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Homemade Chili Seasoning

Making your own 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, and you can make it even quicker when you keep homemade seasoning for chili recipes on hand.

When you make your own spice mixes, you avoid preservatives and extra salt. Try our other blends like Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe, and Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix, and Homemade Everything Bagel Seasoning Recipe.

Pin showing finished homemade chili seasoning ready to be used.

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Why make chili seasoning homemade?

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 often have MSG and other additives like potassium sorbate (preservative).

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?

You can make your own version of many of the seasoning packets you’ve seen at the store. Next time you’re making corned beef, try this homemade version of corned beef spices.

chili seasoning with list of ingredients on it

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!

finished homemade chili seasoning pin

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 recipe makes enough for my family to season about 2 pounds of meat, but portions may be increased if you want to make more than that. Or you can halve the recipe if you don’t need quite so much on hand.

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, only a few are used to make chili powder. The most commonly-used peppers include ancho, pasilla, chipotle, and arbol.

top down finished chili seasoning with measuring spoons.

What spices are in DIY chili seasoning?

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, but you can always adjust for your own preferences.

There’s not much to this recipe, but the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post has exact quantities, step by step instructions, nutritional estimates.

chili seasoning ingredients on a plate.

How to make homemade chili seasoning:

There’s just two steps to putting this homemade chili seasoning together:

  1. Combine all spices together in a bowl and whisk together.
  2. Store in an airtight container. I often use a mini mason jar or an empty spice jar.
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. We use it in place of the listed spices in our Ground Beef Chili recipe. 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
Slow Cooker Chicken Chili with White Beans cover image

Looking for more recipes to try?

Here are some recipes that you can homemade chili seasoning in.There’s nothing better than easy spice blends, and they’re so much cheaper than buying little packets at the store.

side view of finished chili seasoning

Printable Chili Seasoning Homemade Recipe:

Yield: 6.5 Tablespoons

Chili Seasoning Homemade

featured image showing the finished homemade chili seasoning.

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!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

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

Instructions

  1. Combine all spices together in a bowl and whisk together.
  2. Store in an air tight container.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 24Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 468mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 2gSugar: 0gProtein: 1g

Sara

Sunday 22nd of September 2024

Very easy and delicious. A lot better than store bought packaged. My husband loves it so I’ll be making it again. :)

Gina

Monday 23rd of September 2024

Glad to hear that!

W

Friday 9th of February 2024

How much do you use in a regular recipe for chili? Such as one that just calls for one pound of ground beef?

Gina

Monday 23rd of September 2024

@W, in my ground beef chili recipe, I use 5-6 Tbsp, or 1/3 cup.

Rose

Friday 29th of September 2023

So weird I look up how to make homemade chili seasoning and the first ingredient is chili seasoning 🤔

Gina

Monday 2nd of October 2023

Do you mean chili powder? That's the first ingredient here.

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