Creole Seasoning-A must have cajun seasoning that adds boldness and extra flavor to any dish. Everything you need is in your spice pantry, quick to put together and can be easily customized for personal preference.
If you’ve been around here a while, you know how much I love jazzing up my meals with cajun seasoning. Well, maybe a little bit too much. You can’t believe all the emails/messages I get about this spice blend. So it’s perfectly natural that I would create one.
Creole or Cajun seasoning is not easy to come by outside of the United States but more than likely these spices are in your pantry, especially if you like big bold flavors.
If you don’t … then you can easily get it from your neighborhood market.
Tell you what, I didn’t even have to make an extra trip to the market. The ingredients are a pantry staple- nothing exotic here.
Authentic Louisiana creole is about the complex mix of pungent herbs and spices. Every dish has layers upon layers of bold flavors that meld together flawlessly.
Achieving such deliciousness is partly due to a combination of spices, which you can easily replicate with this cajun seasoning. Both Creole and Cajun cooking terms are used interchangeably. However, Cajun seasoning is a basic blend mix: use garlic powder, onion, black pepper, and Cayenne pepper. While creole seasoning goes a bit further than these basic spices with more herbs ranging from oregano to basil and paprika.
Having your key seasonings conveniently combined makes creole cooking much easier and ensures authentic flavors every time.
Let’s face it, store brought creole seasoning is a good option but like everything else, homemade is best and it’s so easy to make your own. The key here is using quality ingredients.
There are three parts to this creole seasoning.
The base of a good creole seasoning consists of salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. For this recipe, I’ve left out the salt, because I want to be able to control the salt that goes into each dish. Sometimes I want more flavor without the salt – it helps keep things from being too salty.
After the base is done, the boldness comes in. Cayenne, white and black pepper are added for heat that is so inherent in any Cajun seasoning. Feel free to adjust the cayenne to heat tolerance. I use very little in my blend to please the whole family.
Finally, you have the herbs which adds another layer of subtle flavor to the mix. Here, I used oregano, thyme, basil and parsley. You can certainly adjust flavors to suit your tastebuds. You don’t have to use all four. Italian herbs would be a good substitute
After combining everything together, the spice mix is complete and ready to season a plethora of dishes including this gumbo and jambalaya. And everything else that rocks your boat.
And for the remaining spice mix, store it in an airtight container to keep it fresh and pungent. Trust me, it comes in handy every time.
Now that you’ve got your seasoning all done . Stay tuned for this blackened salmon and sautéed vegetables
Want another tasty homemade seasoning? Try this easy to make Italian Seasoning, too.
Enjoy!!!!
Watch How to Make It
Creole Cajun Seasoning-A must have cajun seasoning that adds boldness and extra flavor to any dish. Everything you need is in your spice pantry, quick to put together and can be easily customized for personal preference.
- 3 Tablespoons onion powder
- 3 Tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ Tablespoons black pepper
- 1 ½ Tablespoons white pepper
- 6 Tablespoons paprika
- ½ - 1 Tablespoons cayenne pepper (adjust to suit taste buds)
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons oregano
- 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons dried thyme
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons dried basil
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, or Jar and stir so that all the ingredients have been fully combined
- Store in any airtight container (or zip lock bag) and start adding to your proteins and
I’m glad you make this without salt, which is a pointless addition to a spice mix, since you can always add salt to your dish. The only reason that commercial mixes use salt is to increase the product’s volume without increasing company costs, which makes them more profit. In any case, homemade is better, and this is an excellent mix. By the way, if you want to make a smaller amount, just change all the measurements to “teaspoon” and go from there.
You are absolutely right. Homemade is always much better. Thanks for stopping by!
You forgot the sassafras.
the U.S. FDA has banned the use of safrole as a food additive and flavoring, sassafras and products containing sassafras can still be located. In many cases, these products involve the use of a safrole-free extract. Products containing sassafras include such things as sassafras tea, essential oils and more.
As of Aug 14, 2019
” It’s been determined that, while the roots and bark of sassafras contain significant amounts of safrole, the leaves do not contain enough safrole to even be detected by normal testing, and filé powder has been declared safe for human consumption.
IJS
Just curious… why did they ban?
Any sassafras leaf (Gumbo File) should not be used where reheating the dish or boiling occurs – ideally it should be added just prior to serving and eaten.
What’s the reasoning why you shouldn’t reheat or even use sassafras?
It is used as an instant thickener, the flavor is strong … so just a dash after gumbo is in your bowl is perfect! It can often become too thick if cooked and Change the consistency of the soup to almost slimy. .. …
Ground Shiitake Mushroom powder might be a good substitute for a thickener? I had read that it doesn’t have a “mushroom flavor”.
Where to buy white pepper
Look for the Mc Cormick Organic brand glass bottle and green top.
Thanks I had a hard time finding it today!
Look for the Mc Cormick Organic brand- glass bottle with a green top.
White pepper is also sold in Asian stores, likely cheaper than the regular grocery store
White Pepper is normally available at many supermarkets, Walmart. I bought it many times in those places.
I put this spice mix on everything! I just had a coworker ask for the recipe because I put some in a 15 bean soup mix that I cooked up. This spice mix makes every savory dish I make taste amazing!
Ohhhh yummmmmm! The mouth watering aroma of those spices are making me crazy though we r miles apart!!! thanks fr sharing!
Hi Emma, may I get the recipe for, the blackened salmon, and the chicken, thanks
Hi, Stacy. Sure thing. Please see full recipe for the Blackened Chicken here >> https://www.africanbites.com/blackened-spatchcock-chicken/ and the Blackened Salmon here >> https://www.africanbites.com/blackened-salmon/ . Please do let me know how it works for you. Enjoy! 🙂
Yess sure I have one that’s so what similar to there’s
I was given plain peanuts (boring) and asked to do something creative with them. I coated them with some honey and used your spice combination to create a Honey-Cajun roasted peanuts. They are roasting as I type, and smell incredible. Can not wait til they cool and I can share them with my coworkers in the O.R.
Hi David,
That sounds Delicious. I must try! Thanks for sharing.
This sounds absolutley tasty. I will have to try this with almonds. Any suggestions on what to substitute for the honey? Not a fan of honey roasted anything. Thanks. So glad I found this website.
I recommend using date syrup. It’s nothing but dates and water, cooked down to a thick syrup. I use it instead of sugar and honey, especially honey because it’s too darn sweet for me. Try Date Lady in California — It’s organic, gluten- and GMO-free. I love it!
Thanks for the tip Hollis. I will definitely try out . Have a bunch of dates that have been in the fridge for a while now.