Tex Mex Seasoning

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A batch of homemade Tex Mex Seasoning is the best shortcut to making tacos, burrito bowls, fajitas, soups, or other Southwestern-style dishes. Keep a batch of this spice blend in your pantry and substitute it for the spices in any Southwestern or Mexican recipe (or use it to replace any recipe that calls for store-bought taco seasoning).

Tex Mex Seasoning in a small white ramekin

We make tacos (or something related to tacos – burrito bowls, fajitas, etc) almost every week. It may be our favorite go-to meal. But it suddenly occurred to me that I was mixing up individual spices each and every time I made them. What a waste of time! I now keep a large batch of this delicious spice blend in my pantry, and add it to recipes as I go. The result tastes more fresh than store-bought taco seasoning and allows me to customize it however I like, reducing or omitting salt, adding a pinch of cayenne for extra heat, or throwing in some adobo chili powder for smoky flavor. 

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Tex Mex Seasoning ingredients on a grey countertop

I have been loving this seasoning so much that I’ve gone through several batches this month. Slow-cooker taco beef is making the whole house smell amazing as I write this post.

Here’s how to make your own Tex Mex Seasoning!

Homemade Seasoning / Spice Mixes vs. Store-bought

So why make your own seasoning blends when you could just buy the store-bought variety?

  1. It tastes better! You will be amazed at how much better this seasoning mix tastes than a pre-made variety.
  2. Customizable. You can adapt homemade seasoning blends to fit your taste. Add more or less spicy ingredients if you prefer. Don’t like cumin? Reduce it or leave it out. Need a low-sodium dish? Add as much or as little salt later
  3. No junk. When you make seasoning at home, you know what you’re getting. No weird fillers, no mystery ingredients, just a short, fresh list of ingredients that you know. 

I just googled the list of ingredients on a popular brand of taco seasoning and not much about it screams “yum”…

Tex Mex Seasoning

Homemade Tex Mex / Taco Seasoning Ingredients

For Tex Mex /Taco Seasoning, you need a short list of pantry staples:

  • Chili Powder
  • Ground Cumin
  • Ground Coriander
  • Paprika
  • Garlic Powder – Make sure you use garlic powder and not garlic salt.
  • Dried Oregano
  • Salt – It’s up to you whether you add salt to the seasoning or not. Adding some when you first mix it up will mean that the spice mix is ready to be blended into any dish without the addition of salt. You can also wait and add salt later when you’re cooking with it (this gives you total control to just add as much salt as the unique recipe you’re making needs). 
Tex Mex Seasoning in a small white ramekin

Ways to Use Tex Mex Seasoning

Tex Mex Burgers with Guacamole on a slate

Use this Tex Mex Seasoning in our Tex Mex Burgers with Guacamole! And just to keep our spice cabinets interesting and our dinners easy, I’ve got an entire series of DIY seasoning and ways to use them coming your way over the next few weeks. Look for Italian Seasoning, Moroccan Seasoning, Jerk Seasoning (spicy or not!), Ranch Seasoning, and many ideas of how to use them on other blog posts.

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Tex Mex Seasoning in a small white ramekin
4.10 from 43 votes

Tex Mex Seasoning Recipe

A batch of homemade Tex Mex Seasoning is the best shortcut to making tacos, burrito bowls, fajitas, soups, or other Southwestern-style dishes. Keep a batch of this in your pantry and use it in any Southwestern or Mexican recipe.
NOTE: This makes enough for any recipe that makes 4 servings, but use the slider below (next to “Servings”) to easily adjust the measurements so you can make a big batch to store for future recipes.
Prep: 1 minute
Total: 1 minute
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (optional; see note)
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (garlic powder, NOT garlic salt)
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions 

  • Combine all ingredients. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Notes

Salt or no salt – Salt is always optional in homemade seasoning. Feel free to add it to the blend now or wait and add it, to taste, when you make a recipe later. (Just don’t forget it entirely. Salt will bring out the flavors in the recipe you’re making and will allow this seasoning blend to really shine.)

Nutrition

Serving: 1.25tsp | Calories: 8kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 303mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 483IU | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef
Cost: $.45
Calories: 8
Keyword: easy recipe, Homemade seasoning, seasoning, spice mix
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About Jess Smith

Jess is the recipe creator and photographer at InquiringChef.com. She spent nearly a decade as the Chief Recipe Developer for the award-winning meal planning app Cook Smarts. Her colorful, healthyish recipes have been featured in popular online publications including Parade, Hallmark, and HuffPost.

4.10 from 43 votes (39 ratings without comment)

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12 Comments

  1. Has this recipe changed? The one I saved from this site has Coriander and less Chili powder. Should I omit the Coriander? Double-up the Chili powder?

    1. Lol. I’m not sure that doctors treat that sort of thing. Were your spices all fairly new? I can assure you that this seasoning has tons of flavor, but perhaps you used older spices / dried herbs or needed to add more salt to fit your taste.

    2. 5 stars
      Thanks! This was just what I needed for a recipe calling for taco seasoning mix, which to me has an artificial taste and too much salt. I have everything on hand to make it so no trip to the store! Good simple to follow instructions about customizing thr mix. Thanks!

    1. Absolutely! I’d try stirring in some cooking oil just until a paste forms. This would work well as a paste.