This Taco Sauce recipe is a must-make! Add more flavor with our homemade recipe that tastes better than Taco Bell Sauce packets.
Storebought taco sauce can contain corn syrup, modified ingredients, citric acid, and other ingredients that you don’t really need. This is a quick and easy recipe that you can feel good about serving to your family and friends.
What is taco sauce used for?
You can use it top tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, drizzling over nachos or salads, it’s even a great sauce for your favorite breakfast.
Is this taco sauce recipe mild or spicy?
This is a mild sauce recipe, you can add some heat by adding in some cayenne pepper to taste.
What is the difference between salsa and taco sauce?
What’s in taco sauce?
How long does it take to cook taco sauce?
This taco sauce recipe takes about 20 minutes to make and you can make a regular batch or easily double it. We like to make a big batch on the weekend and store in the fridge for 4-5 days.
How to make Taco Sauce
In a skillet combine the strained tomatoes and seasonings and cook on high heat until boiling.
Once the mixture is boiling reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes for a thinner sauce. We go for a thicker sauce simmer for 20 minutes.
Let the sauce cool before serving and store any leftovers in a container in the refrigerator.
We like storing in a mason jar and using it whenever we need it. We have used up to a week without any issues, but we typically use it up within 4-5 days.
You can serve warm or chilled, we prefer making it ahead of time and storing in the refrigerator so it’s cold.
how to use taco sauce
We use this recipe for tacos, over breakfast hash browns, burritos, as a salad dressing, as a dip, drizzled over nachos, and even burrito bowls. Try it with these delicious recipes!
- Roasted Peppers and Onions
- Mexican Black Beans
- Scrambled Eggs (have you tried Just Egg yet?)
- Vegan Chorizo Burrito Bowl
tips for the best taco sauce recipe
We suggest using homemade tomato sauce or tomato sauce that is in a glass bottle for the best taste. Tomato sauce in cans can have a tin taste, but if you know a brand without that tin taste go ahead and use your preferred brand. We use Bionature Strained Tomatoes, it’s organic and packaged in glass bottles.
Taco Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups strained tomatoes (tomato sauce)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 pinch salt optional
Instructions
- Combine the strained tomatoes and seasonings in a saucepan or skillet and cook on high heat until boiling.
- Once the sauce is boiling reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes for a thin sauce or 20 minutes for a thicker sauce.
- Allow the sauce cool before serving and store any leftovers in a container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
I’ve made a lot of my own spice mixes but not my own taco sauce recipe. This is brilliant and I can’t wait to try it slathered over my favorite enchiladas!
This taco sauce looks delicious! I would probably add some habaneros to mine to make it super spicy; just the way I like it. I love that is so versatile too; you could even use it to top eggs or nachos.
This is such a great recipe! I love the flavor and the sauce worked really well with my Instant Pot ground turkey taco recipe. I swapped the salsa for this good stuff and it was awesome. I can’t say it enough: homemade is always better. And when it’s this easy, it’s silly to opt for store bought!
Hooray for this, and boo to sauce packets! Growing up we didn’t eat a lot of authentically Mexican food, but we did have a go-to taco recipe. It was decidedly Tex-Mex, but there was nothing but whole spices in it, and I’m still glad for that. Packaged spice mixes never really compare, and a scratch-made taco sauce like this is an awesome way to get into good Mexican cooking. I make a lot of blender-based Mexican sauces now starting with whole tomatoes, tomatillos, spices, etc., and I can’t imagine going to a powdered mix or a sauce packet. Love the recipe – thanks for posting it!
How long does it last in the fridge? could this also be canned if I upped the recipe?
We like to make a big batch on the weekend and store it in the fridge for 4-5 days. We’re not experienced with canning and cannot advise on this, sorry for the inconvenience. But you can definitely freeze if it’s too much! 🙂
I used fresh tomatoes that I ran through a victorio strainer but other than that I followed the recipe. This is an excellent taco sauce and can be adjusted to any taste
So glad you enjoyed it and glad to hear it works well with fresh too! 😀