When you make Taco Bell Taco Sauce you don’t need to leave the restaurant with tons of little sauce packets in your pockets. You can make homemade taco sauce, it is made with the perfect combination of spices that makes it full of flavor.
Homemade Taco Bell Taco Sauce
You can make flavorful this homemade taco sauce recipe at home that tastes just like it does in the restaurant. Homemade hot sauces are just as good as ones you get away from home.
This copycat recipe is made with common ingredients you can find at the grocery store or may already be in your pantry. Soon you will enjoy mild taco sauce made in your kitchen.
Where Did the Taco Come From?
The taco today is a fast-food staple, but you might be wondering how it came about. The taco was most likely invented by Mexican silver miners in the 18th Century.
In those mines, a “taco” was the name of the little charges that were used to excavate the ore. These consisted of pieces of paper wrapped around some gunpowder. These “tacos” were inserted into holes the miners carved in the rock.
Actually, if you stop and think about it, a chicken taco with a good hot sauce is a lot like a stick of dynamite!
What to put Taco Sauce on?
Did you know you can put this Taco Bell sauce on so many different things? Sure, it’s great for tacos, but Taco sauce goes well on:
- Quesadillas
- Tacos
- Sauce for burritos, either inside or on top
- On eggs, either scrambled or even fried eggs
- Nachos
How can your easy homemade taco sauce?
You can use taco sauce in many different ways, it goes great on tacos, taco salad, or quesadillas. You could use it to top nachos, it could also make a great salad dressing. The possibilities are endless.
Homemade Taco Bell Sauce Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need:
- Canned tomato sauce
- Water
- Chili powder
- Ground cumin
- Dry minced onions or onion powder
- White vinegar
- Garlic powder
- Garlic salt
- Paprika
- Sugar
- Cayenne pepper
How to Make Taco Bell Mild Sauce
- Place all ingredients in a saucepan and stir well.
- Simmer at a very low temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and allow the sauce to cool to room temperature.
How to store your leftover taco sauce
You can store your leftover taco sauce in an airtight container, a squeeze bottle, or perhaps you have a leftover bottle of Ortega taco sauce. It will last for up to 10 days when stored in the fridge.
More Taco Bell Copycat Recipes
- Taco Bell Tacos
- Fresco Crunchy Taco
- Spicy Potato Soft Taco
- Taco Bell Crunchwrap Recipe
- Taco Bell Breakfast Burrito
- Taco Bell Enchilada
- Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
- Crispito
- Cinnamon Twists
- Baja Blast Freeze
Favorite Mexican Fast Food Copycat Recipes
Be sure to check out more of my easy Mexican recipes and the best fast food copycat recipes.
Taco Bell Taco Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dry minced onions
- 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 ingredients in a saucepan and stir well. Simmer at a very low temperature for 15 – 20 minutes. Remove and cool. The taco sauce may be kept in the refrigerator for several days.
marianne wilson
excellent!! how to up it to be FIRE sauce. hard to find. Can you please send me what to add to make Fire? thank you!
Stephanie
I will have to work on it. Thanks!
Sue
I worked at Taco Bell for 8 years they also made the bell Berger every night I had to bring one to my Daughter very good
Jen
I would really like the recipie for the Mexi-Nuggets they used to have.
Stephanie
I didn’t even know they had these.
Mark
I made this and added a more chili powder, garlic, cumin, and some more hot pepper to the mix.
I had some taco bell hot sauce and I did a taste comparison. This recipe doctored up tasted much better.
Kim
do you happen to have the recipe for the sauce they use in the quesadillas?
Stephanie
Which sauce is that?
recipe browser
For the guy looking for a Green Sauce – doctor up a 29oz can of green enchilada sauce – add spice to your liking – i use Cumin, fresh chopped onion and jalapenos. Bring it to a boil and simmer to infuse the flavors & reduce its consistency. Great on corn tortillas/street tacos with chicken, cheese, and cilantro
Stephanie
Great tip!
Wanda
Thank you for taking the time to create this recipe.
Sandy Smith
I LOVE the red sauce used on the burritos & enchiritos but not the taco sauce in the packets. Please, please, please, do you have a recipe for the red sauce?
Kristin
The red sauce is included in Stephanie’s Enchirito recipe. Just do a site search, and you’ll find it.
darrell stiles
what ever happen to the taco bell green sause, would like to make some
Elizabeth
Stephanie, just for the record, I think you are darn close! 🙂 If you go to the Taco Bell website and look at the Ingredients statements, you’ll find the following:
Border Sauce – Hot
Tomato puree (water, tomato paste), jalapeno, vinegar, food starch or xanthan gum, salt, chili spices, minced onion, sugar, natural flavors, maltodextrin, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate (P), garlic concentrate (contains soy). Contains: Soy [certified vegan]
Border Sauce – Mild
Tomato puree (tomato paste, water), vinegar, food starch or xanthan gum, salt, chili spices, sugar, natural flavors, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate (P), maltodextrin, garlic concentrate (contains soy). Contains: Soy [certified vegan]
The mild sauce does indeed contain both salt and sugar, so your use of garlic salt is not wrong, neither is your use of sugar.
Just thought I’d let you know, your recipe is very close to the original. I’d call it a blend of the ingredients in the original Mild & Hot Border Sauces.
PS ~ Keep up the good work.
Stephanie
Thank you very much. I did try pretty hard on this recipe.
Dasha Smith
I liked this sauce a lot just omitted the vinegar. I was thinking that the Taco Bell’s sauce the one that is in the burritos “secret” ingredient, the one that makes us come back there again and again and crave it more are those yeast extract and natural flavors that are hidden words for mono sodium glutamate, a food flavor enhancer that ppl become addicted to.
Yumyum
Ok, recipe is wrong. There is no sugar in the real sauce. Tomato PASTE is used in the real sauce. The real sauce is very low in sodium (35mg) so the garlic salt is not necessary, just garlic powder.
Stephanie
Thank you for your suggestions.
Stephanie Manley
Thank you for letting me I am wrong.
Chef Lyssa
Stephanie ~ I’m thoroughly impressed with your ability to take such a rude comment in stride. Actually, the fact that you allowed it to get past “moderation” shows your ability to take criticism without an issue, even if the person commenting is actually the one who is in the wrong.
I love your recipes and thoroughly appreciate the time and care that you put into each dish you recreate. You truly are the OG, the #1, top Copycat Recipe Queen! Thank you for continuing to treat us with the information that allows us to eat wonderful meals at home without the OUTRAGEOUS RESTAURANT BILL at the end of our amazing feasts! Especially NOW/TODAY, post~pandemic, the bill at the end of your meal can ruin the whole experience, leaving you wishing you would have stayed home and eaten a bowl of Ramen! Luckily, for those of us “in the know”, we don’t have to worry about that anymore, we can put those same amazing dishes on our very own table and enjoy the WHOLE EXPERIENCE, no worries about the bill at the end! OH, and we can have dessert after without the guilt! (Although we’re always FAR TOO FULL to consider Dessert! lol)
Thanks again for the happiness and full bellies!
Stephanie Manley
Thank you 😉 As long as someone isn’t rude, I generally let the comments go. It matters to me, that people enjoy the recipe, and it tastes like the restaurant’s recipe. I agree dining out has become so much more expensive in the last few years. I am really frustrated by fast food and what used to be the casual dining restaurants. I hate paying 17 dollars for a simple salad and soup.
Chris
Perfect. Tastes just like the stuff in the little packets or the restaurant sauce they sell in the store.
twxMike
I found this very close to Taco Bell’s sauce. I will cut back on the vinegar the next time I make it. It was a little too sour for my liking. I also “like it hot” so I used hot, smoked Spanish paprika.
Stephanie
I am glad you enjoyed this. You may be able to cook a little of that vinegar out, also you could add a little sugar.
Breanna
can i can this recipe?
John Jarrett
Yes, but I would pressure can it, to be safe.
NICOLEabreu
I GONNA DO THAT I LOVE TACO BELL!!!:p
Stephanie
Who doesn’t love a run to the border?
Anonymous
I liked it, and actually thought it was pretty damn close to Taco bell’s Mild sauce.
Stephanie Manley
I am happy that you enjoyed this recipe.
Tmatta1
Would this be something I could make in a big batch, then can in mason jars for longer storage?
Nicole
I did this, several years ago. Made 10 pints per batch with homegrown tomato puree. Came back to find the recipe again. 🙂
Stephanie Manley
Did you just process this with a hot water bath? If so, how long did you process this.
sandy blue
is this the taco bell sauce they use in their burritos?
Stephanie
It’s not the sauce in the burritos.
Missy0509
i really want the recipe for the red sauce in burritos pls!
Ntburton
^ Agreed ^
Pam
Meeee toooo!!!!! I tried the recipe here and it’s definitely NOT the burrito sauce….damn…
Anita
http://www.instructables.com/id/Taco-Bell-Lava-Sauce/
Nauticat
Too hot. I cut the cayenne in half.