When the weather starts to turn colder I just love to make a big pot of chili to have on hand for meals. While I used to use store-bought seasoning packages, a few years ago I started making my own homemade chili seasoning mix and I’ve never gone back. It’s not only easy, but it’s cheaper and tastes just like the packages I used to buy. I now make up a batch about every 6 months and use a couple of tablespoons of it each time to make my favorite chili whenever I get the craving. You can check out my chili recipe here.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- As good if not better than store-bought seasoning mixes.
- It’s customizable – You can add your own preferred spices or if you don’t like an ingredient leave it out.
- Makes a lot so you can prepare it once and use it to make chili multiple times.
What Ingredients Do I Need For Chili Seasoning Mix
To make this seasoning mix you just need a few spices that you likely already have in your spice cabinet.
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Garlic Powder
- Onion powder
- Oregano
- Paprika
- Thyme
- Red chili pepper
How To Make Homemade Chili Seasoning Mix
To make this mix you just have to measure out all your ingredients and combine them well in a bowl. When finished you can transfer it to a jar, a covered container, or even a ziplock bag for storage.
Recipe Variations
While this is my preferred mixture, feel free to add more or less of any of the secondary ingredients to suit your taste. The only thing I would caution is to try to stick to the amounts listed for the main ingredients which are the chili powders, cumin, and paprika.
Storage Tips
This mix will keep fresh for up to 6 months in a sealed container in your pantry.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS; What are the most important spices in chili? Chili powders, cumin and paprika are the predominant spices. The others such as the garlic and onion powders, oregano, and thyme are supporting spices and can be adjusted to suit individual tastes. Is there a difference between chili powder and chili seasoning? Yes. Chili powder is a spice and is just one of the ingredients in chili seasoning, however a chili seasoning mix will also contain other ingredients like garlic and onion powders, cumin and paprika. Does cooking chili longer make it taste better? Your chili will definitely benefit from a longer cooking time. This allows the arromatics like the onion, garlic and spices to release their flavors fully. They also continue to release their flavors as the chili cools. This is why chili often tastes better the next day.
HOMEMADE CHILI SEASONING MIX
Ingredients
- 47 g (1/2 cup) Chili powder
- 24 g (1/4 cup) Cumin
- 19 g (1/4 cup) Garlic powder
- 18 g (3 tbsp) Onion powder
- 6 g (2 tbsp) Oregano
- 13 g (2 tbsp) Paprika
- 3 g (1 tbsp) Thyme
- 3 g (1/2 tbsp) Red chili pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients and stir well to mix.
- Store in a well-sealed container for up to 6 months.
- Use 2 tablespoons of the seasoning mixture in place of one packet of store-bought chili mix.
Leave A Comment & Rate This Recipe
If you like this recipe I would be so grateful if you left a star rating along with a comment! Ratings help other people find my recipes so they can enjoy them too. Thanks! I appreciate your support!
You can find my recipe for the best homemade chili using this seasoning mix here. And if you’re looking for more easy and quick recipes check out my Farfalle With Sausage, Kale, and Tomatoes or my 30-Minute Maple Cranberry Chicken.
We love chili over here but haven’t tried preparing our own seasoning. Will have to try your recipe sometime.
I love chili seasoning or hot flavors so this is definitely right up my alley. Would love to give this a try.
This is interesting! I haven’t really thought about making one at home but I would love to try. We are so used to the store-bought ones.
Thank you for sharing this. It’s nice that I have almost everything except some cumin.
It has been a very long time since I’ve made chili. It sounds so good. I’ll have to make some soon. This seasoning will be super helpful.
I have always wanted to try to make my own seasoning mix. Thanks for sharing, I will save this for my next Chili!
Your chili seasoning sound amazing! I have never made the seasoning blend homemade, but can’t wait to check yours out! We love chili!
This homemade chili seasoning mix looks like it would taste great in a chili dish that needs a pick-me-up in flavor!
I am making this chili seasoning mix right now! I have all the ingredients!
In India we are all about spices and in my home especially we go for home made ones max and this one you have shared is Im sure gonna help a lot of people.
didn’t realize i could make this mix with all the spices i already have at home.. so i am now ready to make some comforting veg chili soon thanks to you
An amazing recipe that is cost effective. And it sounds so simple to make as well thanks for sharing
What an amazing recipe! Quick and easy, thanks for sharing this!
This is the list of spices that I have in my kitchen. Thank you so much for sharing!
I pinned this recipe ads I love making homemade spice blends versus purchasing them. They are always better and usually better for you too. Thank you for this one as I am making chili in a day or two!
This is nice and I can say that this is more cheaper than buying chili seasoning in grocery store. I want to try this at my home and share it to my family. Thanks for the idea and the recipe also.
I’m officially ditching those pre-packaged ones and making a batch of your mix every six months, just like you do.
I have all of these spices. I will be making this as it will save me money.
I have never made my own chili before, and it is definitely nice to make your own seasoning mix especially if you want to adjust any ratios. Homemade blends are such a great way to avoid all the additives!
My husband absolutely loves chili. I’ll have to show him this recipe so that we can try it next time.
Chili is a favorite in this house and I hate buying the seasoning packets so thanks for this!
We love having chili in the winter. I will keep this mix in mind to use next time!