I came up with this when I noticed halfway through my meal prep that I had bought a box of taco shells instead of the “taco dinner kit” I meant to get. I started with a quick web search for taco seasoning recipes and found that most contained chili powder blend (which I also did not have on hand). So, I refocused my search on that and discovered that both spice mixes share many of the same ingredients. Chili powder blend typically contains a combination of sweet and hot ground chilies, dried oregano, garlic powder, and ground cumin. Taco seasoning is basically a supercharged version of that – a combination of chili powder blend and more of its component spices thrown in, along with the addition of onion powder, salt, black pepper and sometimes cornstarch (as a sauce thickener). Ultimately, I decided to strike a balance between the two by dialing up the chili powder blend and streamlining the taco seasoning so that I’d have one recipe that – with one small tweak – could make either mix.

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt

TOOLS
measuring spoon
spice jar

METHOD
1. Place all ingredients in spice jar and seal with lid. Shake to mix.

NOTES & TIPS
• For a spicier kick, increase cayenne to 1 full tablespoon.
• Use 2 tablespoons taco seasoning per pound of taco filling.
• BONUS RECIPE: Chili Powder Blend: Omit salt.

READY IN
Less than 5 minutes

YIELD
6 1/2 tablespoons