Quick & Easy Homemade Sugar Free Taco Seasoning Recipe

Learn how to make a super simple and budget-friendly sugar free taco and fajita seasoning recipe that will have you ditching the store bought stuff full of ingredients you can’t pronounce forever. 

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 Homemade Taco & Fajita Seasoning Recipe (Sugar Free)

Listen, I totally get the appeal of buying the store-bought packets of seasonings. They’re convenient and cheap. What’s not to love?

Well, for my family, the weird ingredients and unnecessary added sugars are what led me to attempt making my own… especially once I realized I already had most of the IMPORTANT ingredients in my pantry.

Now? Not only are the ingredients better for our bodies, but this blend also tastes WAY better than the pre-packaged stuff. 

WHY THIS SUGAR FREE TACO SEASONING RECIPE WORKS (FOR TACOS, FAJITAS, AND MORE)

Minimal ingredients: You probably already have most of these simple spices in your pantry! 

Flavorful: This delicious seasoning blend adds SO much flavor to any of your Mexican inspired dishes. 

Versatile: You can easily change this mixture up according to your own preferences. I add lots of cilantro because we love it, but if you’re one of those people who thinks it tastes like soap… you can just omit it altogether! 

Quick & Easy: This seasoning blend takes a matter of minutes to put together. Simply mix all ingredients together in a jar and store it for use for up to six months. I can make it faster than I can go to the store and grab a packet of the pre-mixed stuff!  

INGREDIENTS:

• Chili powder: Chili powder is the most significant component of this seasoning blend.
• Garlic powder: Everything is better with garlic. It adds a great flavor to this dish.
• Onion powder: Onion is a staple in Mexican cuisine, and including onion powder in this seasoning blend adds another layer of the great onion-y flavor to your dish.
• Cumin: Cumin is very popular in Mexican dishes and has a strong, warm flavor. 
• Paprika: Paprika adds color and additional mild flavor to the mix.
• Freeze dried cilantro (optional): Cilantro adds a great freshness and flavor to Mexican dishes. It’s more typical to find fresh cilantro added to a dish after cooking, but I love layering in some of the freeze dried Cilantro into my spice blend. This is optional, so if you don’t love cilantro or prefer fresh only, just skip it! 
• Salt (optional): You can choose to add salt to this spice blend or leave it out completely. I often like to leave it out and salt individual dishes I cook accordingly. It’s up to you! 
• True Lime (optional): True lime is simply a powdered lime juice that you can add in for the added tartness. You can also leave it out and squeeze fresh lime juice on your food when serving instead. 

HOW TO MAKE SUGAR FREE TACO AND FAJITA SEASONING BLEND:

Simply mix all ingredients together into a jar and store with the lid tightly secured. 

The amounts below in the recipe card create enough seasoning for a single meal (approximately 1 to 1.5 pounds of meat). Quantities can be multiplied to create this in bulk for future use.  

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

You can use this seasoning blend in nearly any Mexican inspired dish! We use it for chicken tacos, ground beef tacos, nachos, quesadillas, fajitas, chili, enchiladas, and more! 

STORAGE

I recommend making this seasoning blend in bulk and storing in a small mason jar or an empty spice container. For best flavor, use it within six months. I typically just look at the expiration dates of all the spices I’m using and write the earliest date as the expiration on the bottom of my jar. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do I need to add water when using this taco seasoning?

No – you do not. Packaged taco seasoning typically requires water due to its added thickeners. This mixture is simply herbs and spices and can be added directly to your recipe. The natural and added oils from meats will likely be enough liquid. If cooking lean meats or vegetarian options, add a minimal amount of oil if needed for texture.

How much taco seasoning do I use for three pounds of meat?

This recipe is enough for 1.5 pounds of meat so double it to cook three pounds. The recipe card at the bottom of this post allows  you to easily adjust the number of servings you would like to make.

Does taco mix have sugar in it? 

Many store bought taco seasonings and fajita seasonings do have sugar in them along with other preservatives and ingredients that are hard to pronounce. This taco and fajita seasoning recipe was created with basic spice rack essentials most of us keep on hand. It’s SO quick and easy to make this ahead of time so the store-bought stuff isn’t always necessary. 

How important is cumin in taco seasoning? 

Honestly, not that important. I personally have a love-hate relationship with cumin. While I only like it in VERY small doses and can find it to be overpowering, I DO think it adds a depth of flavor to this recipe. So if you’re even somewhat into cumin’s flavor, add it! It’s not at all overpowering here. If you hate it, though, the recipe will still be delicious without it. Maybe add some extra chili powder and garlic powder instead.

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