Name: Chili Seasoning Homemade
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 Tbsp chili powder; 1 Tbsp cumin; 1 Tbsp garlic powder; 1 Tbsp onion powder; 1 Tbsp paprika; 1 tsp salt; ½ tsp black pepper

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Making your chili seasoning homemade is easy and quick. I'll share what spices are in chili and why I love making my own spice blends!

There's nothing like chili on a cool night, learning how to make homemade chili seasoning is simple and fun. Once I learned how to make seasoning for chili it really made a variety of recipes so much easier!

Making homemade seasoning is easy and fun try out some other blends like Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe, and Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix, and Homemade Everything Bagel Seasoning Recipe!

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Pin showing finished homemade chili seasoning ready to be used.

What spices go into chili?

Why make your own chili seasoning when you can buy it already made? I've tried many kinds, but honestly most commercial brands of “chili seasoning” have much more than just chile peppers, cumin, etc…they have MSG and other additives like potassium sorbate (preservative).

chili seasoning with list of ingredients on it

Why make chili seasoning homemade?

There's also a huge price difference. Why pay $2-4 for an 8 ounce container of chili seasoning when you can make almost 3 cups “homemade chili seasoning” that's 2 to 4 times stronger and costs only pennies per batch?

I've never found one commercial brand that i thought had the right balance of flavors (or at least wasn't too strong). For instance, some brands have way more black pepper than cumin or salt. To make my blend, I used Emeril's recipe as a starting point but then adjusted it by adding more garlic powder and cayenne pepper.

Both additions worked really well in my opinion. I love making homemade seasonings because you can customize them however you like. If you're low on basil, omit it. If you have a bunch of whole cloves of garlic, throw them in!

Can I make homemade chili seasoning less spicy?

You can also make your homemade chili seasoning as mild or hot as you like by adjusting the quantity or type of peppers. This makes enough for my family to season about 2 pounds of meat but portions may be increased proportionately if you want to make more than that. Or you can half the recipe if you don't need quite so much on hand.

top down finished chili seasoning with measuring spoons.

Chili Seasoning DIY Ingredients:

For this chili seasoning homemade you will need chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper. That's pretty much it…you can always add in your own favorites as well!

There's not much to this recipe but you can of course find all of the details in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with nutritional estimates, step by step instructions, and shopping links!

How to make homemade chili seasoning:

There's literally nothing to this recipe…you'll see in just two steps how to get this homemade chili seasoning together!

Combine all spices together in a bowl and whisk together.

Store in an air tight container.

pin showing the finished chili seasoning

What can I make with chili seasoning?

Homemade chili seasoning is commonly found in recipes containing beef and beans such as chili con carne or burritos. It can also be sprinkled on nachos or Spanish rice.

Here are some other ideas:

Mix with mayonnaise to make a spicy dip for veggies
Add to tuna fish sandwiches instead of relish
Rub into pork chops before cooking

What type of peppers go into chili powder?

Although there are countless types of chili peppers that vary greatly in size, color and heat level (although most of the “hotness” is due to capsaicin), only a few are used to make chili powder. The most commonly used peppers include ancho, pasilla, chipotle, and arbol.

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili with White Beans cover image

Looking for more recipes to try?

Here are some of recipes that you can use your homemade chili seasoning in as well as some other seasoning blends to make and keep on hand. There's nothing better than easy spice blends and they're so much cheaper than buying little packets at the home!

Now let's try some homemade seasonings. These easy mixes are simple and perfect to keep on hand for a variety of recipes!