Best Taco Seasoning Recipe - Kristine's Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Do you brown meat before adding taco seasoning? ›

Cook and stir ground beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain and discard any excess grease. Pour water and seasoning mix over beef; stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook until mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

Ground cumin – Next to chili powder, cumin is the most important ingredient in taco seasoning. It adds an earthy flavor and aroma.

Our Original Taco Seasoning Mix is spicier than our Mild Taco Seasoning Mix. ~Cara" / X.

Salt and Pepper: These are essential seasonings for enhancing the overall flavor of the beef. Garlic: Garlic powder or minced garlic adds a rich and savory flavor to ground beef dishes. Onion: Onion powder, diced onions, or onion flakes can provide a sweet and aromatic quality to the meat.

To season ground meat tacos, first sauté the meat until it loses its pinkish color. Then sprinkle with taco seasoning and stir to combine.

Ingredients. Spices (paprika, chipotle pepper*, chili pepper, and other spice), Onion Powder, Sugar, Salt, Garlic*, Corn Starch, Malic Acid. Contains 2% or less of: Vegetable Oil (canola and/or soybean oil), Silicon Dioxide (anticaking agent), Annatto Extract (color), Vinegar*.

Old El Paso is a brand of Tex-Mex-style foods from American food producer General Mills. These include dinner kits, tacos and tortillas, taco seasoning, sauces, condiments, rice, and refried beans. Pet, Inc. Old El Paso products are marketed across the globe.

You will find cumin in many Tex Mex and Southwestern dishes. It's a must have spice in my chili and I don't spare its use in my taco meat, but it's uncommon in real Mexican dishes.

Cumin's origin is in the Mediterranean, but the seed found its way into Mexican cuisine. It offers a strong flavor described by many chefs as pungent, earthy, warm, hearty, bitter, and toasty. Cumin is a popular seasoning for tacos, sweet vegetables, and mild bread.

What to add to taco seasoning? ›

For more than 80 years, Old El Paso has been bringing families and communities together to celebrate old and new traditions around delicious, Mexican-inspired flavors. We believe that any night can be a taco night, and we're here to help make it a little easier and a lot more delicious.

1/2 cup water: After you've browned your meat, add in 1/2 cup water with 3 tablespoons of the taco seasoning mix. Stir to combine and mix all together. Slowly add in another 1/2 cup water as some will begin to absorb – you want it with a little sauce, just not too watery!

Ultimately, the difference between these two comes down to the composition of spices. Taco seasoning is usually milder than Mexican seasoning. Mexican seasoning contains ancho powder and chipotle chile pepper, both of which give it a little more of a kick.

However, you do NOT need to add other seasonings before searing. You're going to be cooking the exterior of your meat at very high temperatures, and the other seasonings will simply burn on the surface.

I don't drain my meat unless it seems excessively fatty. Instead, I would clear out a spot in the center of the cooked meat so that the fat will form a pool. Add your seasoning into the pool and stir to incorporate as much of the seasoning into the fat.

Optional Instructions for Cooking Taco Meat:

Add seasoning to ground meat and incorporate spices into meat, using your hands. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add lard to pan, let it melt, and swirl to coat the pan. Add seasoned meat to pan and spread meat out into a thin layer.