The Top-Rated Recipe I've Been Turning to for Over a Decade

I have been turning to Allrecipes for cooking inspiration long before I started writing for the site. In my handwritten recipe book, I have many copied recipes from the site—most of them with a notation that they came from Allrecipes and some with the date I added them.

I added Jamie’s Minestrone in 2007 and still make the soup several times each fall and winter. The Easy Slow Cooker French Dip, which I put my own spin on by adding soy sauce, doesn’t have a date, but I’m sure I copied it to my recipe book around the same time. It’s still another go-to recipe.

But the recipe I’ve probably made more times than any other recipe in my cookbook doesn’t have an attribution. Until a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t realize it had come from Allrecipes until I stumbled upon it while writing about Tailgate Tacos.

Why This Taco Seasoning Is the Best

A package of pre-made taco seasoning isn’t very expensive, but the spices, herbs, and seasonings on your spice rack can be. At some point in the aughts, I decided to seek out a recipe to make taco seasoning for ground beef that used the jars of spices I already owned. The recipe I chose accomplished that and also saved me money. It didn’t have any sugar or preservatives, and I appreciated that. 

I don’t know how many reviews this Taco Seasoning recipe had 15 or 16 years ago when I first started using it, but it now has more than 5,500 five-star reviews—it’s that good. It’s also super simple to throw together if you have all the spices in your kitchen. It’s the only taco seasoning I ever use.

The recipe calls for a combination of chili powder, ground cumin, sea salt, ground black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, and dried oregano. When my sons were younger, I used half the amount of cumin called for, but I now use the full amount. The only other change I’ve ever made to this Allrecipes-member’s favorite recipe is to substitute smoked paprika for regular. But if I’m out of the smoked version, regular paprika works just fine.

We used to celebrate Taco Tuesday regularly, and we always used this taco seasoning mixture on ground beef or ground turkey for taco fixings. I have no idea how many Taco Tuesdays (or Mondays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays) we had over the years, but there must have been hundreds. That translates into a lot of packages of taco seasoning not purchased, a lot of money saved, and a lot of spices on my spice rack that actually got used.

Recipes That Use Taco Seasoning

The taco seasoning recipe seasons one pound of ground meat that can be used in tacos, but it can also be used in many other recipes that call for taco seasoning. Give it a try with these dishes:

• Air Fryer Cauliflower with Taco Seasoning
• Seven-Layer Taco Dip
• Slow Cooker Taco Soup
• Quick Taco Bake Pie
• Touchdown Taco Dip

I tend to make the taco seasoning as needed, but you can also make a big batch of it and store it in an airtight container so it’s on hand whenever you need it. Use three tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning for every pound of ground meat, or measure out the amount that your specific recipe calls for.