Cinco de Mayo Meals

Cinco de Mayo is around the corner. Although, our family enjoys Mexican food all year long, I love to use May 5, as an excuse to make tacos or burrito bowls. This homemade taco seasoning can be used on any kind of meat. The recipe makes over one cup of seasoning mixture and is so convenient to have available for that next fiesta meal. Be it Cinco de Mayo or any other day of the year!

Click here for the Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe, or continue reading.

Why Homemade?

In the past, I bought the taco seasoning packets from the store. I never considered making taco seasoning from scratch until I started paying attention to ingredients. The most common ingredients I noticed across the various brands were maltodextrin and corn syrup solids. Both ingredients provide shelf stability but also add sugar. Now a days, no one needs more sugar in their life. Aside from the health benefits, there is also a cost benefit to making your own taco seasoning. The whole recipe costs less than $4 to make and allows me to season 8 pounds of ground beef. That’s $0.50 per pound. Most seasoning packets cost about $1.50 (and season one pound of meat). So, not only is it healthier to make your own taco seasoning but it can also save you a few bucks!

What meat do I use?

We eat a lot of venison at our house, thanks to my husband. When we don’t have ground venison, we use ground beef, ground turkey, and even ground pork. I often combine beef and venison if I have it in the house. Another delicious twist is to use this taco seasoning on shredded chicken. I have used it as a rub on pork roasts and chicken breasts. It’s also a great seasoning mixture to use in dips and sauces. Every option is a great way to enjoy a delicious Mexican dinner-in.

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Taco Seasoning

This delicious, yet simple, seasoning will make all of your southwestern inspired meals pop with flavor.

Course condiment, Main Course, Seasoning

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Mexican, Seasoning, Taco Seasoning

Prep Time 5

Author Suzi Lutke

Ingredients

1/4 cup Paprika
1/4 cup Chili Powder
2 tbsp Smoked Paprika
2 tbsp Ground Cumin
2 tbsp Onion Powder
2 tbsp Garlic Powder
2 tbsp Salt
2 tbsp Fine Ground Pepper
2 tbsp Dried Parsley Flakes

Instructions

Mix all ingredients in sealable container. Store until ready to use.
To use: After browning your ground meat mixture, add 2 tbsp of seasoning mixture per pound– more depending on your flavor preferences.

Notes

Depending on amount of liquid in your browned meat, you may need to add a couple of tablespoons of water when adding the dry mix.