• Join the Club!
  • About
    • Media
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure
    • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • BLOG
  • MEMBERS ONLY
    • Login
    • Club Homepage
    • GCE Meal Plans
    • Digital Meal Planner
    • Club Resource Library
    • Downloads
    • Live Club Events
  • Purchases
    • My Courses
  • SHOP
    • The Good Cheap Eats Club
    • Cookbooks
    • Planner
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Good Cheap Eats

eat well on a budget with easy recipes from Jessica Fisher

Find a Recipe
  • Budget Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Baked Goods
      • Yeast Breads and Rolls
      • Muffins and Quick Breads
      • Scones and Biscuits
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Lunches
    • Main Dishes +
      • Beef
      • Bowl Meals
      • Meatless
      • Pasta
      • Pizza
      • Pork
      • Poultry +
        • Chicken
        • Ground Turkey
        • Turkey
      • Sausage
      • Seafood
    • Salads
    • Slow Cooker
  • Money-Saving Tips
    • Take the Pantry Challenge
  • Affordable Meal Planning
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Make Your Own Spice Mixes to Add Zest & Flavor

Jessica Fisher · May 2, 2016 · 1 Comment

Make your own spice mixes to add zest and flavor and to save money! Making your own custom spice blends allows you great flavor without the expense.

layers of spices in mason jar

When you open my spice cupboard, you’ll find rows of little bottles of herbs and spices and bulk containers of herbs and spices, but you’ll also find mason jars of homemade spice mixes. These homemade blends are the first things I reach for when making dinner.

Not only do I save money by avoiding commercial spice mixes, but I also control what ingredients go in them. It’s become such a habit with me to use these spice mixes, that I rarely have to get out measuring spoons these days. There’s a spice for that.

As homemade sauces can bring excellent flavor to simple dishes, so can spice mixes! Choose one today and mix up a batch to run through its paces this week. I promise it will make your meals easier!

Spice Mixes to Add Zest & Flavor:

Here are some of my favorite custom spice mixes!

Make Your Own Spice Mixes to Add Zest & Flavor

Herbed Seasoning Mix

One of my new favorites, we’ve been putting this Herbed Seasoning Mix through its paces. It’s proven to be delicious on steak, seafood, fish, chicken, vegetables, and rice. It’s all-purpose with green herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. If you need to leave out the salt and pepper, you can.

Pin it for later.

jar of FishMama spice on countertop

FishMama Spice Mix

I love to use garlic and Italian herbs in my dishes, so I made a seasoning salt that combines these flavors and dubbed it FishMama Spice. I’ve used it in practically everything, and it works every time!

Pin it for later.

spoonful of seasoning mix by bowl

Jamie’s Spice Mix

Jamie’s Spice Mix is an adaptation of a blend my sister gave out at her wedding. It’s an all-purpose Italian style blend that’s great in pizza sauce, pulled chicken, and Italian dishes.

Pin it for later.

layers of spices in mason jar

Cajun Spice Blend

If you like a little bit of heat, this Cajun Spice Blend is for you. I work this spice blend into all kinds of dishes, like salads, pasta, burgers, meatloaf, and more. If you’ve got the Good Cheap Eats cookbook, you’ll find several recipes that feature this blend.

Pin it for later.

jar of basic spice blend

Basic Spice Blend

If you’re looking for an all-purpose spice, this Basic Spice Blend is great. It has only five ingredients — but it packs a punch. I use it in marinades, on roasts, in stew, and in skillet mixtures.

Pin it for later.

array of herbs in bowl

Homemade Herbes de Provence

Typically, I don’t love the “herbes de provence” I’ve bought in the States because they usually have lavender in them. I don’t like culinary lavender, but I’ve tolerated in recipes for years. When we were in France, I stumbled upon a version without lavender and fell in love with it. Now, I make my own Herbes de Provence.

Pin it for later.

tacos in red basket

Chipotle Taco Seasoning Mix

If you love the smoky flavor of chipotle chiles, you’ll like this Chipotle Taco Seasoning Mix. This mixture is delicious on cooked meats, in beans, in sour cream, or sprinkled into enchiladas.

Pin it for later.

taco spice ingredients layered in jar

Basic Taco Seasoning Mix

Tacos or burritos can come together very quickly if you’ve got some of this Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix on hand. I like to use this in freezer cooking to make up large amounts of taco meat that I can save for later use.

Pin it for later.

plates of hummus, pita bread, kabobs, and couscous

Greek Spice Blend

This Greek Spice Blend is one of my favorites. This all-purpose seasoning goes great on grilled meats and in dressings and dips. Most days I sprinkle it on chicken breast to grill or use it to mix into salad dressings. If you use fresh lemon zest, be sure to store it in the freezer.

Pin it for later.

A bowl of ingredients for onion soup mix

Onion Soup Mix

This Homemade Onion Soup Mix to keep on hand to flavor dips and main dish recipes. You will probably not need a one-to-one substitution for the dry mix. I’m going to bet that my version is more strongly flavored.

Pin it for later.

What’s your go-to spice mix?

Make Your Own Spice Mixes to Add Zest & Flavor | Good Cheap Eats

Are you looking for more good cheap eats?

  • read through the recipe archives
  • subscribe to my weekly newsletter
  • follow me on Periscope
  • check out my recipes on Life as Mom
  • follow my Good Cheap Eats pinboard on Pinterest

Filed Under: Seasoning Mix Tagged With: basic spice blend

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. sarah says

    May 3, 2016 at

    Fabulous post! We’ve used the Jamie’s Spice Mix and like it a lot on chicken and pork (haven’t tried it on anything else yet). Thanks for the great ideas and motivation to mix some of these up.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

HI! I’M JESSICA.

Jessica preparing food in a kitchen

I believe anyone can prepare delicious meals -- no matter their budget. Click here to learn more.

SAVE MONEY ON GROCERIES

2021 Grocery Savings Challenges

printed card of GCE system on refrigerator with magnets

Get a Free Printed Card of the Good Cheap Eats System

bowl of dry onion soup mix

Homemade Dry Onion Soup Mix to Replace the Packets

Ralphs receipt with groceries in a flatlay

How to Audit Your Grocery Spending

flatlay of groceries cookbook and money with coins and bills

Save Money on Groceries Right Now with These Simple Tricks

LET’S CONNECT

HUNGRY FOR MORE?

grocery cart with peets coffee

Footer

Disclaimer/Disclosure

Please note that the advertisements posted here do not necessarily represent Jessica Fisher’s views and opinions.

Also be advised that some of these advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons on our site (when you click through). You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information on their practices as well as for instructions about how to opt-out of certain practices.

To better serve my readers, I have implemented Google Analytics cookies in order to better know visitor demographics. For opt outs, go here.

For more specific details on my disclaimers/disclosures, go here.

Head here to view our complete privacy policy.

Tags

30-minute meals appliances baking basics buttermilk Cakes casserole cheddar chocolate christmas cooked chicken cooking for one or two dairy-free DIY Convenience easy meals efficient kitchen enchiladas Food processor GCE basics gluten-free grains granola grilled grocery savings challenges holiday Holiday Food instant pot leftovers meal planning 101 meal prep mother's day no cook packable pantry pantry staples pressure cooker quick dinner ideas real food products save money on groceries shop thanksgiving time-saving tips updated Veggies Most whole 30

Copyright © 2021 · Daily Dish Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in