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If you don’t keep all-purpose seasoning in your pantry, you’re missing out on a versatile, time-saving way to add flavor to your cooking. A balanced blend of herbs and spices can be especially helpful for developing depth of flavor in quick-cooking foods and a perfect way to level up weeknight meals with little effort.
Notes From the MGC Kitchen
WHY HOMEMADE SEASONING BLENDS ARE BETTER: While it may be easier to pluck an all-purpose blend off the grocery store shelf, there are two major advantages to making your own. First and foremost, a homemade blend lets you control the ingredient ratios to suit your personal taste. Second, it’s easy to adjust the quantities of salt and sugar to accommodate dietary restrictions and eliminate any potential allergens.
Homemade seasoning is versatile too. Try our all-purpose blend on pan-seared, broiled, and grilled meats, oven-roasted chicken, baked fish, sautéed seafood, roasted vegetables, and salads.
What’s In All-Purpose Seasoning?
Listed below are our choices for an all-purpose seasoning blend. Please refer to the printable recipe card below for the complete ingredient list with quantities.
- SALT (SEE BELOW FOR INFO ON MAKING A SALT-FREE BLEND): You need a fine grain so that the salt gets distributed evenly throughout the seasoning. You can use either regular table salt or Himalayan pink salt (our choice).
- PAPRIKA: You’ll want sweet paprika for this recipe. We buy a Hungarian brand on Amazon in half-pound bags. It’s definitely more expensive, but we make a lot of Hungarian dishes, and its sweet, earthy flavor and rich red color are a must for those recipes.
- GRANULATED GARLIC: We actually prefer granulated garlic to garlic powder in general because its slightly coarser, sand-like texture makes it easier to control when sprinkling it over food. It’s also a little less potent. It stays blended with the other ingredients in this recipe better than garlic powder does, but you can certainly substitute. Just cut back from 3 teaspoons to 2-1/2.
- DRIED PARSLEY: We recommend crushing the dried parsley with your fingers so that it distributes a little better through the mix. You’ll always have some larger flakes that separate, so when you grab a pinch of this seasoning, be sure to pick up a few.
- BLACK PEPPER: Using a grinder for the black pepper will give you the freshest, most intense pepper flavor in this seasoning blend, but it’s not imperative.
- MINCED ONION: Minced onion (sometimes called onion flakes) is onion that has been very finely chopped and dehydrated. It has a mild flavor and adds a bit of crunchy texture to the seasoning.
- DRIED TARRAGON: Tarragon has a mild anise flavor with a hint of bitterness that is very subtle once combined with the other ingredients, but is still essential to the overall taste of the blend.
- GRANULATED ONION: Just like garlic, we prefer the granulated version of onion to onion powder as a seasoning and feel it stays blended better with the other spices. It is also a little less concentrated, so if you use onion powder instead, cut back from 1 teaspoon to 3/4.
- DRIED DILL: The flavor of dried dill is far more subtle than its fresh counterpart, but it adds an important grassy note to this seasoning mix nonetheless.
- DRIED OREGANO: Oregano is a staple flavor in Italian, Mexican, and Mediterranean cuisines for good reason. It has a distinctive earthy flavor with mild, peppery notes and is an essential ingredient to any seasoning blend.
- CELERY SEED: The flavor of celery seed is so distinctive – earthy, a little bit bitter, peppery, and slightly citrusy, it’s an amazing ingredient to keep on hand and a must in any all-purpose seasoning blend. Tip: Try it in tuna salad, coleslaw, and potato salad – in other words, it goes great with mayo-based dressings.
- GROUND CORIANDER: A staple in Latin American, Indian, and Middle Eastern cuisines, ground coriander is the powdered version of coriander seed (aka cilantro seeds). It’s mildly flavored, a little bit citrusy, and adds a warm note to our all-purpose blend.
- SUGAR: The amount of sugar you add to this blend is a matter of taste. We enjoy sweet and savory flavor combinations, so we use a heaping tablespoon, but you can definitely cut back if desired. NOTE: Eliminating the sugar altogether will change the ability of the seasoning to caramelize on roasted, baked, and pan-seared foods.
How to Make All-Purpose Seasoning
Making this seasoning blend is very straightforward. Please refer to the printable recipe card below for the complete ingredient list with quantities.
PREPARATION: Combine all the ingredients except for the sugar in a small bowl. Mix in the sugar, taste, and add more if desired.
TASTE TEST: If you want to make adjustments to this or any other homemade seasoning blend during preparation, you need something bland to apply it to. Our top choice is plain, cooked pasta. Penne and rigatoni are good choices because of their ridges. You can also use small pieces of bread brushed lightly with a neutral oil like canola or avocado.
PACKAGE: Transfer the seasoning to a 4-ounce glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.
Storage and Shelf-Life
We recommend storing your seasoning in a cool, dark place such as inside a cabinet or pantry. It will keep for quite some time but as with all spices and dried herbs, it may begin to lose flavor after about six months.
Tip: Because our all-purpose seasoning recipe requires hefty amounts of paprika, granulated garlic, and dried parsley, we purchase those three ingredients in larger quantities and set them aside so we always have what we need to whip up a fresh batch.
Make It Salt-Free
If you are on a salt-restricted diet or simply prefer a salt-free version of this seasoning, omit the salt from this recipe and consider adding 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard and 1-1/2 teaspoons dried lemon peel.
You may also want to add some nutritional yeast. It has an umami-rich, slightly nutty flavor and is very low in fat and sodium. Because it has a flaky texture and is best stored in the refrigerator, we would recommend coupling it with the all-purpose blend as you use it rather than mixing it in, but either is an option. Note: If you have questions or concerns about this ingredient or salt-free diets in general, consult with your healthcare practitioner.
Flavor Variations
There are a variety of other herbs and spices you can add to this blend to achieve different flavor profiles. Here are a few suggestions:
- SPICY VERSION: If you’d like a little kick in this seasoning, add some cayenne, or replace a portion of the sweet paprika with hot paprika. Start with a small amount and increase the quantity to suit your taste.
- SMOKY VERSION: Adding a bit of smoke flavor is nice if you use this blend as a seasoning for grilled meats. Just replace some of the sweet paprika with smoked paprika. We recommend 1/2 to 1 teaspoon. If it’s true barbecue flavor you’re after, you might want to try our easy BBQ spice rub.
- FISH AND SEAFOOD VERSION: Dried lemon peel is a great addition to all-purpose seasoning and it’s especially good when used on fish and seafood (or vegetables and salads). Try adding 1 teaspoon and work up from there.
- POULTRY VERSION: Adding dried rosemary, thyme, and sage will give this all-purpose blend a subtle poultry seasoning flavor. Cut the sugar back to 2 teaspoons, and add 1 teaspoon of each.
How to Use All-Purpose Seasoning
Here are some guidelines to follow as you experiment with all-purpose seasoning:
SEASONING BEFORE COOKING: Cut back on the recommended amount of salt for your recipe and replace that quantity with our all-purpose blend. This works particularly well for oven-roasted meats and vegetables because the sugar in the blend aids in caramelization.
USE AS A FINISHING SEASONING: This works best for foods cooked over high heat (e.g., grilling, broiling, pan-searing) because the sugar in this blend could burn if added too early. Season your food as you normally would before cooking, but cut down on the salt slightly. Then sprinkle all-purpose seasoning on steaks, pork chops, chicken, and burgers just before serving.
FLAVORING SAUCES AND SALAD DRESSINGS: Cut back on salt and add all-purpose seasoning to taste.
Recipes to Try
We have a few recipes on the website that call for our all-purpose blend in the ingredient list. They include our Old Fashioned Meatloaf, Oven-Roasted Potatoes, Oven-Fried Parmesan Pork Chops, and Catfish with Corn Salsa.
Homemade All-Purpose Seasoning
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon table salt, see notes
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley, lightly crushed
- 1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1-1/2 teaspoons minced onion
- 1-1/2 teaspoons dried tarragon, lightly crushed
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon sugar, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients except for the sugar in a small bowl.
- Mix in the sugar, taste, and add more if desired.
- Transfer the seasoning to a 4-ounce glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.
- Store in a cool, dry place and use as desired.
Notes
Flavor Variations
There are a variety of other herbs and spices you can add to this blend to achieve different flavor profiles. Here are a few suggestions:- Spicy version: If you’d like to have a little kick in this seasoning, add some cayenne, or replace some of the sweet paprika with hot paprika. Start with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon and increase the quantity to suit your taste.
- Smoky version: Adding a bit of smoke flavor is nice if you plan to use this blend as a rub for grilling. Replace some of the sweet paprika with smoked paprika. Start with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon.
- Citrusy version: Dried lemon peel or dried orange peel are great additions to all-purpose seasoning and are particularly good when used on fish, seafood, vegetables, and salads. Try adding 1 teaspoon and work up from there.
- Poultry version: Adding dried rosemary, thyme, and sage will give this all-purpose blend a subtle poultry seasoning flavor. Cut the sugar back to 2 teaspoons, and add 1 teaspoon of each of the three dried herbs.
Salt-Free Version
If you are on a salt-restricted diet or prefer a salt-free version of this seasoning, omit the salt from this recipe and consider adding 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard and 1-1/2 teaspoons dried lemon peel. You may also want to add some nutritional yeast. It has an umami-rich, slightly nutty flavor and is very low in fat and sodium. Because it has a flaky texture and is best stored in the refrigerator, we would recommend coupling it with the all-purpose blend as you use it rather than mixing it in, but either is an option. Note: If you have questions or concerns about this ingredient or salt-free diets in general, consult with your healthcare practitioner.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Always looking for ways to cut back on salt and not lose flavor. Quick question..kosher salt or table salt?
Hi Kathy,
Kosher salt is too coarse to blend well in the all-purpose seasoning recipe so you’ll want to use table salt (I’ve updated the recipe to specify). I also think you could cut back on the overall quantity in the recipe from 1 tablespoon to 2 teaspoons and not sacrifice much in the way of flavor. We’re also working on a salt-free version and hope to have it up on the website soon.
This stuff is great for its intended use. GREAT on chicken. Thanks for the fantastic recipe.
Hi Chris,
Glad you like the seasoning blend. It is good on chicken – we like it on roasted veggies too.
Making scallops and will let you know. Tasty when I finger tested it.
Makes my food just “pop” with flavor