Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.Upgrade your Taco Tuesday with this spicy, delicious Old El Paso Taco seasoning recipe that takes just 3 minutes to make! This DIY taco seasoning is so much healthier than store-bought options, is budget friendly, and is big on flavor. Once you start making your own homemade taco seasoning mix, you’ll never go back to store-bought again!
This homemade old el paso taco seasoning recipe is super easy to make and keep on hand. I love using it for delicious vegetarian taco soup, and other Mexican inspired recipes like this vegan crunchwrap supreme and layered taco casserole.
Making your own taco seasoning from scratch is so simple, you’ll never buy seasoning packets for taco night again!
The authentic Mexican flavor of these Old El Paso seasoning mix ingredients is a classic addition to tacos, ground meats, and vegan taco meat like these sofritas or vegan chorizo, but they taste great on almost any dish you want to add them to.
Make a ground turkey taco salad, an Old El Paso taco bake, crispy seasoned potato wedges, baked chicken, black beans, any type of Mexican food, or any variety of recipes you can think of.
👩🏽🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Packed with bold flavor
- Budget friendly
- Easy to make
- Vegan, gluten free, keto friendly
- No artificial colors or added preservatives compared to a typical taco seasoning packet
- Super versatile, elevate your basic taco recipe with this spice mix!
- Best old el paso chili seasoning copycat recipe!
Latest Recipe Video!
🥘 Ingredients
Old el paso taco seasoning ingredients are super simple and can be found at any grocery store in the spice aisle! Here’s what you need:
This diy, easy mild taco spice mixture is just a blend of commonly found spices!
This simple spice blend of smoked paprika, ground cumin, onion powder, dried oregano, garlic powder, salt, ground chili powder, and black pepper combine to give you that familiar taco seasoning flavor that we all know and love. Feel free to add in sweet paprika to make it less spicy.
🔪 Instructions
Gather Ingredients: Add all copycat taco seasoning ingredients to a small bowl.
Combine Ingredients: Mix together well.
Store: Transfer to a glass jar, seal with a lid, shake to combine.
Use As Needed: Keep in a cool dry place for up to 3 months, and as long as 6 months, use in a variety of Mexican recipes. If you eat meat, you can use about 2 tablespoons of El Paso seasoning for every 1 pound of beef or another pound of meat. Note: If stored correctly, homemade spice mixes last for a long time, around 6 months. If it still has a strong smell and has not formed a cakey consistency, the spice mix is still good.
💭 Expert Tips
- To keep this mild taco seasoning lasting long: Keep your homemade seasoning mixes stored in a cool, dry place that is out of direct sunlight. Keep your spice mixture fresh longer by putting an oxygen absorber in the container with the spice mix.
- Use glass containers for storage because porous containers like plastic will absorb the smell and colors of the spices and stain your container.
- When seasoning ground meat or vegan meat for tacos, wait until after you drain the excess fat to season. After draining, add the meat back to the nonstick skillet and then add in the old el paso chilli mix. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes to soak up the seasoning.
📖 Variations
- Low Sodium El Paso Chili Seasoning: If you are on a low sodium or no sodium diet, you can reduce or even eliminate the salt in this OId El Paso taco seasoning copycat recipe. You can also substitute sea salt if you prefer it to table salt.
- Add Even More Heat: This variation just swaps the chili pepper powder for cayenne pepper for an Old El Paso spicy taco seasoning. You can even add some crushed red pepper flakes. For an even bigger flavor, add a couple teaspoons of adobo seasoning as well.
❓Recipe FAQs
HOW TO USE TACO SEASONING?
Taco spice mixes can be used in a variety of ways. Add this Old El Paso spice mix to chili, fajitas, taquitos, quesadillas, nachos, enchiladas, lasagna are great ideas, just to name a few.
The possibilities are endless and you don’t have to confine your use of this Old El Paso spice mix to traditional Mexican dishes.
You can give lots of other recipes a kick with this homemade taco spice mix. Soups, casseroles, and grilled foods are just some of the things you could dress up with this great recipe!
HOW TO STORE TACO SEASONING?
This copycat Old El Paso taco seasoning should be stored in an airtight container, in a cool, dry place that is out of direct sunlight (at room temperature). Your pantry or kitchen cabinet is a good place for spice storage. A mason jar or other glass container works best.
IS TACO SEASONING GLUTEN FREE?
It depends! Some store-bought taco spice mixes can contain gluten, so if you’re buying a store-bought packet from the grocery store, check the ingredients label carefully. This homemade old El Paso seasoning mix is gluten-free, which is another reason why it’s better than the store bought version!
IS TACO SEASONING HEALTHY?
Yes! In general, taco seasoning is healthy for you. Since it’s just a blend of super flavorful spices, it’s typically low in calories, low in fat, low in sugar, but big on flavor. This El Paso taco mix does contain a fair amount of salt, so if you need to limit that ingredient in your diet for health reasons, simply reduce the amount you use in this Old El Paso spice mix.
🍲 More Tasty Recipes!
- Mexican Pizza Taco Bell Recipe
- Taco Stuffed Peppers With Avocado Lime Sauce
- Pancake Tacos
- Vegan Fondue
- Sweet Potato Tacos
- Vegan Black Bean Tacos
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🎥 Watch How to Make It
Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Recipe
Upgrade your Taco Tuesday with this spicy, delicious Old El Paso Taco seasoning recipe that takes just 3 minutes to make! This DIY taco seasoning is so much healthier than store-bought options, is budget friendly, and is big on flavor. Once you start making your own homemade taco seasoning, you'll never go back to store-bought again!
Servings: 8 tablespoons
Calories: 22kcal
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground chili powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a small mixing bowl.
- Mix together well.
- Transfer to a glass jar, seal with a lid, shake to combine and store in a cool dry place for up to 3 months.
Notes
- This seasoning mix has a mild-medium heat, you can adjust the amount of chili power to suit your preferences. If you’d prefer the seasoning to be milder either reduce to ¼ tsp or omit the chili powder all together.
- If you’d prefer a hotter seasoning add additional chili powder or cayenne pepper to suit your tastes.
- Taco seasoning is great used in your favorite Mexican recipe.
- This recipe can be doubled or even tripled and stored in an airtight jar ready for future use for up to 4 months.
- If you’re using this seasoning mix to coat meat or in a marinade, make sure to add a little cornstarch and water so that it really coats your meat well.
Nutrition
Serving: 1tablespoon | Calories: 22kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Sodium: 591mg | Potassium: 123mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.4g
what is the correct ratio of meat, water and seasoning
Hi Jennifer! You can use about 2 tablespoons of El Paso seasoning for every 1 pound of beef or another pound of meat. Feel free to use more or less based on your taste preferences though!
Hi! How much would you recommend using with one pound of ground beef?
Thank you
Hi Nan! I actually haven’t used this with ground beef, so I can’t tell you exactly. What I would recommend is making a double or even a triple batch, seasoning your beef with how much feels right, and storing the rest and using it for another recipe! Hope that helps!
TLDR
1 pound Ground Beef
3/4 cup Water
4 tablespoons Taco Seasoning
2 pinches Cornstarch/Flour
The Old El Paso packet is for 1 pound of meat, contains 28 grams, and states that 2 teaspoons = 5 grams. With that I was able to work out that the package contains 3 tablespoons and 2 1/4 teaspoons of seasoning. I just rounded on up to 4 tablespoons and used the 3/4 cup water recommended by the Old El Paso packaging too. You will need to add a little cornstarch or flour to get the seasoning to bind to the meat.
This was an instant hit with my family. We were able to make our own adjustments for just the right heat, and we won’t be buying taco seasoning ever again.
Thank you so much for sharing this Mary! And also, I’m so glad you loved this recipe!!
The flavor of this recipe is excellent and better than others I have found. My only complaint with yours and others is none I have found include cornstarch. I have found the cornstarch is necessary to get the “sauce” to coat all the meat for tacos, nachos, etc. No one ever mentions this and I’m confused as to why. Without the cornstarch and a little water, you completely lose that. I hesitate to call it a sauce because it isn’t really, but can’t think of anything else to call it, lol !
Hi Marny! So glad you liked the flavor of this recipe! Regarding your question about cornstarch, the reason I didn’t include it is because this seasoning mix is meant to be used in a variety of recipes, most of which would not work well with cornstarch (e.g. soups, stews, roasted vegetables, etc.) I’ll add a note to the recipe that if you’re using this spice mix to coat meat, to add a little cornstarch! I hope that makes sense, thanks again! 🙂
Just tried this! It is great! Using it to make taco soup on a snowy night.
Awesome!! So happy to hear that Ellisa!!
Loving this copycat taco seasoning. We used it last week on taco Tuesday and my family thought it was great. Saving for my weekly taco recipes.
Yay!! So happy to hear that MacKenzie!
How much did you use per pound of meat?
You can’t beat homemade seasoning. Can make it as spicy as we want then.
I know right? It’s just so much better than the pre-made kind!
What a great hack! Easy homemade seasoning , bet this is so much better then the store bought stuff! Thanks for the recipe!
Yes!! Exactly! Thanks Farah! 🙂
So glad to find your recipe. I’ve been wanting to make my own seasoning. This is delicious! So much better than the store-bought envelopes.
Thanks so much Jill! So glad you liked it!