Taco Seasoning: Real Ground Beef Tacos, Walking Tacos, and a Ground Turkey Variation

Taco Seasoning: Real Ground Beef Tacos, Walking Tacos, and a Ground Turkey Variation

We made this blend because we don't like all the additives and fillers in the single use store packs. Real taco seasoning has a real spice profile. Here’s the recipe to prove it.

Our Taco Seasoning is a from-scratch blend. No fillers, no thickeners, no excess salt and cornstarch, no sneaky sugar. Just cumin, oregano, garlic, onion, paprika, pepper and just enough chili to bring flavour but still "kid friendly" and a small amount of salt. A notable difference between our Taco blend and others, is that our blend can season 6-8 lbs of Taco meat/protein. Not a "one and done" pouch.

The recipe below is the basic ground-beef version. The variations underneath cover the walking-taco kids’ setup and a ground turkey swap that doesn’t taste like a compromise.

What’s in the blend

Taco Seasoning is a fine-grind savoury-spicy blend tuned for ground meat fillings. The profile leans on ancho chili, cumin, Mexican oregano, smoked paprika, garlic, onion, a thread of coriander, and a balanced salt level. Heat is medium. Real depth, no fillers, the way taco seasoning was before the foil packet.

Built for: ground beef tacos, ground turkey tacos, ground chicken, taco salad, walking tacos.

Quietly excellent on: roasted sweet potatoes, black bean soup, taco-spiced popcorn, chili, scrambled eggs in a breakfast burrito.

The recipe: Ground Beef Tacos

The weeknight tacos we cook when nobody wants to think hard. Thirty minutes start to finish.

Serves 4 (8 tacos) · 10 minutes prep · 20 minutes cook

Ingredients

  • 500 g lean ground beef (80/20)
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated
  • 2 tsp Axe To Grind Taco Seasoning
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • ⅓ cup water or low-sodium beef stock
  • 1 tsp lime juice
  • 8 small soft tortillas or hard taco shells

Toppings (set out in bowls):

  • Shredded sharp cheddar
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Diced tomato
  • Sliced avocado
  • Sour cream
  • Chopped cilantro
  • Lime wedges

Method

  1. Brown the beef. Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high. Add the ground beef and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook 5 to 6 minutes until no pink remains. Drain excess fat if there’s more than a tablespoon left in the pan.
  2. Sweat the aromatics. Push the beef to one side of the pan. Add the diced onion to the cleared space and cook 3 minutes until soft. Stir in the grated garlic for 30 seconds. Mix everything together.
  3. Bloom the spice. Sprinkle Taco Seasoning across the beef and stir to coat. Cook 1 minute. The spices want a quick toast in the fat to come alive. Add the tomato paste and stir until it darkens.
  4. Simmer. Pour in the water or stock. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan, until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the mixture looks glossy. Stir in the lime juice off the heat.
  5. Build. Warm the tortillas in a dry pan or in foil in the oven. Spoon the beef into shells. Top with cheese, lettuce, tomato, avocado, sour cream, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

The walking-taco variation

For the kids’ end of the table, or for game night. The walking taco is the move.

  1. Open a single-serve bag of corn chips (Doritos, Fritos, or Sun Chips work).
  2. Crush gently to make space inside the bag.
  3. Spoon 3 to 4 Tbsp of the seasoned beef directly into the bag.
  4. Top with shredded cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and a pinch of cilantro.
  5. Eat with a fork, straight out of the bag.

No plates, no cleanup, and somehow always the most popular option at the table.

The ground turkey variation

Ground turkey tacos used to be the polite alternative that nobody asked for seconds of. This version fixes that.

The only change to the method: use 500 g ground turkey instead of beef, add 1 extra Tbsp olive oil to the pan (turkey is leaner), and stir in 2 Tbsp finely diced red bell pepper with the onion. The bell pepper adds the sweetness and bite that turkey usually lacks. Everything else is the same.

The result actually tastes like tacos, not like a low-fat compromise. The Taco Seasoning carries enough character to make the turkey work.

Beyond the taco

  • Taco salad. Cool the seasoned beef. Layer over chopped romaine with black beans, corn, tomato, avocado, and a lime-cumin dressing.
  • Breakfast burrito. Stir 2 Tbsp leftover beef into scrambled eggs. Wrap in a flour tortilla with cheese and salsa.
  • Quick chili. Brown 500 g beef with 2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning. Add a can of crushed tomatoes, a can of kidney beans, and 1 cup beef stock. Simmer 30 minutes.
  • Sweet potato wedges. Toss wedges with oil and 1 tsp Taco Seasoning. Roast 30 minutes at 220°C (425°F).
  • Black bean soup. A teaspoon stirred into a pot of black bean soup is most of what you need.
  • Mexican Corn. Sprinkle a pinch of taco seasoning onto a cooked and  buttered corn on the cob then add a squeeze from a lime wedge.

Shop the blend

Taco Seasoning 60g → · $10.00 CAD

Or browse our full spice blend collection for the rest of the line (Steak Spice, BBQ Chicken & Pork, Cajun, and more).

Not seeing it on your shelf yet? Use our where to find us page for the Sobeys, Williams Sonoma Canada, and independent grocers carrying the line.

A small story

Axe To Grind started, of all places, as a fundraiser for Canada’s Double Bit Axe Throwing Team. Cynthia Kennedy was captain. Taco Seasoning came out of frustration with all the additives and bulking agents and thickeners that make up the bulk of the weight of those single serve pouches.  Wanting clean ingredients in her family's food, she created this "kid friendly" Taco Seasoning... all the flavour, none of the bad stuff.

Read the full story →

Walking tacos at the cottage? Taco-seasoned popcorn? We want the ideas. Tag us on social.