Make Your Own: Taco Seasoning

Posted by Fay on Apr 23, 2012 in Food | 0 comments

We’ve already established that I’m a cheapo. But the main reason I like cooking my own food is more for health than personal finance. Our whole family reacts badly to MSG (monosodium glutamate) and I generally dislike heavily salted food. Tonight, I tried making my own taco seasoning, because the store-bought version is full of sodium and a rip-off at $1 per package. I was really pleased with the results of my experiment! Here’s my recipe:

Homemade Taco Seasoning
Ingredients (to season 1 pound of ground beef)

• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 1-2 teaspoons paprika
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin (grinding your own cumin seeds is cheaper and more flavourful than buying the powder)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 small onion, finely minced or 2 teaspoons of dehydrated onion
• Salt, to taste

Mix all ingredients except for minced onion in a small bowl. Brown the ground beef, add minced onion if using, drain and add the powder mixture. Add enough water to reach desired consistency.