Tacos are a staple in our house and this keto taco seasoning is the perfect way to season them. This recipe is perfect for ground beef, turkey, or chicken.
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Surely I’m not the only one out there that would be happy to eat some form of Mexican food every day of the week?
I mean, what’s not to love about those bold flavors?
I’ve always just used a packet of taco seasoning when making taco meat, but in the last year or two I’ve switched over to homemade and oh my gosh, you guys. It is so much better. (We’ve even started making our own keto enchilada sauce!)
Fresher, more flavorful, and no maltodextrin, corn starch, sugar, or other crazy ingredients. <— Yes, the packets have some weird stuff in them!
Ingredients:
- Chili Powder
- Cumin
- Paprika – we prefer smoked paprika, but regular works as well
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Dried oregano – if you can get Mexican oregano, go that route
- Cayenne – chipotle powder is a nice, smoky substitute as well
- Salt
We use Thrive Market for a lot of our specialty ingredients, keto snacks, spices, and snacks for the kids. Their prices tend to be cheaper than the local stores and I love that you can so easily sort products by diet.
Like Costco, this is a membership site, but we find that it’s more than worth it based on the amount we save over the regular grocery store.
They have monthly or yearly plans. Check it out here.
Uses for homemade taco seasoning:
This keto taco seasoning recipe makes enough spice mix for 4 pounds of ground meat. Brown your beef, chicken, or turkey and drain the grease. Season with 3 tablespoons of this spice mix along with 2 tablespoons of water. Stir to coat the meat, simmer away excess liquid, and serve it up!
There are so many ways to use this homemade taco seasoning, beyond just seasoning a pound of ground beef though.
Swap the taco seasoning packet in my taco stuffed mini peppers with this mix instead.
Skip the spice mix on these keto chicken fajitas, taco skillet, and Mexican meatballs and use 2-3 tablespoons of this mix instead.
Season chicken with this spice mix (a tablespoon per pound, or to taste) for our baked salsa chicken, enchilada pizza, and hasselback chicken fajitas.
Storage:
We store this spice mixture in a 4 or 8 ounce mason jar, tightly covered, in our spice cabinet. Feel free to double (or more) the batch and store in larger jars.
It will be good for 6 months and beyond, depending on the freshness of your spices.
The mix should be safe to eat for a year or longer, but the flavor will start to fade after time.
More spices & condiments to make at home:
- Keto Ranch Dressing
- Mustard BBQ Sauce
- Keto Thousand Island Dressing
- Everything Bagel Seasoning
- Keto Cheese Sauce
Keto Taco Seasoning
Ingredients
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt SEE NOTE
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1/2 teaspoons cayenne to taste
Instructions
- Add all of the spices to a small jar and shake well to combine.
- Store tightly covered in your spice cabinet.
- Use 3 tablespoons per 1 pound of ground + 2 tablespoons of water to make taco meat.
Cass Ozman says
I’m a little confused (not being American). I understand that in USA chilli powder is generally a premixed spice blend, of ground chilies and cumin, garlic powder, paprika, oregano etc. So I’m not sure why all the recipes I see start with the commercial blend and add more of the same ingredients. I’m trying to understand because, in Australia, chili powder is just powdered, dried chilis. So you see, I can’t make a straight sub without burning everyone
Karly Campbell says
Hi Cass! In America, we do have a chili seasoning (a premade mix that is for making a pot of chili, much like taco seasoning) but we also just have chili powder (dried chilis). Personally, I would call for ‘chili seasoning mix’ or a ‘chili packet’ if that’s what I was trying to describe in a recipe, and I’ll bet most recipe authors would call it something similar. Chili powder is just dried powdered chilis. You can follow this recipe using your dried chili powder and it’ll be the same as mine. 🙂
Sarah says
This is a tasty and easy to make seasoning!
James Blaschke says
Recipe has very good flavor , but is salty. And I like salt! I used kosher salt. Measured everything exactly. Very salty. I made second batch of seasoning and used on 4lbs of meat but used 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Much better, just needed that tweak.
Ash says
I wish I read the comments before making! Holy SALT! Usually I’m fine with salty foods, but unfortunately this turned out un edible to me.
Karly Campbell says
I’m sorry this turned out too salty for you. It comes out to about 1 1/2 teaspoons per ground of beef. We use kosher salt and I just realized it doesn’t specify that in the recipe card. I’ll go update it as that would have an impact as well.
Stacy says
Easy to make but way too salty. Cut salt in half (or more than half) and add as needed. Otherwise a great seasoning recipe.
Allison says
Too salty….ruined my ground beef!
Sheri Brearcliffe says
The mix is way too salty for us. I’ll cut it in half next time.
Linda says
We ran out of taco seasoning-this is so great!!! Love it all of us!!!
NolaL says
Made this and will never buy one of those packets at the the grocery store. TY for this!
Karly Campbell says
Yay! Love to hear that!
Lisa says
Thank you so much for a fantastic taco seasoning recipe! I don’t like the packets at the store that have extra junk in them. For me this recipe for seasoning was not too salty at all and I’m very picky and sensitive to salt. If you are sensitive to salt just adjust the amount indicated to your own taste and add more as you see fit.
Thank you Karly!! ❤️
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad this seasoning blend worked for you, Lisa! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Diane Watson says
I too found it way too salty. I will have to tame down the amount per pound of beef to use up what I have left. And then adjust the amount for any future batches.
Karly Campbell says
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. It comes out to 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt per pound of beef as it’s written, but you could easily reduce that down next time.
Wesley Kelly says
Just gave it a try. Not a real cook, so it’s possible my substituting coarse sea salt was the problem, but with two tablespoons of salt it was so salty we couldn’t eat it it. I might have to try again with 2 teaspoons.
Karly Campbell says
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that Wesley! It comes out to just 1 1/2 teaspoons per pound of meat that you season, which shouldn’t be super salty. But you can definitely adjust it down to suit your tastes. 🙂
Pamela D Cooper says
I love your recipes
Karly Campbell says
Thanks so much, Pamela! 🙂