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I love tacos, but tacos don’t love me back.
Taco seasonings traditionally use nightshades like chilis and paprika to get that rich color and lovely, spicy flavor, but nightshades make me sick.
So I came up with my own, nightshade-free tacos.
What Goes in a Nightshade-Free Taco?
The goal is to replicate the warm, rich flavor of a traditional taco without using nightshades.
The key is using plenty of cumin.
Cumin is what gives taco spice its distinctive smell and flavor. It’s not a nightshade (it’s actually related to parsley) so we can use plenty of it with no worries. It’s a component in a ton of spice mixes, so if you’re making your own nightshade-free spice blends, buy a big bottle!
We’re also going to use two kinds of ground peppercorn to give our tacos depth, kind of like using paprika and chili pepper does.
Nightshade-Free Tacos: Spice Ingredients
To make one ounce (2 Tbsp, or one packet of store-bought seasoning):
- 1 tsp each ground black and white pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano leaves
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cumin
Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed.
You can scale this recipe up and store it for later, too! To make a cup of taco seasoning:
- 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp each ground black and white pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp dried oregano leaves
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp salt
- 5 Tbsp + 1 tsp ground cumin
(And yes, this is pretty similar to my nightshade-free chili recipe. Same cuisine = same spices!)
How to Make Nightshade-Free Tacos
Once you’ve got your taco spice, you’re ready to make tacos.
Use one ounce of spice blend for each pound of ingredients — meat, beans, tofu, etc. (I usually add 8oz of mushrooms, a can of kidney beans, and a diced sweet potato to a pound of ground beef when I make tacos, so that’s usually two ounces of spice.)
Cook your ingredients, then add seasoning mix and a little bit of water so the seasoning coats everything. Let it cook a bit more so the sauce thickens up.
And it’s ready to go!
Of course, you don’t have to use it just for tacos. You could make nightshade-free burritos, nightshade-free loaded nachos, nightshade-free quesadillas, or anything else you’d like. The sky’s the limit now that you’re armed with nightshade-free taco knowledge!
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