Al Pastor Seasoning substitute

Best substitute

Achiote paste plus chilli powder and Mexican oregano

Per 2 tbsp al pastor seasoning: 1 tbsp achiote paste + 1 tsp ancho or guajillo powder + 1 tsp Mexican oregano + ½ tsp ground cumin + a pinch of ground cloves; mix with 2 tbsp pineapple juice and 1 tbsp white vinegar

Best for tacos al pastor and adobada

Close match

The blend rebuilt around achiote, which is the ingredient that makes al pastor look and taste like al pastor.

Other al pastor seasoning substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Homemade dry al pastor blend
Close match
1 tbsp ancho chilli powder + 1 tbsp guajillo chilli powder + 2 tsp ground annatto + 1 tbsp Mexican oregano + 2 tsp ground cumin + 2 tsp garlic powder + 2 tsp salt + 1 tsp smoked paprika + ½ tsp ground cloves + ½ tsp black pepper; makes about ½ cup, use 1:1
The packet reverse-engineered as a dry rub you can keep in a jar.
What changes
Best for
keeping a jar for repeat use, dry-rubbing pork before marinating, seasoning ground pork or chorizo-style mixes, roast potatoes, corn and grilled pineapple
Very close to a commercial packet and much fresher tasting, since supermarket mixes are usually mostly salt and cornflour. Ground annatto is sold as achiote molido and is cheaper and easier to find than the paste block; if you can only find whole annatto seeds, grind them in a spice grinder, as they are too hard for a mortar. Still mix this with pineapple juice and vinegar before it goes on the meat, because the dry blend alone provides no acid at all.
3Ancho or chipotle chilli powder plus smoked paprika and oregano
Different taste
Per 2 tbsp al pastor seasoning: 1 tbsp ancho or chipotle powder + 2 tsp smoked paprika + 1 tsp Mexican oregano + ½ tsp ground cumin + ½ tsp garlic powder + ½ tsp salt + a pinch of cloves; plus pineapple juice and vinegar
The no-achiote version, built from chillies most supermarkets carry.
What changes
Best for
cooks who cannot source achiote or annatto, pork, chicken and mushrooms, when you want a smokier result, traybake and sheet-pan versions
A good-tasting taco that looks wrong. Without achiote the marinade is a deep brick red-brown rather than the glowing orange of a proper trompo, and the flavour tilts smoky rather than earthy, especially with chipotle, which also brings noticeably more heat than guajillo. Ancho is the better choice of the two here because it is sweet, raisiny and mild, much closer to the original. If you have turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon nudges the colour toward orange without adding much flavour.
4Sazon with achiote (annatto seasoning packets)
Close match
Per 2 tbsp al pastor seasoning: 1 packet (about 1 ½ tsp) sazon con achiote + 1 tbsp ancho or guajillo powder + 1 tsp Mexican oregano + ½ tsp cumin; add no extra salt
The small Latin-grocery packets whose main colouring agent is annatto, which is exactly what al pastor needs.
What changes
Best for
a genuinely good shortcut, getting the orange colour cheaply, pork and chicken, cooks who already keep sazon or adobo
Underrated, and the colour is spot on because annatto is the first thing in the packet after salt. The catch is that sazon is mostly salt and often contains MSG and dehydrated garlic and onion, so it is very concentrated: one packet does the colour and seasoning work but almost none of the chilli work, hence the added chilli powder. Do not salt the meat separately. If your packet contains coriander or saffron colouring, the flavour drifts Caribbean, so taste as you go.
5Adobo seasoning plus chilli powder
Different taste
Per 2 tbsp al pastor seasoning: 1 tbsp adobo seasoning + 1 tbsp ancho or guajillo powder + 1 tsp Mexican oregano + a pinch of cloves; plus pineapple juice and vinegar, and no extra salt
A garlic-and-oregano salt blend used as the base, with the chilli character added on top.
What changes
Best for
when adobo seasoning is the Latin blend you own, pork and chicken, quick weeknight tacos, seasoning the meat before a wet marinade
Serviceable and easy, but understand its limits: adobo seasoning is essentially salt, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper and turmeric, so it brings none of the fruity chilli depth or the achiote colour that define al pastor. The chilli powder does the heavy lifting; without it this tastes like generic seasoned pork. Adobo is very salty, so the recipe's salt should come out entirely. The turmeric in it does give a small helpful nudge toward orange.
6Taco seasoning plus pineapple juice, vinegar and cloves
Different taste
Per 2 tbsp al pastor seasoning: 2 tbsp taco seasoning + ¼ tsp ground cloves + 1 tsp Mexican oregano; mix with 3 tbsp pineapple juice and 1 tbsp vinegar; add no extra salt
The honest emergency answer when nothing else is in the house.
What changes
Best for
dinner tonight with a supermarket cupboard, ground pork or chicken, family tacos, when the pineapple and lime will carry the dish anyway
This makes good tacos that do not taste like al pastor, and it is worth being clear about that. Taco seasoning is cumin-dominant with paprika, chilli powder, onion and often cornflour as a thickener, so the pork comes out brown and cumin-forward rather than orange and fruity. The cloves and oregano help more than you would expect, and the charred pineapple served alongside does the rest of the persuading. Grill or broil the meat hard for colour, since the seasoning will not provide it.

What is Al Pastor Seasoning?

Al Pastor Seasoning is Al pastor seasoning, also sold as al pastor marinade mix or adobada seasoning, is a Mexican blend of dried guajillo and ancho chillies with achiote (annatto), Mexican oregano, cumin, garlic, cloves and black pepper, used to marinate the spit-roasted pork in tacos al pastor.

Cooking tips

The orange colour is achiote or annatto, full stop. Paprika gives red, turmeric gives yellow, and chilli powder gives brown; only annatto gives that particular orange. If colour matters to you, that is the one ingredient worth a trip to a Latin grocery, where a block of achiote paste costs very little and lasts months.
Pineapple juice is doing chemistry, not just flavour. Its bromelain enzyme tenderises pork, and past about four hours it will turn the surface mushy and slightly mealy. Marinate two to four hours for thin slices, and if you want an overnight marinade, use vinegar and orange juice instead and add the pineapple only in the last hour.
Slice the pork thin and stack it. Al pastor is cut from a vertical spit, and you can imitate it at home by stacking marinated slices of pork shoulder tightly in a loaf pan, roasting at 350F/175C until cooked, then shaving off the outside and crisping the shavings in a hot pan. Any of the substitutes above work with this method.
Guajillo and ancho chillies are mild, so authentic al pastor is not a hot dish. If you swap in chipotle or a generic hot chilli powder you will make it considerably spicier than intended; keep the heat separate in a salsa so people can choose.
Mexican oregano is not the same herb as Mediterranean oregano and tastes more citrusy and grassy, with a faint liquorice note. Mediterranean oregano works but reads slightly Italian; if that is all you have, use a little less and add a strip of orange zest to the marinade to compensate.
Finish with acid and char. Whatever seasoning substitute you use, a squeeze of lime, chopped white onion, coriander and a few pieces of hard-grilled pineapple on the taco do more for authenticity than any additional spice.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave al pastor seasoning out?

Then you have grilled pork tacos, which are good but are a different dish, since the seasoning is what makes al pastor al pastor. If you have nothing else, the shortest honest version is chilli powder, oregano, cumin, garlic, salt, pineapple juice and vinegar. Leaving out the pineapple and vinegar is the bigger mistake, because the sweet-sour marinade is as characteristic as the spice.

Can I use achiote paste on its own instead of al pastor seasoning?

Almost. Achiote paste gives the colour, the earthy flavour, salt and some acid, which is most of the way there, but it contains little or no chilli. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of ancho or guajillo powder and 1 teaspoon of Mexican oregano per tablespoon of paste, then mix with pineapple juice and vinegar, and you have a proper adobada marinade.

Is al pastor seasoning the same as adobada seasoning?

Effectively yes, and the names are used interchangeably in much of Mexico and the US Southwest. Adobada refers to the chilli-and-vinegar marinade itself, while al pastor refers specifically to cooking that marinated pork on a vertical spit with pineapple. Packets labelled either way contain the same guajillo, achiote, oregano and cumin blend, so swap them one for one.

What can I use instead of pineapple in the marinade?

Orange juice plus a little extra vinegar is the standard alternative, roughly 3 tablespoons orange juice and 1 tablespoon vinegar per 2 tablespoons pineapple juice. It tastes slightly less tropical and does not tenderise, so the pork stays a touch firmer. Canned pineapple juice works exactly as well as fresh here, and unlike fresh it is heat-treated so its tenderising effect is much weaker, which is actually helpful for long marinades.

How much al pastor seasoning do I need per pound of pork?

About 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of a salted packet blend per pound of thinly sliced pork shoulder, mixed with roughly 3 tablespoons of pineapple juice, 1 tablespoon of vinegar and a tablespoon of oil to make a loose marinade. The substitutes above go in at the same rate, except taco seasoning, which is already salted and thickened, so keep the liquid slightly higher.

Related substitutes

More seasonings substitutes

Al Pastor Seasoning substitute

Other al pastor seasoning substitutes

2Homemade dry al pastor blend

3Ancho or chipotle chilli powder plus smoked paprika and oregano

4Sazon with achiote (annatto seasoning packets)

5Adobo seasoning plus chilli powder

6Taco seasoning plus pineapple juice, vinegar and cloves