My family loves the Mexican Pizzas that I make. Since they are a copycat type recipe, I have been buying and using the taco sauce you buy in a jar at the store. We liked the famous fast food restaurant brand best, so that is what I was buying, and it worked well.
Every time I bought the sauce though, I would think about how expensive and unhealthy the bottled version was. I knew I could come up with a version at home. I searched for a recipe online, but did not find anything that was exactly like I wanted. I found a few recipes I liked, but none were quite right.
So, I changed some things and came up with a version that turned out really well. I think this sauce is better than anything I can buy and my husband says that it is as good as the sauce you get at the fast food mexican restaurant type places.
Recipes like my Mexican Pizza are my quick and easy recipes. I like to be able to make them fast. So, when I make sauces like this or my enchilada sauce, I like to make large batches and freeze it in small containers. This way I don’t have to make up a batch every time I need it. Doing this ends up saving me a lot of time.
Taco Sauce
- 8 ounce tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder (more if you want this hotter)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon of onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
Mix all together in a blender until smooth. Pour sauce into pan and cook over med-low heat for 15-20 minutes. Don’t skip the cooking part of this. You need to heat the sauce up to really blend the flavors together.
Subscribe for free email updates from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m that way too, I prefer to have my own. I also have my own enchilada sauce, taco seasoning and chili seasoning. We don’t really use taco sauce here, but I’m saving this recipe just in case!
I also make my own Taco Sauce…it’s so much cheaper and you get about 3 times as much! I’ve found the Taco Sauce tastes better the day after you make it, and my brother makes a version of his own Taco Sauce and cans it for later in the year. Thanks for reminding me about it – I think I need to make it again!
This is a great recipe to have on file. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Mmmm – sounds good. I’ll have to give this a try!
Oh wow, I’ve never run across a recipe for homemade taco sauce. I’m definitely going to give this one a try. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.
ButterYum
Love Mexican Pizza, and the sauce looks yummy too!
~Liz
@Liz@HoosierHomemade, Thanks Liz, it is a favorite in our house.
This is a great idea! Thanks so much for sharing. I too am trying to get away from buying processed food and want to make more things at home from scratch. This is a great recipe to have on hand for that!
I made your Taco Sauce and Mexican Pizza’s last night for dinner and had 4-thumbs up! I LOVE when the whole family agree’s on a meal. Thanks for the great recipes!
This was great and better yet my husband liked it. I also made your enchilada sauce and mexican rice…all were great. Thank you for the time you spend sharing your recipes…I am glad you have kitchen adventures and more so that you share them!
Melissa
FANTASTIC! We made this sauce on 1/1/10 to use in some over-baked chimichangas, and we’re IN LOVE! We won’t be buying taco sauce in a bottle ever again, thanks to your wonderful recipe!
I love this recipe, I doubled the batch and froze the sauce in small canning jars.~~Thank You~~I love this website!
Tammy Anderson
@Tammera Anderson, 10 pints done, I added a couple dashes of worchestershire and a pickled Jalepenio to mine to give it a kick.
@Tammera Anderson, I am so glad that you like this. I love it, but I never thought to can it. That is a great idea.
Lynn, thanks for sharing. Since moving to Rio de Janeiro a year ago, I have a huge difficulty to get my hands on Mexican products, and when I do, they are extremely expensive! If I stock up on green chiles every time I get a package sent from the U.S. from my Mom, I can re-create your enchilada sauce too, which I have been on the search for to make a recipe you might really enjoy for your family…the tortillas are just for garnish, so you can omit them without affecting the recipe and add diced avocado or sour cream on top before serving. It tastes very much like something you’d find in a Mexican restaurant. Enjoy!
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-tortilla-soup/Detail.aspx
@Tricia, I am so glad that you like the recipe. The enchilada sauce is a favorite of ours too. I make a soup similar to that link you gave. I love soups like that, so thanks for the link.
I was considering making this, but how much does this recipe make? If I were to make tacos, how much ground beef would I make with it?
@Matt, This cooks down to about 1 cup which is the same size as most taco sauce jars you buy at the store. So, I use it for 1 or 2 lbs of meat depending on how much sauce you like.
Can this be stored and if so, for how long. Can it be frozen?
@Mike, I store this in the fridge for about a week. It does freeze well, but it does come out a little thinner after being frozen. I hope that helps.
Tryed this sauce last night, and it was great well done on creating the recipe
thank you
{ 2 trackbacks }