I love to experiment with different things in the kitchen. One of those is making seasoning blends of my own, since I have a pretty well stocked spice cabinet.
In addition to plain old spices, I also have a bunch of spice blends from Ava Jane’s Kitchen, so when looking for a project while inside the house on a particularly dreary day recently, I decided to try my hand at using those to make a new blend. I know — making spice blends from spice blends? But hear me out — with my Ava Jane’s Kitchen blends, part of the work is already done — they are full of flavor, already have salt, and are a good base for a new flavor.
I started with taco seasoning. It’s a favorite of mine, and those packets of seasoning you buy at store or come in taco kits are pretty abysmal when it comes to healthy ingredients.
I used three of my Ava Jane’s Kitchen seasoning blends for this taco seasoning — Los Muertos Barbecue, Blackened Fish, and Hot Roasted Garlic — and added a few others as well. I also added a bit of cornstarch to give it that same thickening power you get from packets, but you can leave it out (if you’re using it as a rub, for instance) or swap arrowroot for a grain free version.
I will freely admit that this doesn’t taste exactly like the packets of taco seasoning that you buy at the store, but in a good way. It’s not as salty, and doesn’t have that same metallic, fake taste you sometimes get from packets. This makes about a cup. You can use it however you would use a packet — about 3-4 tablespoons of this mix should yield the same as a packet. So for ground beef tacos, I would use 3 tablespoons per pound of meat. Then you can use that in tacos, or stuffed into peppers for a healthier option. This also makes a pretty solid fajita seasoning as well, and is perfect in some tortilla soup on a cold day.
Homemade Taco Seasoning
Makes about 1 cup
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons Ava Jane’s Kitchen Los Muertos Barbecue Spice Blend
2 tablespoons Ava Jane’s Kitchen Blackened Fish Spice Blend
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot (optional)
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Ava Jane’s Kitchen Hot Roasted Garlic Spice Blend
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Put all of the ingredients in a 16-ounce jar and shake until well combined.
Store in a cool dry place.
Easy to download PDF: AJK Taco Seasoning Blend