Homemade Mrs. Dash, Seasoning Salt, and Old Bay
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I don’t like buying things I can make myself, so that’s why I make homemade Mrs. Dash, Old Bay, and Lawry’s Seasoned Salt using the recipes below.
Why Make Homemade Seasonings?
It’s not just about the money — I also don’t like artificial ingredients, unnecessary preservatives, and excess packaging. You can call it being cheap, but I prefer to think of it as a smart use of our money.
I first got into making my mixes when I learned how to make homemade taco seasoning. Things snowballed after that, and I’ve been making most of our spice mixes ever since.
Once you’ve given it a try, you’ll discover how much fresher they taste — and how much kinder they are to your wallet, too!
Using Spices Can Lower The Need for Salt
Modern foods contain an enormous amount of salt. Our bodies need salt, of course, but consuming too much salt is associated with a variety of health issues.
Many times when a dish is somehow lacking flavor, we automatically reach for the salt shaker. But, if you’re trying to reduce your sodium intake, there are other cooking tricks that will impart flavor without additional salt.
One of those tricks involves using certain spices. Thyme or oregano add an earthy, deep flavor. Cayenne brings a fiery heat while ginger adds a sweeter hot note.
So, if you’re wanting to reduce how much salt you consume, making and using spice blends like homemade Mrs. Dash or Old Bay is the way to go. Even the Lawry’s Seasoned Salt copycat below can be adjusted to accommodate a lower-sodium diet — just replace the sea salt with a salt substitute like Nu-Salt.
Tips on Making Homemade Spice Blends
As with all homemade mixes, the flavor of yours will depend on how old your herbs and spices are. If you don’t remember buying that tiny container of mace in your drawer, it’s time to replace it.
Be sure you store your spice mixes in air-tight containers to preserve their freshness.
How Often to Replace Spices and Herbs
A good rule of thumb is to replace whole spices (cinnamon sticks, cloves, peppercorns) every three years, ground spices every two years, and dried herbs every year.
Not sure how old it is? Open the container — if it doesn’t smell potent, it’s probably time to buy new stuff.
Homemade Mrs. Dash Recipe
If you haven’t tried Mrs. Dash before, stop what you’re doing! Now, go whip up this seasoning mix and sprinkle it on anything you’d ordinarily flavor with salt. You’ll be amazed at how much heart-healthy flavor this stuff imparts.
That’s a cooking trick
Homemade Mrs. Dash
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried marjoram
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon dried savory
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon dried sage
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried lemon zest optional
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients.
- Store in an air-tight container.
Homemade Seasoned Salt
Although we’re trying to cut the amount of sodium we consume, we’re not about to stop sprinkling it on steaks, burgers, ribs, or chops. This seasoned salt plus some wood chips on the coals add such a fantastic flavor!
I don’t feel guilty about using this liberally. That’s because using fresh herbs and spices means you can cut down on the amount of salt needed. This homemade Lawry’s seasoned salt contains considerably less sodium than that jar from the store, but it works the same flavor magic.
Homemade Seasoned Salt
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sea salt
- 2 tablespoon celery salt
- 2 tablespoon garlic salt
- 2 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon ground dry mustard powder
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground oregano
- 1 dash white pepper
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch optional…helps make the mix easy to sprinkle
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a blender or coffee grinder and whir for 5 seconds.
- Store in an air-tight container or salt shaker.
Homemade Old Bay Seasoning
Ever wondered why your home-boiled shrimp or crab cakes don’t have the same oomph as when you eat at a restaurant? Here’s the reason: Old Bay Seasoning!
Now, the store-bought stuff isn’t all that expensive, but since they stash it near the fresh seafood department (and I usually buy frozen), I always forget to buy it.
Rather than continue rushing back to the store every time we want a Low Country Boil, I’ve taken to mixing my own Old Bay. It’s so easy to make that I don’t even think about buying the commercial stuff anymore.
Uses for Old Bay Seasoning
As mentioned above, herbs and spices lose their flavor over time. So, unless you eat a lot of crab cakes, you may find yourself wondering how to use up Homemade Old Bay Seasoning before it gets stale. Here are some great ideas:
- Add it to Bloody Marys
- Sprinkle it on popcorn
- Top loaded baked potato skins with it
- Swap it for paprika on your deviled eggs
- Combine it with cream cheese and chopped baby shrimp for a quick seafood dip
- Add it to melted butter and brush it on corn on the cob
- Top homemade sweet potato fries with a dash
- Use it in place of the other seasonings on homemade pita chips
Basically, anywhere you’d use paprika you can use homemade Old Bay. So get creative!
Homemade Old Bay Seasoning
Ingredients
- 7 dried bay leaves
- 3 tablespoon celery salt
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1.5 tablespoon ground nutmeg
- 1.5 tablespoon ground cloves
- 1.5 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1.5 tablespoon paprika
- 1.5 tablespoon ground red pepper flakes
- 3/4 teaspoon mace
Instructions
- Crumble bay leaves and whir them in a blender or food processor until they're powdery. (A coffee grinder works, too.)
- Add the bay leaf powder to the other ingredients.
- Shake well before each use.
I have made my own taco seasoning & dry onion soup mix to avoid all the salt for years and make several homemade recipes from well known restaurants but I never thought to try making homemade Mrs dash until now. My husband doesn’t care for much garlic. Do you think cutting back on amount will be okay or is there another spice to replace garlic you would suggest.
You should be fine cutting back on the garlic. If you miss it, you can always add some back in I suppose.
Can nutmeg be substituted for mace?
Freshly grated nutmeg makes a good substitute for mace, though you might want to add a smidge more. Allspice would also be a good substitute, though it will taste slightly different.
Thank you for this. I’m having cut back sodium. I’m thankful for your Mrs. Dash recipe as I’m allergic to cayenne pepper if it’s not cooked and I needed something for table use.
Enjoy!
Do you have mix combo for taco seasoning ?
Hi Renee,
You can find my taco seasoning mix recipe here.
The 1 Tablespoon Savory in Mrs. Dash correct?
Or was it supposed to be something else? It’s just that it has the ingredients that already are in the recipe except for rosemary…
I don’t understand your question, Marianna. Savory is a specific herb.
Thank you for this! I loved using Mrs. Dash but then I developed a citrus allergy. I have missed adding that fun flavor. I’m so excited to try your recipe!
Enjoy!
Do you have Mrs Dash extra spicy as i can’t find it anywhere.
Hi Annie,
I’m sorry, but I don’t have a recipe for that.
Thanks for posting these recipes, I am looking forward to making them up I grow my own herbs every year on my deck then dry them and freeze them they last forever and when I take them out to use them it smell just like I cut them. Husband has heart problems and diabetic so I season all his food with herbs, no salt or sodium of any kind and he say the food is delicious. I make homemade taco season and sauces and it works great for him.
Hi Bev,
I just love that you grow and dry your own herbs. That’s fantastic! Given your husband’s health conditions, you might also want to check out my Banana Bread Without Added Sugar, too!
I I started using Mrs Dash Caribbean Citrus about a year ago on all my grilled and baked chicken. I loved it so much I bought bottles for all my friends and family in an effort to get them eating a little healthier. Most loved it too! Well now Mrs. dash no longer makes it!! ?. I am not one who really knows a lot about cooking. I have the ingredients but have no idea about portion size. Can you please help?? Sweet chili pepper. Thyme Black pepper Allspice Nutmeg Cayenne Pepper Ginger Cinnamon. Parsley Basil Bay Marjoram Oregano Savory Corander Cumin Mustard Rosemary Onion Sugar Lime juice solids Citric acid Orange peel Molasses Rice concentrate Anato color. Thank you?
Sorry, I’m not familiar with that one.
I make mine just like the reg. Mrs dash. It calls for sweet pepper and cayenne. I add in Smokey paprika, cayenne and chipotle pepper in the mix. If you still need a bit
More kick pending on what flavor you’re looking for add in some crushed pepper flakes. Or more cayenne
Oh my god, I need to do this at home.
I’d recommend doing it there, yes, rather than at the store. 🙂
Katie Berry- just died laughing a little bit 😆
😁
Do you have the ingredients list to make Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime? I can’t find this bottle in the stores. I would be greatful if you can help me with this. Thank You.
I don’t, unfortunately. I didn’t even know they made that flavor, but I’ll look for it now!
Fiesta lime ingredients are listed on the Mrs Dash home page.
Good to know!
I was in the hospital and I was in a low salt diet, I was served Mrs. Dash Table blend in
small single serving packets it was delicious. So I asked my wife to get me a shaker from the market she bought an assortment of four flavors she thought I might like. What a disappointment all of them absolutely BLAND! i came to the concussion that the product in the individual packets is not the same as in the shaker bottes.
It could very well be a different formula, Alejandro, or it could be that the hospital’s food was so awful compared to your wife’s cooking the hospital food needed the flavor help of Mrs. Dash (whereas your wife is probably an amazing cook).
The small packets are hermetically sealed so they stay fresher
That’s good to know!
Love “Mrs. Dash”. Anxious to try the others. Thank you for being such a sharing and giving person. Will check in on you from time-to-time.
My pleasure, Darlene. I hope you find my website useful.
I don’t buy celery salt or garlic salt, just celery seed and granulated or powder garlic. Do you know what kind of ratios of salt to spice I would use? I’d hate to have to buy these ingredients just for these mixes.
No, sorry.
Yay! I am so glad I found this! Was looking for the Mrs Dash post and I feel like I hit the jackpot with three homemade, spice blend recipes!! Win!
I’m glad you found it, too. Enjoy!
I too will have to cut way back on salt. I was looking for a recipe for Mrs. Dash and thank you for listing one! I’ll be visiting this website often!
Glad to have been of help!
I’m going to try the recipe for Mrs. Dash, because when I use the actual Mrs. Dash, I break out with blisters inside of my mouth due to the black pepper. Mrs. Dash must has a lot of black pepper. I can only have a small amount of black pepper. At least I can control the amount of black pepper that goes into this recipe. I’m glad that this is available because I really like Mrs. Dash, and I hate to stop using it. Glad this alternative exists. Thank you for posting 🙂
How frustrating that must be for you since there’s black pepper on everything in restaurants! I hope you enjoy this recipe and that it doesn’t bother your mouth.
Love making my own spices — I know what is in there! Great collection – pinned! Thanks so much for sharing on Busy Monday!
I love making my own mixes, too. It’s scary what they put in the commercial stuff. Thanks for Pinning!
Love this! We already make our own seasoned salt and taco mix, but I love that you posted recipes for Mrs. Dash and Old Bay, too. I agree – why pay more for a store-bought, preservative-filled spice blend when you can make a cheaper, healthier version at home?!
Love Old Bay even on chicken. Will be making a batch when my supply is gone!!!