Simple Homemade Taco Spice

Name: Simple Homemade Taco Spice
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 tbsp Garlic powder; 1 tbsp Cumin; 1 tbsp Chilli powder; 1 tbsp Paprika; ½ tbsp Salt; ¼ tbsp Ground pepper

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Now let’s be clear right from the beginning, this is not a true Mexican taco spice. I don’t even know if such a thing exists or if this is just a North American concoction like fortune cookies. But this is the mix that I use to flavour and “Mexican” dishes I make. Again the quotes ’cause they are most likely not anything you would find cooked in a Mexican household. In an effort to become more self-sufficient and know what is in my food and also to have one less thing to buy I came up with this recipe, and it works for me.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

It seriously could not be any easier or quicker and I use this when we make tacos, fajitas or my favourite a shrimp taco bowl. Yum! You most likely have all the ingredients in our pantry, even better if you have organic versions or you have made some of them yourself. Making my own garlic powder from the garlic I have grown is on my to-do list, but first I have to pick up a dehydrator. Seriously, if you don’t already grow your own garlic it is super easy to do and gives you a huge return on your effort for very little work. So if you want to start check out my post on Growing garlic 101. I am actually planting my fall garlic later today and I have some seriously HUGE cloves which is exciting.

So you are going to need to get yourself a little jar to store your homemade taco spice in. I like these little airtight jars that I picked up at Ikea. But any just will do. Then you need to round up some chilli powder, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, ground pepper and salt.

You will need a tablespoon of garlic powder, chilli powder, cumin and paprika. Then its 1/2 tbsp of salt and 1/4 tbsp of pepper. If you are cutting down or cutting out sodium then you can omit the salt or reduce it down to an amount you are comfortable with.

I just need to take a moment to point out how pretty this homemade taco spice looks in the jar! It’s like one of those salt and chalk crafts kids do. We are going to mix it all up in a minute but for now it’s a pretty sight.

Well that didn’t last long. Give it a GOOD stir to make sure you have completely mixed all the spices together. The great thing about this recipe is it is super easy to scale it up to have more on hand. I originally did it in teaspoons but I ran out so quickly I started using tablespoons. You can also tweak it to your own tastes. Want a smokier homemade taco spice? Then add more cumin. A bit spicier perhaps? Then up the amount of chilli powder. But that’s the fun in making things yourself at home. You can modify them to your liking and additionally you know EXACTLY what all the ingredients are.