Name: All-natural Taco Seasoning Mix
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons chili powder; 2 tablespoons onion powder; 2 tablespoons garlic powder; 1 tablespoon natural brown sugar; 1 tablespoon arrowroot; 2 tablespoons ground cumin; 4 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste; 4 teaspoons paprika; 4 teaspoons dried oregano; 1 – 3 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Why it works: Cumin and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Cumin + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together983 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Oregano + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,449 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chili powder: Provides the main chili flavor and color for the blend.
Cumin: Adds earthy, warm aroma typical of taco seasoning.
Sea salt: Seasons the blend and enhances the flavor of the other spices.
Arrowroot: Starch that can help thicken the sauce when the mix is used with meat and liquid.

Swap the arrowroot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, garlic, sugar, cumin, oregano, pepper):

Eggplantfits better
Capsicumfits better
Spinachfits better
Arrowrootthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, garlic, sugar, cumin, oregano, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Arrowroot	not in our table	0

All-natural Taco Seasoning Mix