Homemade Chicken Taco Seasoning

Stop spending money on expensive pre-made packets when you can whip up our own tastier and healthier chicken taco seasoning at home.

I love making my own spice mixes because I can control the ingredients, salt, and freshness of my spices when I create them myself. If you flip over that bag of store-bought seasoning, you’ll see all the extra additives they put in there.

My homemade chicken taco seasoning mix tastes delicious and stays fresh for at least 6 months. I love having a jar of this on hand to use for homemade chicken tacos, but this all-purpose seasoning blend works equally well for beef or shrimp tacos, fajitas, and even homemade carnitas!

Chicken Taco Seasoning Recipe Notes

This recipe includes simple spices you’ll have in your pantry, like cumin, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, oregano and onion powder.

I do have three things I prefer to add that are optional – salt, chili pepper flakes, and cornstarch. I’ll explain why I like to include these in my recipe for homemade chicken taco seasoning, and then you can decide if you’d like to include them for yourself.

Salt

I love to add salt to my homemade chicken taco seasoning mix because I always use salt in my cooking and it saves me a step. The quantity of salt in this mix is the perfect ratio for me to bring out the flavors of all the other spices. If you are following a low-salt, or no-salt diet, you can leave it out.

Chili pepper flakes

I love a little heat to my tacos so I’ve included just a bit of chili pepper flakes. If you like your food spicier, feel free to kick up the amount of chili pepper flakes. If you don’t care for spicier food, feel free to keep it out.

Cornstarch

Store-bought seasoning mixes include cornstarch in their taco spice mixes, and I’ve included it in my mix as well. Cornstarch acts a thickener, and so when you add a little water to cook your taco mixture, the spices and cornstarch combine to fully coat and stick to the meat and to thicken the juices. If you’ve ever tasted very dry taco meat, it’s because they didn’t include a bit of cornstarch to help thicken the juices and coat the meat. If you prefer, you can leave out the cornstarch.

How much chicken taco seasoning to use?

I like to use 2 tablespoons of chicken taco seasoning per pound of meat. If you’re using this in a recipe that asks you to use a taco seasoning packet, you’ll use 2 tablespoons of my homemade mix to substitute.

Once you’ve mixed it together, pour it into an airtight container or jar and use within 6 months.

FAQ

What spices does taco seasoning contain?

Most taco seasoning mixes contain salt, paprika, oregano, chili, onion powder, and garlic powder. My delicious homemade recipe is made with chili powder, ground cumin, paprika, salt, oregano, black pepper, garlic and onion powder, red pepper flakes, and a touch of cornstarch.

Is this homemade chicken taco seasoning gluten-free?

YES! This contains no gluten and is gluten-free!

Is chicken taco seasoning the same as taco seasoning?

Yes – the ingredients in my blend are pretty much the same as “taco seasoning”. Chicken has a milder flavor, so chicken taco seasoning tends to be a bit less spicy than traditional beef taco seasoning, but all the other spices are virtually the same. You can use this spice mix on ground beef tacos, shrimp tacos, fajitas, and even carnitas!

I even recently used this spice mix on my walking taco recipe, it was delicious!