6 Seasonings From Scratch, For Your All-Natural Kitchen

The number one way to spice up your from-scratch cooking (pun totally intended) is to add delicious seasonings to your meals. But, are you currently seasoning your food with toxins? Learn how to make these 6 seasonings from scratch, and why you need them, below!

Why You Need To Ditch Your Pre-Made Seasonings for Scratch-Made Blends

Pre-made seasonings and spice blends are often filled with harmful chemicals, yet many times they’re overlooked, even in natural kitchens. We’ll spend time and money getting the best food ingredients, high-quality meats, and organic produce, but then we sprinkle it with disodium inosinate, maltodextrin, calcium stearate, disodium guanylate, calcium silicate, artificial flavors, and carboxymethylcellulose. Yum.

Many of these common ingredients have been linked to cancer or adverse side effects. And all of these ingredients can be found in various pre-made (even “name brand”) seasoning blends, sold right in your grocery store! And the worst part, they were in my very own kitchen.

That is why I came up with my own seasoning blends, so I could control what was in my seasonings and remove unwanted substances from my food. And, like most other things, making seasonings from scratch just tastes better. Once you make these swaps, you’ll never look back!

For All of the Seasonings From Scratch

You’ll need the same supplies and instructions for all 6 of these from scratch seasonings.

Supplies You’ll Need

• Measuring spoons: I prefer these from Amazon because they have a flat bottom that can sit without tipping on the counter.
• A funnel: I like this set from Amazon. I use the small funnel from that set for my seasonings.
• Empty seasoning jars: I use these from Target (I bought several and washed them out) because I really liked the green metal lids. The flip-top style like these on Amazon are also super cute! Just make sure you have 3 oz. seasonings jars, since each recipe makes a full 3 oz. volume.
• A small bowl: I use one from my favorite bowl set from Amazon.
• A spoon: We absolutely love our silverware set from Amazon.
• A mortar and pestle (optional but absolutely recommended): Having a mortar and pestle makes the seasoning blends so much more cohesive and helps create a more customizable texture.
• Seasoning blend ingredients: The ingredients you need for each recipe are stated below, and I use organic. There are affordable organic options at most grocery stores and even farmer’s markets!

Instructions For All Recipes

1. Measure out each ingredient (one at a time) into your mortar and pestle. Grind each ingredient until it is the texture you desire.
2. After grinding an ingredient, put it into the small bowl. Once all ingredients are in the bowl, stir with the spoon until thoroughly combined.
3. Optional: Scoop the seasoning from the bowl back into the mortar and pestle. If you have a small mortar and pestle, you’ll have to do this in batches. Grind everything together until the seasoning is cohesive.
4. Use the funnel to put your delicious seasoning into your spice jar. Enjoy! (Tip: Don’t forget to label the jar! I use my Cricut machine to do this, but I also love the way that labels from a manual label maker look as well.)

Steakhouse Blend

We use the steakhouse blend for meats like burgers, steaks, pork chops, and even chicken! It has a nice smokiness that is perfectly salted and balanced in flavor.

• 7 tsp. sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 5 tsp. brown sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/3 tsp. onion powder
• 1 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1 1/4 tsp. chili powder

Taco Blend

Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine is probably my favorite of all time. I could eat tacos every day for life! This recipe is perfect for seasoning meats for tacos, sprinkling on nachos, adding to soups, and even making fajitas (taco blend + extra cumin = fajita seasoning)! This taco blend is mild, so it’s great for the whole family. You can increase the chili powder if you like more of a kick. I haven’t purchased a taco or fajita packet in years!

• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 7 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. onion powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp. oregano

Barbecue Blend

This recipe gives a delicious sweet and smoky barbecue flavor! You can use this on chicken, ribs, brisket, and more! I’ve noticed that when I use this seasoning, I don’t even go for the barbecue sauce.

• 8 tsp. brown sugar
• 3 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. onion powder

Ranch Blend

This seasoning is perfect for making your own ranch dressings, sauces, and dips. It can also be used directly on food to add ranch flavor without the moisture of a dressing, such as for seasoning fried potatoes or making ranch popcorn! Give it a try!

• 8 tsp. parsley
• 2 tsp. dill
• 7 tsp. onion powder
• 2 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 1/2 tsp. chives

Italian Blend

Italian seasoning might be the most used blend in our home! My husband has an Italian heritage, and we both love Italian food! We use this seasoning on chicken, vegetables, croutons, salads, and more! It’s not salted at all, so you’ll want to use salt in addition to this seasoning recipe. It pairs well with garlic salt! I find that if I were to add salt to this recipe, it would all settle to the bottom of the shaker.

• 8 tsp. basil
• 6 tsp. oregano
• 5 1/2 tsp. rosemary

All-Purpose Blend

This is the perfect blend for those times when you find yourself saying “this food tastes like it’s missing something but I don’t know what it is”! It’s salty, peppery, and has a blend of spices that brings out the natural flavors in your savory meals. You can use this on anything to liven it up! In our house, this recipe is nick-named “dad’s salt” because it’s inspired by my father-in-law’s favorite spice mix.

• 12 tsp. sea salt
• 2 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 3/4 tsp. onion powder
• 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 3/4 tsp. chili powder
• 3/4 tsp. parsley

FAQ’s

How much seasoning does each recipe make?

Each recipe fills a standard 3 oz. seasoning jar!

Can I increase or decrease the salt content?

Yes, you can! Just know that you’ll get a different flavor as an end result. If you’re needing to watch your sodium intake, feel free to adjust these blends as needed to accommodate that!

How long will these stay fresh?

These will stay fresh as long as the herbs themselves stay fresh. You want to go with the soonest best-by date!

Example: If you’re making the Italian seasoning, and your oregano expires in two years, your rosemary expires in one and a half years, and your basil expires in one year, then you would go with the soonest expiration date (the basil). Therefore, in this example, your Italian blend would be best by one year from the time that you made it.

Most spices don’t truly spoil though, they just begin to lose their flavor potency and freshness.

Do these from scratch seasonings ever clump up?

It is possible that some of these seasonings could clump up if they aren’t used very often, or if they get moisture in them. This is because they do not contain anti-caking agents (which is a great thing in my book, since those can be harmful to consume)!

If you want to season something that is steaming (like a hot pot of soup), I suggest sprinkling the seasoning into your hand first to avoid getting the jar in the moisture!

If you do happen to have a seasoning that has clumped up, just stick something skinny (a straw, chopstick, or the handle side of a spoon) down into the jar and give it a good stir. It should loosen up again!

A Tip for Making Your Seasonings From Scratch

I like to make a backup of each seasoning blend! When I make a seasoning, I double the batch so I can keep a small bag of seasoning stored at the top of my pantry. This way, if we run out of a seasoning shaker during the dinnertime rush, I’m not trying to make a blend on the spot!

As always, be sure to pin this for later!