsp ground black pepper

Throw it all together in a bowl and mix with a whisk. I put it in an old spice jar and just shake it out as necessary.

Alton Brown has a good recipe. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/taco-potion-19-recipe-2115513 But often in my experience the convenience and flavor of cheap store bought mix is just fine,

Chili powder! A bit of cumin, paprika, and oregano and a pinch of salt and pepper. I do two parts chili powder to one part each of the other spices

Cumin, chili powder, oregano, onion powder, s&p

If you want to make your own chili powder: powdered chilis, paprika, cumin, coriander, garlic powder

I use this recipe for taco seasoning :

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

I make my taco seasoning from scratch.

For a 3 pounds of beef (sorry I have a big family):

1T Cumin 1T Chili Powder 2t Onion Powder 1t Garlic Powder 1t Mexican Oregano 1t Black Pepper 2t Salt pinch of Cayenne Pepper 2T Corn Starch

I had a recipe that I loved LOVED a few years ago. Unfortunately I saved the webpage but never wrote it down. Well the author removed the recipe from their site and I was left sad and taco-less. I remember a vague amalgamation of the old recipe and it's fine. Still better than any of my other options but ...sigh. Here it is. You can enjoy it more than me because you've never had the better one. Someone should feel joy:

1 batch of spicy seasoning, half batch per lb beef or add half to beef and half to sauteed black beans cooked low and slow on the stove with olive oil and minced jalapenos:

1 bunch fresh cilantro/coriander, stems removed 1 14oz can Diced Tomatoes and Chiles (or 1-2 Roma tomatoes with 0.5-1 serrano pepper) 1 lime, juiced 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar 2 tbsp Cumin, ground 1 tbsp Chili Powder (personally I prefer a good mix that doesn't have sugar) 1 tbsp Real Salt 1 tbsp minced garlic or 2-3 cloves 1/2 small onion

Optional extra Serrano or Thai Chile pepper for added spice

Stick everything in a blender or food processor and blend until it becomes a sauce. Simmer with your meat when it's still pink. I love it both in the beans and the meat, but I'll still season the beans with extra onion powder and salt, sometimes season the meat with more salt, squeeze of lime, etc. It's a decent base for a spicy and flavorful taco.

I usually make my "nostalgia" taco meat from scratch. Generally I use a chili powder blend I make, which is usually a combo of paprika, chipotle, ancho, cayenne, cumin.

In the pan I sautee the ground beef (500g or so) with half of a diced onion and a jalapeno or two or a poblano. Depending on how fatty it is, I drain off some of the fat and then add the spice blend mentioned above (about a tablespoon, though I do it by eye), additional cumin, mexican oregano and fry a bit, then add a tablespoon of tomato paste. Cook a bit, add some water or chicken stock and then let it cook all the way back down to dry.

The liquid affects the texture of the beef, it's an optional step, but I prefer to do it.

I use this one for ground beef:

https://altonbrown.com/recipes/homemade-taco-seasoning-19/

Yes! I was looking for a while and finally found this awesome recipe: https://umamigirl.com/ground-pork-tacos-black-beans/#mv-creation-22-jtr

I made a few changes: messed around with the chili powder (I have chili spice blends from Nashville Spice Company in Nashville, IN that are amazing, so I used those and eliminated the cayenne) and I also added about 1/4 cup of Corona Extra to the mix. It was perfect!! You can adjust the level of spicy to your taste, and works just as well with beef, chicken, or pork. I also used Mexican oregano.

Have fun!!

taco seasoning

Chili powders of all types to reach the heat you want. Cumin, garlic. If you can start with fresh garlic and onions. Salt too.

this is what I use

https://www.copymethat.com/r/aetWfPZ/ms-taco-seasoning/

I just tried Alton Brown's Taco Seasoning, but I have to say it was just meh especially considering there is quite a lot of spice in there and I had to double it because I made 2 lbs of meat!

For 2 pounds of ground beef, I use 1 packet of Old El Paso Hot & Spicy Taco Seasoning mix (~ a dollar) and a generic packet from Lidl (~ 30 cents), "Original Taco Seasoning Mix" together it has just the right amount of kick for us.

Paprika, Mexican Oregano, cumin, salt, garlic powder, chili powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes

I use a combination of cumin, oregano, cilantro, garlic, onion, chili powder, salt and pepper, usually "fry" it all in some olive oil to bloom the flavors, then add it back to the meat and mix it in with a tiny bit of baking soda and lime juice. Then brown it all until I get some crispy bits. Try to use 85% lean or fattier.

I buy dried chilis from my local grocery and use them to make seasoning. Here's the outline:

Chili powder (for 1 pound of ground beef or other meat - turkey also works well):

• 4 Ancho chilis

• 4 Guajillo chilis (or just 2 for "extra mild")

Rip the stem out of all the dried chilis and then de-seed them. Tear the fruits into smaller pieces and then put them all into a spice grinder or small blender. Grind for 20-30 seconds to make chili powder.

To this chili powder add:

• 1 tablespoon cumin (if you can use whole cumin and grind along with the chilis it is even better!)

• 1/2-1 teaspoon salt (depending on your preference for saltiness)

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon onion powder, OR blend 1/2 yellow onion until liquified and add that directly to the meat

• 1/4 teaspoon MSG (yes, trust me)

Brown the meat and mince/mash it up into smallish pieces while cooking, and drain any excessive fat. If you use a 90/10 ground beef blend you shouldn't need to drain - 80/20 you'll definitely need to. If you used turkey or a very lean meat, you may need to add some fat - I'd use olive oil at that point but anything would work - lard, canola, etc (after browning, not during - you want the oil in the next part). Once the meat is browned and you have a little bit of fat in the skillet but not enough that it's pooling, add the blended chili powder on top, then add 1-2 cups of warm water (use warm or hot water so you don't thermally shock your skillet and deform it). Mix well, ensuring all the chili powder is mixed in and distributed. Cover and simmer on low for twenty minutes or until most of the water is gone. You don't really need or want tomato in this.

It will be divine. Using actual chilis and grinding them everytime is a gamechanger, very low effort (~5 minutes), and now my daughter begs me for taco night.

Penzeys has a really good taco seasoning

Besides salt--cumin, chili powder, some paprika, some cayenne, and MSG. And the meat gets added after sauteeing an onion and some garlic.

Yes, and if you make your own seasoning, add the smallest dash of cinnamon as well. Careful, though, too much and it's overpowered.

Any neutral flavor oil works.

Whatever seasoning you use, make sure you use beef broth instead of water.

Taco seasoning is basically all very similar. They just put it in a seasoning form so you don't have to buy all the spices seperate. Personally I just use the individual spices, and I adjust flavours by controlling amounts

Taco seasoning is pretty much the same..just tweek your personal favorite... Mexican paprika is a must tho...I prefer granulated garlic to garlic powder also...try smoked salt also

OMG have you been eating without seasoning?!? 😂😂

I make my own “taco seasoning” for my ground beef and when I season my chicken I usually use: garlic powder, smoked paprika, seasoned salt, Cajun and Italian herbs.

Potatoes can change. Sweet potatoes I like: cumin, paprika and seasoned salt. Roasted potatoes, I use different ones: lemon and herb, sometimes just Italian, salt and pepper.

Don’t torture yourself and eat unseasoned food. I also add hot sauces which barely add any calories to my food.

Do people really not season their food properly? I thought it was just a meme.

Taco seasoning packets are literally just overpriced spice mixes with some dehydrated garlic salt.

Spices add pretty much zero calories overall, and impart so much additional flavour. If you cook the ground chicken with the spices, it's even better.

For sauces, there are plenty of hot sauces which are under 10 calories a serving. Siracha is a personal favorite, but well-made hot sauces add a lot of depth of flavour without any calories.

And, of course, pickles.

Buddy, have you been raw dogging ground chicken just cooked in a pan with nothing on it? I feel like there is a lot for you to discover here - maybe start by chopping a couple bell peppers, an onion and 2 cloves of garlic up, and frying them along with the chicken with a tablespoon of olive oil. Maybe start with a teaspoon of salt and pepper and see how you like it. Then go watch some basic cooking videos on YouTube 😛

Many people don't really know how to cook, and certainly not creatively.

Wait until you find out about salt and pepper

you can make your own taco seasoning for dirt cheap and cut out the calories (most store bought seasoning packets have sugar in them for some insane reason)

for 1/2 lb of meat use .5 tsp of each:

salt

pepper

onion powder

garlic powder

cumin

paprika

chili powder

then add a pinch of oregano and cayenne

As a Mexican I had no idea you could buy taco seasoning in packets until college. I thought everyone made their own. Premade seasoning is way too salty. There’s nothing like homemade!

Yes! I recently started doing this. I even found a recipe that omitted salt altogether. Much healthier and yummier than store-bought!

Definitely! We have been for years! No salt, all the spices, it's great, fresh and delicious! We created it loosely from another recipe but added/took out stuff we didn't like. It's perfect for us and we use it every time! Back when McCormick had little seasoning packets that had individual spices in one pack to make something, we used to buy one, if we liked what it made, we usually had or bought the spices we were missing in bulk and made the recipe later cheaper.

Pro tip: Put all those spices together and bake them at 350 for about 15 minutes!

I've taken to using a recipe with rotel, chopped onion, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. My kids prefer it over spice packs, but then again I've never mixed my own spices.

What did you use?

I've always made all my own seasoning blends: cajun, taco/generic Mexican, Chinese 5 spice, chili powder, etc etc. Mostly to regulate the ridiculous amount of salt and sugar that ends up in store bought mixes. Also since I cook most everything from scratch, it makes more sense to buy spices in bulk instead of a bunch of wee tubs of blends.

I make larger patches of the blends and keep 'em handy fo' sprinkling.

Also citric acid (I think? Something that makes it lime-y). OP if the salt doesn't fix the "hmm it's bland" problem it's probably acid it needs (lime juice would be a great addition)

In recipes like this that call for a spice that has a smoked version, I like to do ⅔ regular and the remaining ⅓ the smoked version. Paprika and chili powder mostly but there are other more obscure ones out there I'm sure.

Assuming you're using enough spice blend, 9 times out of 10 you just need more salt

Salt, MSG, and maybe some acid like a squeeze of lime can make up for just about anything.

I also found that if you go a little overboard on MSG and masa slurry it starts to really approach fast food qualities of taco meat, which is exactly what you want sometimes.

I love adobo, so upvote for that, also I like to add a squeeze of lime at the end of cooking taco meat, it brightens things up nicely.

Right? I’m sure I’m just using it wrong, and I do often try to season by taste, but I can just cannot seem to use smoked paprika in a way that doesn’t make me regret it. Especially combined with chili powder, another dark, pepper powder?

Also use smoked paprika

Does t mean teaspoon? I would pour the entire recipie and tweak it so you use 2 teaspoons of cumin, 2 teaspoons chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper with it.