Homemade Taco Seasoning

Saturday evening was one of Joe's favorite nights at our house: taco night. He becomes a little boy whenever tacos are involved; he simply can't get enough of them. I always make fun of him for his excitement, even though secretly I love taco night, too.

Anyway, when I looked in the cupboard, I discovered a mini-crisis: I didn't have an envelope of store-bought taco seasoning mix like I thought I did. I've always hesitated to make my own taco seasoning at home -- could a homemade mix ever taste as good as the store-bought version? But at that point I didn't have a choice. I remembered (and actually located -- a miracle) a recipe I printed off a while ago for homemade taco seasoning, so I decided to give it a shot. And I'm so glad that I did! This stuff is every bit as flavorful as the store-bought mixes. I'm not looking back, baby!

It seems like a lot of people I talk to are looking for a homemade taco seasoning mix, so that's why I'm posting this. I promise you that it's delicious, and a nice alternative to the high-sodium store-bought mixes. I think I'm going to make a big batch of this so I always have it on hand.

Homemade Taco Seasoning
Source: Nothing But Crumbs

Single Serving (enough for 1 pound of ground meat):

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (omitted)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon corn starch

Bulk:

3/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoon paprika
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons white pepper
1/4 cup corn starch

Mix all ingredients together. Use 3 tablespoons (single serving) and 2/3 cup of water for each pound of browned meat.