Trending in 2024
The latest in taco seasonings
In the ever-evolving world of tacos, seasoning blends are unsung heroes, elevating and introducing new flavors to your menus. From the rich, slow-cooked carnitas to the tantalizing al pastor and the mouthwatering quesabirria, the right seasoning can make all the difference in the next taco you bring to your menu.
At LifeSpice, we make that sure that we always bring you the latest taco seasonings that fit your concept and audience. Through a mixture of real-world menu tasting, online research, and social media trends, we’re excited to share with you our most recent seasonings developed for tacos!
Expanding on Classics
inspiration from trending taco stands
The LifeSpice team is constantly looking for real-world inspiration for our seasoning blends. Our sales, marketing, and culinary team travel often for our work, and that gives us a great opportunity to explore different restaurants all over the globe. Naturally, we’ve visited quite a few taco stands.
Looking to expand away from the classic, ubiquitous “taco” seasoning? Here are a few of our favorite tacos that we’ve tried recently that would serve as a great seasoning for your next concept.
Al Pastor
Walking the streets of Mexico city means passing by countless taco stands, and nothing stands out more than al pastor, rotating enticingly on sidewalk spits. Al pastor offers a savory-sweet flavor profile with tender, marinated pork featuring hints of smoky char, balanced by vibrant notes of pineapple, earthy spices, and a touch of citrus.
Technomic indicates that “Al Pastor” is still in the Introductory lifecycle stage, with 1.9% of US menus serving the dish, indicating that Al Pastor is ripe for LTOs and core menu additions.
Bistec
You may be familiar with carne asada, a flavorful, marinated and grilled beef dish, typically made from skirt or flank steak, seasoned with citrus juices, garlic, and spices. We’re noticing Bistec called out on more and more menus recently. The seasoning is similar, with notes of cumin, cilantro, lime, but the preparation is slightly different, with thinly sliced beef seasoned and seared quickly on a heavy flat top instead of a grill.
We indulged in a few recently (along with a few other tasty tacos) at Pata Roja in Cincinnati at their new, trendy brick-and-mortar restaurant downtown, which paid homage to Mexico City taco stands.
Carnitas
Sometimes, the inspiration comes from your own team! Each month LifeSpice hosts a family meal for our office in downtown Chicago, and recently our own Chef Renan made carnitas, a taco consisting of slow-cooked, braised pork that is typically seasoned with citrus, garlic, and spices, then shredded and crisped up in it’s own fat before serving.
Juicy and savory, it’s a winner on any taco menu looking to introduce a new pork option, and it’s trending! According to the trend data service Tastewise, social conversations about carnitas have increased by 13.65% this past year.
Explore Global Mashups
Expand outside of the traditional
Indian x Mexican Fusion
While in Pasadena on a recent trip, we stopped by Saucy Chick/Goat Mafia. This collaboration between two local restaurants (Saucy Chick Rottiserie and The Goat Mafia) brings the flavors of Indian and Mexican cuisine together in delicious chicken, tacos, nachos, and bowls.
We walked away inspired by the possibilities of combining Indian and Mexican seasonings to create exciting taco concepts. One taco that especially stood out – the Charred Haldi Cauliflower, with deep earthy turmeric notes and a herby, garlicky sauce. Another reason to meld these two cuisines: Indian is the third-fastest growing cuisine paired with tacos on US menus according to Technomic.
Korean Tacos
With offices in Chicago, we don’t have to travel to get great tasting tacos. That was the case when members of our marketing and culinary team explored the newly-opened Gangnam Market, a market and Asian Food court near our office. Amidst the colorful neon we dined on three different types of Korean tacos from Gagnam Taco. The beef bulgogi stood out especially with a tantalizing mixture of sweet and salty beef topped with a spicy gochujang aioli.
Korean flavors are perfectly poised to take off on menus as well. Technomic places Korean flavors in the “Growth Lifecycle” stage when paired with tacos on US menus.
Caribbean Flavors
Caribbean flavors have been on the rise for a few years. In 2023, the National Restaurant Association declared Caribbean flavors one of their Top 3 Global Food trends of the year. At LifeSpice, we tapped into that trend by developing our Caribbean Dazzle Rub, a bright, citrusy, and savory seasoning perfect for grilling chicken.
Chef Renan took that seasoning and applied it to another taco creation. Check out the recipe below for his Dazzling Caribbean Chicken Tacos, and reach out to request a sample of our Caribbean Dazzle Seasoning!
Viral Creations
Trending online and on Menus
Some of the trendiest new taco concepts have been boosted by online interest. That should come as no surprise, as younger generations get more and more of their information about restaurants and food from social media platforms. In fact, according to 2022 survey of 1500 people between the ages of 14-34 conducted by Cassandra, 53% of respondents find inspiration for new foods on TikTok.
With so much interest in recipes online, it’s only natural to look in this space for trending taco seasonings, like Birria and Smashburger.
Quesabirria
There is perhaps no taco trend hotter than the quesabirria. Fueled by the rise of TikTok, quesabirria preparation proved to be perfect for the short-form video platform. Tortillas, ruby red from birria consome, fried away on flat tops topped beef and cheese, resulting in viral videos. From 2019-2020 alone, #birria views grew 8900% on TikTok.
That virality has translated to growth on US menus. Birria is one of the fastest growing ingredients paired with tacos on US menus according to Technomic, growing 13.3% in the past year. At LifeSpice, we’ve developed our own Birria seasoning, which you can see our own Chef Renan use in his Quesabirria recipe below!
Smashburger Tacos
Popular foods are often reinvented in new forms on social media, and the smash burger is no exception. Smash burgers in general have been exploding in popularity over the past few years (look no further than their search popularity on Google). Trend service Tastewise shows that Smash Burger + Tacos has grown over 122% in social discussions this past year, and this TikTok trend seizes on that interest, with a twist.
Burger patties are seasoned and smashed into a flat-top with flour tortillas, grilled on both sides, and loaded up with classic burger toppings? What’s not to like? This is the perfect time to season your burger with our Awesome Anything seasoning, or a classic butter burger seasoning.
Interested in developing a custom taco seasoning?
Reach out to our talented LifeSpice team today! We’ll take the time to learn about your product and develop the perfect seasoning to take your product to the next level.
