Healthy Homemade Chicken Taco Seasoning

This homemade chicken taco seasoning adds the right amount of spice to your Taco Tuesday, so you can fix a healthier weeknight dinner (or weekend fiesta) for your family.

Using your own spices gives more control over the ingredients with no additives and little salt. Plus, it can be more convenient than keeping a packet of seasoning mix in the pantry.

In almost every instance, making it fresh at home beats out a store-bought option when it comes to flavor and health!

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Ingredients

• Chili powder
• Cumin
• Coriander
• Oregano, preferably Mexican oregano (optional)
• Garlic granules
• Smoked paprika, or more if you want it hotter
• Cayenne pepper

Chili powder: I prefer a no- to low-sodium chili powder that is mostly dried, ground chili peppers with very little onion powder or other spices added. Check the ingredient list before you buy! 

Cumin: This deliciously sweaty spice adds depth of flavor.

Coriander: This spice is the dried version of cilantro, a delicate floral spice that is important to dishes south of the border.

Oregano: This spice is optional. As a medicinal spice, it may help a cough and promote healthy digestion. It adds good flavor, but is not essential to the mix.

Garlic granules: The chili powder will have some garlic in it, so do you really need more? Yes and yes! Garlic is a huge flavor booster!

Smoked paprika: Although this is a more Middle Eastern spice, its smoky hot flavor enlivens and is fabulous with chicken.

Cayenne: Of course you need it. Red hot chili peppers--hot, hot, hot! Even if you only use a dash.

Optional spice variations and adds: 

Variety chili powders: Two that work well in this mix if you want to turn up the heat and make the flavor more complex are ancho chile powder and New Mexican chile powder.

It’s best to choose one or the other and sub it for a third of the chili powder in the recipe.

The single-batch recipe calls for one Tablespoon of chili powder. So, you could use a teaspoon of the ancho or New Mexican powder to two teaspoons of regular chili powder.

Although the above link to New Mexican powder is for a hot variety, the same brand, Savory Spice, offers a mild type if you prefer a less fiery seasoning.

Citrus: A teaspoon of dried lime or orange zest perks up the mix. (I usually serve lime wedges on the side.)

Another consideration is that the modified starch in store seasoning is often there to thicken the taco meat. If your taco meat turns out to have runny juices, you can make a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up.

How to make the seasoning mix

The most time-consuming part of making this is gathering all the spice bottles! 

Wash hands thoroughly for 20 seconds, lathering up your hands with soap, and rinsing with warm running water.

Measure out the spices into a clear container with a tight lid, like a 4-ounce mason jar or storage container (affiliate links). 

Shake the jar to combine all the spices. You’re ready for taco time!

You may want to use an 8-ounce container if you like tacos and want to keep this blend around to use regularly! Double or triple the amounts in the recipe.

In a container with a tight lid, your taco seasoning will keep in the pantry for at least six months.

How to make tacos with this seasoning blend

The easiest way to make chicken tacos with skinless boneless chicken breasts is to use the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker.

See my companion recipe post on Easy Shredded Chicken for pictures and a detailed recipe.

1️⃣Spray the slow cooker or Instant Pot with non-stick cooking spray.

2️⃣Spread about half a cup of diced or sliced onions over the bottom.

3️⃣Place the chicken breasts in the cooker. Coat one side of the chicken with taco seasoning. Flip over and coat the other side. (It’s okay if onions stick to the chicken.)

4️⃣Add ½ cup of tomato sauce or two Tablespoons of tomato paste mixed with half a cup of water.

5️⃣Your Instant Pot will take about 5 minutes at high pressure with quick release. (The pot will take about 10 minutes to reach high pressure.) The slow cooker will need 3.5 to 4 hours on low to finish cooking the chicken.

Once the chicken is done, shred it in your stand mixer or in the cooker with two forks.

this recipe

Another simple method is to use this mix over ground chicken or cubed skinless, boneless chicken cooked in a pan on the stove.

Why Bother to Make Your Own Taco Seasoning?

Additives and Preservatives

Your homemade taco seasoning will not contain preservatives or additives (looking at you, maltodextrin) and your tacos will have less salt and plenty of good taste.

🤔If you look at the nutrition label on a packet of taco seasoning, you’ll find ingredients like corn syrup solids, modified corn starch, and silicon dioxide, added to prevent caking.

We tend to avoid corn syrup partly because of its negative effect on blood sugar. But there is not a huge amount of it in a seasoning mix. 

The modified corn starch is added to thicken the taco meat mixture. You may want to add some corn starch (dissolved in cool or room temperature water) at the end if your shredded taco meat has watery juices.

Silicon dioxide is added to prevent caking. It’s in many spices, including chili powder. So, even though it’s not added to this recipe, you will have a little. It lurks in your spice jars to help dried garlic, onions, and powdered peppercorns flow out smoothly. 

These ingredients are not necessarily harmful. Silicon dioxide occurs naturally in water and several foods like bananas, leafy greens, and fish. 

➖ Less Salt

On the nutrition label of commercial taco seasoning, you’ll see a good amount of sodium, clocking in at 12% to 13% of daily value. 

🧂When you make your own seasoning, no salt is needed. Simply salt your meat when cooking. You may find that using robust spices like chili peppers, garlic, and smoked paprika reduce the need for more salt.

Taste before you shake!

🌮Customize your taco

Of course, you also get the option to adjust the heat and flavors to suit your taste. Up the level of heat, if you prefer spicy foods, or add some other warm spices like cloves, allspice, and star anise to make a more global-tasting taco.

Hate coriander or cumin? Leave them out. Love warmer spices, add more cayenne pepper, red pepper flake, or your favorite kind of chili powder.

💲Cost and convenience

It can be more cost effective to make your own seasoning although store brand mixes are sometimes very inexpensive, about 50 to 80 cents.

Of course, if you can’t find any of those packets hanging around where you keep the spices, it’s great to know how to make your own blend.

(Again, I recommend doubling or tripling the recipe, so you have plenty to season the moment. The recipe below makes enough for a pound of meat.)

⚕️Health benefits

🌶️Chili peppers have recognized benefits for health and weight management. The capsaicin in them causes s burning sensation on your tongue but is also an anti-inflammatory that can help with weight loss.

When applied topically, capsaicin is a pain reliever, which I have personally used to relieve toothache.

🌿In addition to their anti-inflammatory properties, leafy spices, such as oregano and cilantro (coriander) are anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and have antiseptic abilities.

🧄 Garlic, of course, is very helpful for heart and vascular health, and may be preventive of certain cancers. You can read this article for a deep dive into garlic and health

FAQS ❓❓❓

Other recipes you might like…

If you love a recipe with a Southwestern flavor profile, take a look at these Bell Pepper Boats with Taco Stuffing. They’re tacos with a veggie shell. All the carbs come from health-giving plants like beans, brown rice, and corn. 

Another satisfying meal is this filling Pozole Verde y Rojo, a pork stew with hominy corn and a blend of green and red chile.

Make it in the slow cooker and enjoy the spicy fragrance as it simmers all day long.

Copyright © 2024 Jani H. Leuschel