AIP Taco Seasoning—Nightshade and Seed-Free
This post may contain affiliate links from which I will earn a commission. Learn more in our disclosure.
With this AIP Taco Seasoning Recipe, people who are following the AIP diet can have tacos again!
And even if you’re not on a special diet, you will love this blend. It’s great and tastes fantastic on so many things; it’s not just for tacos!
One of the things that really spice up a meal (pun intended) is seasoning blends. With the right seasoning mix, you can turn plain meats, veggies, eggs, or a salad into something really special.
And one of our favorite seasonings is taco seasoning. However, if you’re on the AIP diet, regular taco seasoning is out of the picture. It’s laden with peppers and seeds (like cumin), both of which are off-limits on the AIP diet.
We’ve leaned on this diet on and off over the years, mostly to avoid nightshades. While my Homemade Taco Seasoning is super delicious, I needed to develop this recipe so we could still have tacos whenever we were eating AIP.
Enter your email and I'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus, you'll get healthy living updates too.
My Life with Special Diets
For those of you who don’t know about the AIP Diet, it can be tough. I’ve been on a number of special diets over the years, but this one is just about the hardest one.
My special diet journey started with my son’s life-threatening food allergies that manifested themselves in severe eczema when he was an infant. I removed the top allergenic offenders from my diet so that the proteins wouldn’t be present in my breastmilk, and his skin healed miraculously. Basically I removed wheat, egg, dairy, soy, fish, nuts, and peanuts from my diet. Tough, but doable.
Then later, when it was clear that I had major issues with candida, I went on the candida diet. This was hard in a different way, but with alternative sweeteners like stevia, xylitol, erythritol, and the like, it’s very manageable once you get rolling.
I’ve tried GAPS for my oldest at one point. That was hard.
And Paleo. Hard, but mostly tough since I have to always be mindful of the candida thing.
But AIP.
Wow.
I’ll tell you more later, but I ended up trying the AIP diet on the advice of a top blogger who knew of my struggles with Thyroid Disease and Adrenal Fatigue. She had done the AIP Diet for a while and said it was a huge help, so I tried.
And it was hard. Again, mostly because I have the whole candida “thang” going on, which means you have to avoid loads of fruits, yucca, tapioca, cassava, and such things in excess, and they are the backbone of so much that is AIP.
Spices are hard too, since you technically are supposed to not eat nightshades or seeds, and so many of the lovely fragrant, intense spices are just those.
Spices like:
cumin
coriander
pepper
nutmeg
cayenne
chili peppers,
and paprika.
Yup – all my favorites.
Perhaps they are yours too?
So — since I’m totally not into boooooring food, this recipe came about out of necessity for something really fun and tasty to spice up “meat and veggies.” Even though I am not totally following the AIP Diet right now, you never know when that might happen again, and I really wanted to have this in my back pocket. Plus, with the growth in autoimmune disorders in today’s society (due to the perfect storm of gut health and overall health insults), I really wanted to make this available to those who are desperately trying to heal but are finding their diet to be less than appealing.
How to Use This Seasoning
Whether you are on the AIP Diet or not, you will enjoy this blend. Guaranteed.
My youngest, in fact, told me it was the best seasoning I have ever made.
Serve this on tacos (of course), on other meats, as the seasoning for Homemade Sausage Patties, on salads, or veggies; really it works on any savory dish. And if you’re not eating grain-free, you could have it on stovetop popcorn as well, or as a blend to put on Homemade Kale Chips.
The possibilities are endless.
Oh, and while you’re at it, here are great recipes for Grain-Free Taco Shells and Paleo Tortillas. So you’re all set for your next AIP Mexican Fiesta.
What You Will Need
Following are the ingredients you’ll need for this spice mix. For the amounts needed, scroll down to the recipe card.
- Onion Powder
- Cilantro (can substitute parsley, if desired)
- Salt (I use Real Salt)
- Oregano
- Turmeric
For my spice shopping, I really like Frontier Brand. I’ve done taste tests with about 5 different brands, and Frontier Brand has won out every time, and they are very reasonable. Starwest Botanicals has really great spices too.
Recipe Notes
- Make It Thicker: For a seasoning with a bit more “heft” to it, add about 1 teaspoon of a starch that is appropriate for your dietary needs to the mix.
- Make It Saucier: Add approximately ¾ cup water to the beef and seasoning mixture to make a more “saucy” beef.
- Save Time: As mentioned in my “Saving Time in the Kitchen by Baking in Bulk” post, I recommend making more of this in advance so that you have it on hand when you need it. Cook once, use two, three, four times, or more!
- Great on Everything: We even love this as a standby seasoning on our table. It tastes great on veggies and loads of other dishes!
- Use approximately 2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix for each pound of ground meat (or to taste, of course. Some people may prefer 1 tablespoon, others up to 4 tablespoons).
As with any other taco seasoning, either use the mixture as is, or add approximately ¾ cup water to the beef and seasoning mixture to make a more “saucy” beef.
AIP Taco Seasoning—Nightshade and Seed-Free
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 4 teaspoons cilantro (can substitute parsley, if desired)
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Stir well.
- Store in a tightly-closed container.
Notes
- Make It Thicker: For a seasoning with a bit more “heft” to it, add about 1 teaspoon of a starch that is appropriate for your dietary needs to the mix.
- Make It Saucier: Add approximately ¾ cup water to the beef and seasoning mixture to make a more “saucy” beef.
- Save Time: As mentioned in my “Saving Time in the Kitchen by Baking in Bulk” post, I recommend making more of this in advance so that you have it on hand when you need it. Cook once, use two three four times or more :-)!
- Great on Everything: We even love this as a standby seasoning on our table. It tastes great on veggies and loads of other dishes!
- Use approximately 2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix for each pound of ground meat (or to taste, of course. Some people may prefer 1 tablespoon, others up to 4 tablespoons). As with other any other taco seasoning, either use the mixture as is, or add approximately ¾ cup water to the beef and seasoning mixture to make a more “saucy” beef.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
What is YOUR favorite seasoning?
How would you use this AIP Taco Seasoning?
I wish there was a taco spice sub out there for a person allergic to both capsasin and nightshades that was flavorful with zero heat but still was able to have a similar taste to cumin. I can’t cook with any heat. Not white nor black pepper, paprika or Chilli powder, ginger, turmeric, curry, cumin, coriander, nutmeg or any kind of hot peppers. These all cause intense sweating, heart palpitations, dizziness and appetite loss for a memeber of my family. Any ideas?
Cumin is a toughy b/c the subs don’t really taste like it or are nightshades. I’m so sorry!!
I froze fresh cilantro in a small amount of water. Do you think it would work to add that to my cooked beef or chicken with this AIP taco seasoning?
Yes, that would be great! Let me know how it turns out!
This recipe is the best! I had to give it five stars!
Thank you! We love it too!! More spice recipes to come!
This recipe is the best!!! I was surprised at how much I love it!
Thank you!!!! Much appreciated!
Love the link to candida is Oxalate… please listen… please learn. We all have candida but oxalate makes it overwhelming as well as it forms it’s own biofilm… which can become a nightmare. This interview was amazing! Dr. Eliot Overton nails the information. Please look into this interview. Pardon the interviewers language in the very end. But the whol interview takes the information and completely lays down a foundation. I am one of those that cannot handle oxalate. I laughed at my doctor at Mayo clinic who told me after I saw the list and said geez all they can eat is meat he said don’t worry you can have chicken fingers . Which was a joke. But I didn’t care for his humor at the time. This interview nails every detail I have endured and went through. I fell off my wagon and I must get back on. Please watch. (video not available anymore so link was deleted by blog owner)
Hello Mia!
First of all soooo sorry for the delay in responding. I have tons of comments with a lot of spammy things to weed through and it’s been a mess to get through (as you can tell).
Anyhow, the youtube link you shared isn’t working any longer. What was the video about?
I have been digging into oxalates some so let me know what you are talking about.
I have thoughts…..hope to hear back from you! Again, so sorry!
I find that the taste of dried cilantro is quite dull, so I prefer fresh or fresh-chopped-and-then-frozen cilantro.
Do you find that the dried herb in this recipe retains flavor?
Hi there. I agree with you on cilantro but in this case you don’t want a lot of cilantro flavor. Would be interesting in hearing what you think!
I have been using this recipe to make tacos 2-4 times a month since October. Even after I could have peppers again, I continued using the recipe since it tastes better than packaged taco seasoning. After a few week break from tacos, I pulled up the recipe to make tacos for dinner tonight. I couldn’t figure out how I managed to measure wrong and was left with inedible, oversalted tacos. I looked back at a screen shot of your recipe that I had texted to my husband several months ago. Lo and behold, I did not measure wrong. The recipe used to say 1/2 tsp of salt rather than the 2 tsp now called for. I normally notice something off about a familiar recipe. I am so glad I took a screen shot of the previous version of this recipe because it was fantastic. This version with 4 times the amount of salt, not so fantastic or edible for my palate.
Hello Stacy! First of all, sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I’ve been so inundated and wanted to check on the issue here. Interesting that you had that screenshot!
I guess it all comes down to taste. We made the recipe tonight using 1/2 tsp and it still needed salt on the dish we made (just ground beef on lettuce wraps with some lentils). How did you serve yours? We do like salt, however! I’m not sure what happened–possible that the import of the recipe messed up the 1/2 and made it a “2” instead. Things happen! But regardless I made it 1 tsp “or to taste” because at least for us we could have still used more salt. Thanks for filling me in and glad you enjoyed it overall.
Tried this recipe tonight with chicken in the Instant pot. Subbed fresh cilantro bc I had it- it was amazing!!! First chance having tacos since diagnosis – THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Made this tonight with ground pork. Used the full recipe with 1t arrowroot powder added and 1/2 cup water. This was so delicious! I served it with Paleo Mom’s homemade cassava flour tortilla’s. This was a winner!
loved this recipe and that it allowed me to have taco meat again! My Tex-Mex lovin heart rejoiced!!!
I’m having a hard time understanding your first recipe note:
“- For a seasoning with a bit more “heft” to it, add about 1 t on plan starch of choice to the mix.”
What is “1 t on plan starch”?
My allergy isn’t about nightshades (I don’t think), I’ve enjoyed tomatoes without problems. My issue is with the capcacin in pepper (I think). I had to self diagnose because no one can figure out why I can’t even eat a green bell pepper without feeling ill.
Hi there. Sorry about the confusion – I just updated the post and I think it reads better now. I have heard that people have different issues with different nightshades. Just depends!
I still see what is quoted above and I’m still unclear what it means.
I just redid it again – see if that helps :).
Thank you for this!!!!! I have been craving tacos like no other. For Valentine’s dinner I wanted to cheat and go get some carne asada but instead I got creative. For 1.5 lb chuck shoulder steak, sliced thin and cooked with chopped onion and minced garlic, I used your whole recipe (w/ parsley flakes), plus 1/2 teaspoon primal palate breakfast blend and added 1/2 tsp ACV and 1/4 c water. Made paleo momma cassava tortillas and topped with avocado fresh cilantro and lime. It was to die for! Thanks for the inspiration.
That sounds amazing!!!!! Copying what you did for future reference!
Thanks for the recipe!! It was delicious!
So glad to hear it!
This does not taste like taco seasoning. Disappointed.
Hi there. Sorry you didn’t care for it. It lacks the peppers, of course, since it’s AIP but we think it makes fabulous taco seasoning for those who must avoid nightshades. If you are looking for a more traditional taco seasoning then I think you would like this one: https://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/homemade-taco-seasoning/
Cumin is missing which is no nightshade and is a key flavor in Mexican food. It gives taco filling that special taste.
We love cumin but it’s a seed so it’s not on the AIP diet. Sigh :(.
Is the cilantro fresh or dried? We just started AIP for my husband and he’s going to be in Mexican food withdrawals very soon without his taco seasoning. This looks great!
Dried. Enjoy!!!
How much would be used to make tacos with 1 lb of beef?
Hi there. Thanks for asking. I just updated the recipe with more information. Hope you like it!
I may just be missing it, but as far as I can tell the recipe still doesn’t state how much beef this amount of spice is meant for. Could you please clarify this? I’m very interested in trying the recipe. Thanks!
Hi James. I’m not sure what happened but it should be there now – thanks for letting me know and hope you like it!
Cool!!! Would you be willing to covert the recipe to make enough to fill a spice jar?
Glad you like it! If I have time I could try, but all spice jars are different sizes. I just added the total amount of 3.75 tsp for the recipe, so figure out how many tsps are in your container and go from there. If you think there’s a standard jar size that would be helpful I’m happy to try if I have time.