A simple and easy way to flavor your meals can be found right in your spice cupboard. Mix up your own spice blends to add spice and save money. This recipe for Jamie’s Spice Mix will add zest to any meal.
The spice of life is …. spice, of course.
You can have a sparse pantry, but as long as you’ve got some spices, a few veggies, a solid protein, you’re good to go for a delicious dinner.
Generously douse a chicken breast or a ground meat patty with your favorite spice mix, grill or saute it until done, and serve alongside some steamed veggies for a deliciously simple dinner that’s packed with flavor!
One of the ways that I dramatically cut grocery costs years ago was to switch from buying expensive spice packets and blends to mixing my own. I buy spices in bulk at a greatly reduced cost, storing the extras in the freezer to extend their shelf life. When I want a seasoned salt or blend, I mix my own.
Jamie’s Spice Mix
One of my go-to blends is based on one that my sister mixed up for her wedding favors years ago. When quizzed, Jamie told me she bought large cartons of a variety of spices and just dumped them in a bowl. Ha!
I’ve recreated this mixture on a smaller scale, made some tweaks, and named it in her honor. I’ve been using it a lot lately on pizza, pulled chicken, and other dishes. It adds the perfect amount of flavor in just a few shakes.
How do you make a custom spice mix?
You can create your own spice blends by just heading to your cupboard and choosing some favorite flavors. Consider these flavor profiles:
French: thyme, tarragon, herbs de Provence, bay, chervil
Indian: tandoori spices, garam masala, curry, tamarind, cardamom, cumin, coriander, fenugreek
Italian: garlic/garlic powder, oregano, fennel, lemon, rosemary, basil
Mediterranean/Greek: oregano, rosemary, bay, thyme
Mexican: cumin, chili powder, oregano, coriander
What’s in Jamie’s Spice Mix?
As I mentioned, Jamie just randomly grabbed spices off the grocery store shelf, but there was a method to her creative genius. She married into a lively Italian family and those flavors are certainly present:
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- paprika
- basil
- oregano
- salt
- pepper
- celery seed (I prefer it without)
- lemon zest
- cayenne pepper
In many of my early batches I used dried lemon peel that you can find in the spice aisle of your local store. Mixing this blend with dried lemon peel makes it shelf stable.
However, since fresh lemons are easily to come by, it seems silly to hunt down the dried variety. When I make this blend with fresh lemon zest, I simply store the mix in a covered jar in the freezer. This preserves the fresh zest.
This blend is fabulous on grilled meats, stirred into marinades, sprinkled on buttered pasta, and mixed into dressings. I’ve topped bread sticks and pizza dough with it, flavored marinara sauce with it, and stirred it into pulled chicken.
Recipes that use Jamie’s Spice Mix
Use this spice blend in the following recipes:
- Last-Minute Pizza Sauce
- Quick Meat Sauce for Pasta
- 5-Ingredient Pita Pizza
- Lemon and Herb Rice Pilaf
- Stone Soup
- Pizza Margherita
- Sausage Kabobs with Peppers & Onions
It’s versatile, flavorful, and cheap!
Are spice mixes expensive to make?
That depends on where you buy your spices. Buying large cartons of spices at warehouse stores and restaurant supply spaces (like Costco and Smart & Final) will generally get you a better price on spices than buying them in small jars at the grocery store.
Tools I use for this recipe:
- half-pint Mason jars with plastic caps
- Pyrex pint-sized glass bowls with plastic lids
- Microplane zester
If you prepare this recipe, be sure to take a picture and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!
Jamie's Spice Mix
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp celery seed optional
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Place the mixture in an airtight plastic container or freezer bag and store in the freezer.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published April 11, 2013. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Julie says
When I get my kitchen back I plan to mix up a batch.
Kathy says
This sounds fabulous!
Erica says
Is there a good alternative for celery seeds? It is something I have never bought but will add it to my spice cupboard in the future! 🙂
Jessica says
@Erica, you can leave them out if you want. It’s the one ingredient in this that I consider optional.
Barbara W. says
You can make your own celery salt with 2 parts celery seed and 1 part salt. I think that is the right proportion. Otherwise,
find homemade celery salt proportions.
Mimi Holtz says
Your spice mix recipe sounds great. Bet it’s good on avocado too!
Ellen says
If you’re using plain ol’ salt from the blue box, how much should you use? I had the idea that you can’t substitute 1 to 1 with sea salt… Also, is it the same amount of dried lemon peel as it would be fresh lemon zest? Thanks!
Jessica says
Thanks for asking this question. I needed to specify that it was fine sea salt and somehow that slipped my mind. I’m not sure which blue box you’re talking about, though. My kosher salt comes in a blue box and that would not be 1 to 1. But, in this recipe you can use any fine salt in the same proportion as what’s listed. Use slightly more kosher salt, if you’re using that.
Ellen says
I meant the Morton salt in the blue box with the little girl with the umbrella on it. 🙂 I haven’t gotten fancy with salt, yet. No kosher over here…
Barbara W. says
I believe Kosher salt is less bitter than regular table salt. Usually you can use less kosher. Also, it sticks better on slippery slopes, like watermelon wedges. It is a flat grain versus round, which tends to roll around on many food items.
viviana says
This is great but I do not do spicy food at all neither does my daughter so can i omit thr cayenne pepper?
Jessica Fisher says
Yes, definitely omit that. It’s not overpowering, but if it upsets the tummy or whatever, your body would notice even if the tastebuds didn’t.
Barb says
I just made a spice blend that had garlic cloves in it the resulting seasoning blend had plenty of salt so I am sure it would have kept but the moistness bothered me. Tonight I dried it out in a warm oven (about 200 degrees). It worked very well and now the mixture sprinkles nicely. Might work for your lemon peel. You could dry the end product or dry the peels prior to making them mix.
Jessica Fisher says
Clever!
Sandra says
Good idea! I used some fresh lemon peel that I had stored in the freezer and the resulting blend was clumpy with the moisture. I think I’ll toss it around in a hot cast iron and try to dry it out a bit. Thanks for the great idea!
Katha Pierce Horton says
Does anyone have a seasoning mix for red beans and rice? We like ours spicy.
Jessica Fisher says
It is on my list to reverse engineer! I bought a boxed mix (gasp) to compare.
cindy3539 says
Mixed this up and used it in the “last minute pizza sauce”. It was really good.
Jessica Fisher says
So glad you liked it!
Matt R. says
You recommend storing it in the freezer, why is that? Is it because of the lemon zest? If I leave the zest out do you still recommend to store in freezer?
Jessica Fisher says
If you leave out the lemon zest or use commercially dried “lemon peel”, you can store it in the pantry.
Jeniffer says
I was just reading through some of the recipes for the Easy Lunches Freezer Cooking Plan, and I was like, “Hey! These are from my (your) cookbook!!” It took me a minute to realize that you are the author of my favorite freezer-cooking cookbook. I just wanted to take a minute and say THANK YOU for the amazing book. I use it every week when I do my weekly freezer cooking. It’s a gem to be sure.
Jessica Fisher says
Well, that’s fun! I’m so glad you love the book AND read the blog. The best of both worlds. 😉
Kristy/Mama K MeYeR says
I love this mix! I use it AT LEAST twice a week…In pizza sauce and in something/everything else. It’s good on pretty much everything. I make it up by the quart and keep it in the freezer to be at-the-ready. Delicious!!
Jessica Fisher says
Yay! So glad to hear that it’s a favorite. I need to mix it in bigger batches. I’m always running out!
Teena says
Jessica, wondering how this would be without salt?
Family member on low sodium diet. Maybe could just add less salt to the blend?
Jessica Fisher says
You could omit it and then add salt to taste.
Teena says
Thank you. ?
Teena says
Jessica…I see a question mark with my “thank you “….
it’s not supposed to be there!
It was a ? and somehow changed!
Sorry. ?
Teena says
Oh…..evidently I can’t use emojis!
Thanks again!