Seasoning Blends

Homemade seasoning blends are a great cost-saving (and space-saving) strategy, and can be customized to omit flavors you don’t care for (lose the heat or dial it up), or adapted to meet medical-related goals (like halving or omitting salt or sugar). I like to make a large batch and write the recipe on a slip of paper that I keep in the storage container with the blend, so I can make more when it runs out.

Here are some favorites:

Barbecue dry rub (enough to season 3-4 lbs of meat):

¼ cup brown sugar

½ tbsp salt

½ tbsp garlic salt

2 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp ground mustard

½ tsp white pepper

1 tsp chili powder (any variety)

Jerk seasoning (enough to season 2-3 lbs of meat):

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp garlic salt

2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp thyme

2 tsp sugar (brown or white)

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp parsley flakes

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp red pepper flakes

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground cumin

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Garam Masala (used in Indian recipes like curries as part of the cooking sauce):

1 tbsp cumin

2 tbsp coriander

2 tsp cardamom

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp black pepper

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp cloves

½ tsp cayenne pepper

Taco/Fajita seasoning (makes enough to season 1 to 2 lbs of meat):

1 tbsp chili powder (any variety)

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika (sweet, spicy, or smoked)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp oregano (ground or flaked)

1 pinch red pepper flakes