Cooking and Serving: 1 cup seasoning
Ingredients
Serving suggestions | Ingredient substitutions | Make it your own: Add more or less heat, or rebalance it to suit your
Description
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 1 cup seasoning
Ingredients
Serving suggestions
Ingredient substitutions
Make it your own: Add more or less heat, or rebalance it to suit your
Fewer allergens: No fillers, no added common allergens like milk powder,
Cheaper than store-bought: Anything you buy in a single-serve packet isn’t
2 teaspoons chipotle chili pepper, (or more to taste)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
In a small bowl, place all of the ingredients.
Whisk to combine well.
To transfer to a small glass storage container, first place the seasoning on.
Place a small funnel on top of the container, and tilt the ingredients on the.
paper into the funnel and into the jar.
Seal the jar, then store in a cool, dark pantry until ready to use.
Notes
* Serving suggestions
* Ingredient substitutions
* Gluten Free Taco Seasoning Recipe
* Make it your own: Add more or less heat, or rebalance it to suit your
family’s tastes. Hate cumin? Leave it out!
* Fewer allergens: No fillers, no added common allergens like milk powder,
which many commercial blends have.
* No crazy ingredients: You probably have all of the individual spices in your
pantry already. They’re each so useful on their own, too!
* Cheaper than store-bought: Anything you buy in a single-serve packet isn’t
going to be a good deal…
ingredients of gluten free taco seasoning in small bowls with black lettering
stating names of each ingredient
of gluten free taco seasoning in small bowls with black lettering stating names
For the full ingredient list with amounts, please see the recipe card. Here’s a
little about what each ingredient adds to the blend:
Chipotle chili powder: Adds spicy heat to your dishes, with a hint of smokiness
from the chipotle chilies.
Cumin: A warm, savory spice that adds an earthy, nutty flavor.
Smoked paprika: A smoky, woodsy flavor that adds a very subtle sweetness.
Onion powder: A savory flavor that adds the distinct zestiness of onions plus
their distinctive aroma
Garlic powder: Like fresh garlic without the bite, garlic powder adds taste and
Oregano: Warm and earthy, oregano also has earthy, anise-like undertones.
Sugar: Just a touch of granulated sugar balances the bitterness of some of the
other spices. Your seasoning will not taste the least bit sweet, though.
Salt: Brightens all the other flavors, and rounds out this blend.
Image of a teaspoonful of gluten free taco seasoning.
of a teaspoonful of gluten free taco seasoning.
I use this spice blend in place of the individual spices in our recipe for
gluten free enchilada sauce
. That’s the sauce you see
drizzled on the chicken tacos in the photos. It also makes the most smoky,
spicy, satisfying gluten free chili recipe
. I use it on sauteed
vegetables to make warm, spicy chicken fajitas.
The chicken in the tacos pictured below is made chicken breast into thin slices. Then, I toss them with cornstarch and our
homemade gluten free taco seasoning and allow them to sit for at least 30
minutes (and up to a day) in the refrigerator.
To cook the chicken, saute it in a neutral oil with a relatively high smoke
point. Peanut oil and grapeseed oil work great, but so does canola oil. Add some
shredded cheese, fresh herbs, and chopped tomatoes and serve in a gluten free
Chicken tacos made with gluten free taco seasoning, with taco seasoning.
tacos made with gluten free taco seasoning, with taco seasoning.
INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS
The full ingredient amounts are in the recipe card, but here are some thoughts,
if you’re thinking of replacing any of them:
If your family simply doesn’t care for the smokiness of smoked Spanish paprika
or ground cumin, you can use regular paprika and leave out the cumin. But the
flavor of the spice blend will seem rather flat.
CHIPOTLE CHILI PEPPER
I like to use chipotle chili pepper in cooking because I like chipotle chilis,
and it’s a single ingredient spice. Chili powder is typically a blend of spices
If you have a favorite chili powder, use that here. If you really don’t like
anything spicy, use much less. If your family loves spice, add as much as you
like. Just remember that, although you can always add more, you can’t dial it
The granulated sugar helps round out the kick from the chili powder. You can
certainly replace it with coconut palm sugar, for a quick Paleo substitution.
You can leave out the sugar entirely, of course. But the blend does not taste at
all sweet with the sugar.
Aromatics like onion and garlic powder are staples in savory cooking. It’s
really hard to cook food that has much flavor at all without them.
If you don’t have onion powder, you can use twice the volume of minced dried
onions. If you only have garlic salt, and not garlic powder, reduce the amount
of kosher salt accordingly.
Oregano is my desert island spice. I love it in everything. If you don’t, leave
it out. It’s really not necessary.
If you do plan to use oregano, make sure it’s fresh-tasting. If your jar of
dried oregano doesn’t smell much when you open it, just press the leaves in your
palm with the fingers of your other hand before adding it to the blend. That
will help release some of its natural oils.
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GLUTEN FREE TACO SEASONING RECIPE
Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
Yield: 1 cup seasoning
white bowl with ingredients for taco seasoning
bowl with ingredients for taco seasoning
This simple recipe for gluten free taco seasoning has all the elements to make
any dish smoky, spicy, and full of Mexican-style flavor, without any fillers.
* 2 teaspoons chipotle chili pepper, (or more to taste)
* 2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
* 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon onion powder
* 2 teaspoons garlic powder
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* In a small bowl, place all of the ingredients.
white bowl with ingredients for taco seasoning
bowl with ingredients for taco seasoning
* Whisk to combine well.
same bowl with ingredients whisked together with very small wire whisk
bowl with ingredients whisked together with very small wire whisk
* To transfer to a small glass storage container, first place the seasoning on
a stiff piece of parchment paper
taco seasoning powder on rectangular white parchment next to small white
seasoning powder on rectangular white parchment next to small white funnel
* Place a small funnel on top of the container, and tilt the ingredients on the
paper into the funnel and into the jar.
white parchment paper being used to transfer taco seasoning into small white
parchment paper being used to transfer taco seasoning into small white funnel
* Seal the jar, then store in a cool, dark pantry until ready to use.
overhead image of orange-green-brown powder in open small clear glass bottle
image of orange-green-brown powder in open small clear glass bottle
The measurements given are about accuracy, don’t be. This recipe doesn’t require the precision that baking
If you live outside the U.S. and don’t use our same teaspoons, think of this
seasoning recipe like a ratio. Use the same set of volume containers for
measuring all the ingredients and your blend will be properly balanced.
1g | Sodium: 4732mg | Potassium: 358mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A:
3241IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 107mg | Iron: 5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an
Is all taco seasoning naturally gluten free?
No, like most packaged products, there is always the possibility that there’s a
gluten-containing ingredient added to taco seasoning.
Some spice mixes have added gluten in the form of malt for flavoring, or even
wheat flour as a binder or thickener.
Be sure to check the label of spice blends to see if they contain any suspicious
ingredients. If you’re unsure, don’t use the blend.
Is this blend Whole30 compliant?
Just leave out the sugar entirely, and this blend is appropriate for your
Whole30 diet. It’s Paleo, too, then.
How much taco seasoning should I use on 1 pound of ground beef?
Start with 2 tablespoons of the blend, and add more seasoning blend to taste.
Remember, you can always add more!
What brands of packaged taco seasoning are gluten free?
Most brands of individual spices, and some seasoning blends, such as many from
McCormick, are labeled gluten free, but don’t contain any certification. In the
U.S. Spicely Organics spices are certified gluten
free McCormick brand taco seasoning is gluten free; it does contain dairy.
Siete Foods taco seasoning is gluten free; it comes in mild and spicy.
Old El Paso taco seasoning has no gluten-containing ingredients on the label
(but isn’t labeled GF).
Trader Joe’s taco seasoning also has no gluten-containing ingredients.
Thrive Market taco seasoning is gluten free.
Just like the taco seasoning mix you buy at the store, this blend is as shelf
stable as its component spices. If any of your spices is older, keep that in
mind as you make the blend.
To keep it fresh, store it in an airtight container in a dry, cool place like
your pantry for up to 3 months. A glass container does a better job of keeping
the aroma fresh-tasting, but plastic works, too.
Image of both spoonful of homemade gluten free taco seasoning and chicken tacos
made with the seasoning.
of both spoonful of homemade gluten free taco seasoning and chicken tacos made