Food Cooking Tips & Techniques How to Make Homemade Taco Seasoning—Plus, 3 Clever Ways to Use It This versatile homemade taco seasoning is great for Cinco de Mayo, but you'll be using it on every Taco Tuesday to follow, too. By Betty Gold Betty Gold Betty Gold is the former senior digital food editor at Real Simple. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines and Grace Elkus Grace Elkus Grace Elkus is a food writer and editor with over a decade of experience in culinary media. Highlights: * Associate food editor at Real Simple, where she developed recipes, wrote food stories, and assisted with styling * Deputy food director at Kitchn, where she and her team were responsible for 100 recipes a month * Currently the content lead for JOKR Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 5, 2020 Share Tweet Pin Email Knowing how to make homemade taco seasoning is key. Why? Because from-scratch spice blends are so much better than the store-bought stuff, which often contain extra additives and preservatives. It's easy to do, too. Homemade taco seasoning only takes five minutes to mix up, and you probably already have all the ingredients you need to make a batch: chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, and salt. A pinch of light brown sugar gives the seasoning its signature smoky-sweet flavor. More good news: homemade taco seasoning lasts up to a year, so it's totally worth the effort to make it. 6 Irresistible Cocktails for Cinco de Mayo To make homemade taco seasoning, stir together 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon light brown sugar until combined. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place up to 1 year. Once you've whipped up a batch, you can, of course, use our homemade taco seasoning to season ground beef for tacos. But we had fun playing around with new ways to use it, such as mac and cheese, hamburgers, and even bacon. 01 of 03 Kicked-Up Mac And Cheese Here’s a hack to use taco seasoning in your entire dinner: mix it into ground beef for these burgers, then toss oven-baked potato wedges in the seasoning as a side and use it to rim beer glasses, too. Get the Recipe:South-Of-The-Border Hamburgers. Antonis Achilleos Here’s a hack to use taco seasoning in your entire dinner: mix it into ground beef for these burgers, then toss oven-baked potato wedges in the seasoning as a side and use it to rim beer glasses, too. Get the Recipe: South-Of-The-Border Hamburgers 02 of 03 Spicy-Sweet Bacon Don’t just reserve this bacon, dredged in taco seasoning and brown sugar, for breakfast. Make a big batch, then crumble it over baked potatoes or a party dip. We especially love it with a Bloody Mary. Get the Recipe: Spicy-Sweet Bacon. Antonis Achilleos Don’t just reserve this bacon, dredged in taco seasoning and brown sugar, for breakfast. Make a big batch, then crumble it over baked potatoes or a party dip. We especially love it with a Bloody Mary. Get the Recipe: Spicy-Sweet Bacon 03 of 03 South-Of- The-Border Hamburgers Taco seasoning and chopped jalapeño add spicy flair to classic mac and cheese. Top with tortilla chips instead of breadcrumbs to complete the Southwest twist. Get the Recipe:Kicked Up Mac and Cheese. Antonis Achilleos Taco seasoning and chopped jalapeño add spicy flair to classic mac and cheese. Top with tortilla chips instead of breadcrumbs to complete the Southwest twist. Get the Recipe: Kicked Up Mac and Cheese Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit