I was making a recipe that required bottled taco sauce. I don’t usually by that ingredient! I was able to my own with pantry ingredients, and it was fast, easy and delicious!
For our 4th of July BBQ, my husband made Santa Maria Style Tri-tip. I made a side-dish that required taco sauce on the ingredient’s list. I don’t buy taco sauce, and I actually don’t use it much for myself. I decided to scour the internet, and sure enough– I found a recipe for Taco Bell Sauce. Breathing a sigh of relief, I realized that I had every single spice. I even had minced onion on hand. This sauce was whipped up in no time at all. It really does taste like Taco Bell Taco sauce! Except, that there aren’t any preservatives. I like that! Here’s what you need:
Cumin, instant minced onion (bought mine at Costco), white vinegar, garlic powder, garlic salt, paprika, sugar, and cayenne pepper. In case you’re wondering, I use the minced onion for bread baking. I especially love using it for onion hamburger rolls. So, now you need two more ingredients, and I’m sure you have them:
Taco Bell Taco Sauce Clone Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant minced onion
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Place the tomato sauce, water, chili powder, cumin, minced onion, white vinegar, garlic powder, garlic salt, paprika, sugar and cayenne pepper in a sauce pan and stir well. Simmer at a very low temperature for 15 to 20 minutes until flavors meld.
- Remove and cool. May be kept in refrigerator for several days.
Notes
This sauce looks fantastic!! I'm sure it was great.
Seems so easy…
Like you said: Why didn't we think of this before…??
Love,
Lia.
This looks quite tasty! I like making our own taco seasoning for meat too. Good luck on your first day!
I love Taco Bell's sauce! Awesome!
Your sauce looks wonderful, but I really jumped in here to wish you luck on your new assignment. I hope you have a wonderful day. Blessings…Maryjumped in here
I love homemade sauces. This sounds easy and tasty.
I'm sure that was way better than the stuff they serve at Taco Bell – for all of the reasons you listed!
Taco sauce without preservatives! you are a life saver.
Good luck at the new job tomorrow! Let us know how it goes!
I bet that was just wonderful. I always love stopping by your blog!
I love Taco Bell hot sauce and hate to buy the bottled stuff, so I must make this. Thanks for doing the research for us and best of luck in your new school.
Roz
Very clever! One question though–in your photo, it reads "8 oz tomato sauce," but in your directions, it reads "…one can of tomato paste." From the consistency, I'm guessing that you used tomato sauce, but wanted to check.
Thanks!
Thanks, Carol. I fixed that. Yep, it's tomato sauce, rather than tomato paste 🙂
Can't wait to try this! I found this via pinterest as we are working on eliminating processed foods!
I want to try this! How long does it typically last in the fridge? Or do you not have any leftover haha.
I am not sure why you didn't post a suggestion of proportion of ingredients…
Sigh. It's so frustrating when people leave anonymous comments, and don't write to me at foodiewife@gmail.com (which is posted on my blog home page and the comments area). There is a printable recipe card. If you can't see it, and had written to me, I could have told you.
I'm so glad that I was scanning through your recipes and found this Taco Sauce recipe. We have taco Tuesday every Tuesday and I can not wait to make this and see if my family notice's the difference. Thank You
Hi Sharyn,
I hope that the taco sauce meets your expectations!