This quick, homemade Taco Sauce Recipe is mild and tangy. If you’re a fan of Taco Bell’s mild sauce, then give this one a try on your favorite Tex Mex recipe! This is great on Ground Beef Tacos and delicious with Beef Burritos.
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I think ya'll are starting to realize how much I love Mexican food! But what's not love, right? Ok, I did grow up on the Texas/Mexico border, so these flavors are as familiar to me as hamburgers and hotdogs are to most.
I also know that you all love Mexican food! How do I know this? Well, Taco Bell was named America's favorite restaurant, that's how.
But before we get into that debate, let's just all agree that we love Mexican food! And what goes great with Mexican food? A great sauce!
Ingredients
Corn Starch - This is used to thicken the sauce.
Tomato Paste - A concentrated punch of tomato flavor that serves as the base for this recipe.
White Vinegar - This will give the sauce that familiar tang.
Chili Powder - This is one of my favorite Tex-Mex ingredients! I put it in almost all of my Tex-Mex recipes. It has a nice smokey flavor that makes the sauce taste like it simmered for hours!
Ground Cayenne Pepper - You can adjust this to your preference. Just remember that a little bit goes a long way!
Garlic and Onion Powder - These seasonings will give this sauce another layer of flavor without overpowering it.
Instructions
Please see printable recipe card below for complete instructions.
You'll love how quick and easy this recipe is. You probably already have all of the ingredients in your pantry, so let's go!
- Dissolve cornstarch in water.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, whisking to combine.
- Simmer for 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Storage
This recipe will keep for at least one week. Keep it in the refrigerator in a mason jar or other container with a tight fitting lid. I prefer using a glass container, but plastic works too.
More Tex Mex recipes
What could be easier? Nada.
See you on Tuesday...Taco Tuesday, that is!
📖 Recipe
Homemade Taco Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ a 6 oz can of tomato paste about 4 tablespoons
- 1 ½ tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoons salt
- ground cayenne pepper: leave out completely for no heat use ½ teaspoon for medium heat and 1 teaspoon for hot!
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, dissolve 1 teaspoon cornstarch in 1 ½ cups water.
- Add the rest of the ingredients (tomato paste through onion powder) to the pan, whisking to combine.
- Simmer for 15 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Serve warm, at room temperature or cold.
- Refrigerate unused portions for up to a week.
Linda
I'm wondering if this sauce might be frozen? The 2 of us won't use it up in one week, but I realy want to make it and use it. Looks far better than store-bought versions. And we do love Mexican!!
Nikole
Hi Linda- I think this should freeze just fine. Let it cool first then store in a non-reactive freezer safe container. I would use freezer safe glass or ziplock bags. Freeze for up to three months for best flavor. Hope that helps!
Janelle Hogue
Can you can this to make shelf stable? Pressure can or waterbath?
Nikole
Hi Janelle-this is a great question! Unfortunately I haven't ever preserved hot sauce, so I can't offer any advice based on personal experiences, but now I'm very curious about the process. I found this article about using a water bath to extend shelf life of homemade hot sauce: https://www.canitgobad.net/can-hot-sauce-go-bad/
Evelyn
Tomato PASTE, not SAUCE, just to clarify? I’m how thick is the final product? I’d love to use this as a sauce for a taco tortellini bake, but unsure of if the flavor would be overbearing used by itself.
Nikole
Hi Evelyn! The final product is saucy, not thick like a paste. It's inspired by Taco Bell's hot sauce, if you're familiar with that, so it's meant to be used as a condiment to use with tacos, tostadas, etc. It's really a condiment, but I think it can be used like an enchilada sauce, if you like the taste.
Susie
Used for a taco bake and was delicious!
Nikole
Taco Bake sounds so good! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Bea
Just what I was looking for!
Nikole
So glad you found the recipe, Bea!
Darlene Hryn Stainbrook
Used white vinegar, think next time I make will cut back and just use 1 tbsp. Optioned out on cayenne pepper, and used hot sauce, next time will try cayenne. Made on May 29, 2019 9/10
Nikole
Darlene-thank you so much for trying the recipe and leaving a thoughtful comment! I hope you come back often as I'm trying to add more Tex-Mex recipes to my site!
Tristin Rieken
I love this easy taco sauce recipe and your tip for the painter's tape labels. Cute and functional!
Anna
What a fabulous and easy taco sauce recipe. I can't get enough Mexican food and I do prefer homemade if possible so this recipe is just perfect!
Katie Crenshaw | A Fork's Tale
I have to say, I do love the Taco Bell sauce. I am always opening a 100 packets when I go there.... I am certain your homemade version is 100 times better! I can't wait to make this to load up on my tacos at home.
geetha priyanka
The recipe looks delicious and I will be trying to make this at home.
Julie @ Running in a Skirt
Sounds like you love Mexican food as much as I do! It's a real problem. This taco sauce seems perfect and I love the idea of making your own so you can control the ingredients! So yummy!