27 Homemade Spice Mixes You Need in Your Kitchen
This collection features 27 homemade spice mixes and seasoning blends you can make at home with pantry staples, organized by category for easy browsing: Mexican and Southwest, bold and spicy, everyday all-purpose, Italian and Mediterranean, specialty and signature blends, sweet baking spices, and savory mixes. Each one skips the anti-caking agents, MSG, and excess sodium found in store-bought versions while giving you full control over flavor and heat. Make a batch in five minutes and use it on chicken, beef, pork, seafood, vegetables, or baked goods.
Store-bought spice blends are convenient, but most of them come loaded with anti-caking agents, MSG, and more salt than you actually need.
Making your own takes about five minutes with spices already in your pantry, and you get to decide exactly how much heat, salt, and flavor goes into the jar.
This is a collection of 27 homemade spice mixes and seasoning blends, organized into seven categories so you can find exactly what you need: Mexican and Southwest blends for taco night, bold and spicy rubs for serious heat, everyday all-purpose seasonings for chicken and steak, Italian and Mediterranean herb blends, specialty signature mixes like Old Bay and meatloaf seasoning, sweet baking spices for fall, and savory mixes for soups and gravies.
Once you start making your own, you will wonder why you ever bought the pre-made jars.
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Basic Seasoning Ingredients
Beyond the basics like salt, pepper, oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, and nutmeg, here are the spices and herbs worth keeping stocked if you want to start building your own blends:
Whole black peppercorns, Saigon cinnamon, chili powder, ginger, cumin, red pepper flakes, allspice, bay leaves, marjoram, and dried mustard.
Once you have these on hand, you can make almost any blend on this list without a special grocery trip.
Mexican & Southwest
Taco Seasoning – the classic blend for ground beef tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and fajitas. Zesty, smoky, and ready in five minutes.
Chicken Taco Seasoning – built specifically for chicken instead of adapted from a beef recipe, with a more balanced flavor that does not overpower chicken’s milder taste.
Southwest Seasoning – packed with zip and zing, built around ancho chili powder for a smoky, earthy heat that works on everything from chicken to roasted vegetables.
Adobo Seasoning – the Mexican version of an all-purpose seasoned salt, perfect for nearly every savory dish you can think of.
Enchilada Seasoning – make pork, beef, or chicken enchiladas extra special with this blend built specifically for Mexican night.
Bold & Spicy
Cajun Seasoning – zesty, zingy, and packed with layered heat for anything that needs a Louisiana kick.
Jamaican Jerk Seasoning – sweet heat from allspice, cinnamon, and a trio of peppers, perfect on chicken, pork, and even snack mixes and dips.
Blackening Seasoning – bold, smoky, and built for that classic blackened crust on fish, chicken, or shrimp.
Everyday All-Purpose
All Purpose Seasoning – combines salt, pepper, garlic, onion, red pepper, cumin, parsley, basil, and more into one colorful blend that works on absolutely everything.
Chicken Seasoning – tired of boring chicken? This all-purpose blend adds flavor and spice to chicken, vegetables, and seafood.
Steak Seasoning – peppery, garlicky, and built with a steakhouse soul, but versatile enough for chicken, fish, pork, and vegetables too.
Poultry Seasoning – the classic blend of sage, thyme, and herbs that makes chicken, turkey, vegetables, and soups taste like a holiday dinner any night of the week.
BBQ Seasoning – a smoky, savory dry rub perfect for burgers, steaks, ribs, and anything headed for the grill.
Italian & Mediterranean
Italian Seasoning – a fragrant blend of herbs perfect for sauces, pasta dishes, garlic bread, and dipping oil.
Greek Seasoning – adds bold Mediterranean flavor to chicken, pork, steak, and vegetables, with no MSG and low sodium.
Pizza Seasoning – the perfect blend for homemade pizza, and just as good with olive oil and crusty bread.
Specialty & Signature
Old Bay Seasoning – a substitute for the classic seafood seasoning, perfect for a Low Country boil or peel and eat shrimp.
Meatloaf Seasoning – transforms a traditional meatloaf into something flavor-packed with just a few pantry staples.
French Fry Seasoning – perfect for adding extra flavor to fries made in the oven, air fryer, or deep fryer. Great on regular and sweet potato fries!
Everything Bagel Seasoning – poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion, garlic, and salt, just like your favorite bagel, made at home in minutes.
Shawarma Spice Mix – a milder, warmly spiced blend perfect for making your own shawarma-style meat at home.
Sweet & Baking Spices
Pumpkin Pie Spice – the classic warming blend for pies, lattes, and ice cream, made fresh instead of buying the expensive store bottle.
Apple Pie Spice – aromatic, warm fall spices perfect for pies, turnovers, oats, and cider.
Chai Spice Mix – cozy up with a homemade chai tea or chai latte, also great stirred into a creamy chai dip.
Mulling Spices – fragrant spices perfect for mulled wine or mulled apple cider to keep you warm all season.
Savory Mixes & Gravies
Onion Soup Mix – the pantry staple behind classic dips, casseroles, and pot roasts.
Au Jus Gravy Mix – a rich, savory gravy mix ready in minutes, perfect alongside roast beef or French dip sandwiches.
Tossing Old Spices
Spices do not actually go bad, but they do lose potency, and old spices can add a bitter or off flavor to your cooking. Here is a quick guide:
Ground spices keep for up to 3 years. Whole spices last up to 4 years. Dried leafy herbs should be tossed after 1 to 2 years.
I go through my spice cabinet at the start of every year and check dates. Since I buy most of mine in bulk and store them in plastic bags, I write the purchase date directly on the bag so I never lose track.
Frequently Asked Questions
Homemade blends skip the anti-caking agents, MSG, and excess salt found in most store-bought versions, and they cost less per batch. You also get full control over the salt and heat level.
Most last 3 to 6 months stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, though some, like dried herb-based blends, are best used within 1 to 2 years before they start losing potency.
Yes. If you are avoiding high-FODMAP ingredients, try white pepper, chives, shallots, leeks, or horseradish powder instead. Dried leeks and shallots, along with powdered horseradish or wasabi powder, are usually available online if you cannot find them locally.
Glass jars are best since they do not retain odors or flavors from previous blends and keep the spices fresher longer than plastic. Store in a cool, dry place away from direct heat and sunlight.
No. A small bowl and a whisk or fork is all you need for almost every blend on this list. A spice grinder is helpful if you want a finer texture, but it is optional.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Buy spices in bulk when you find a blend you make often, it is significantly cheaper than buying individual small jars repeatedly.
- Label every jar with the date you made it so you always know when it is time for a fresh batch.
- Store everything in glass rather than plastic for better flavor retention over time.
- Keep a small notebook or note on your phone with your personal ratio tweaks for each blend, since the beauty of making your own is dialing in exactly the flavor you like best.
With 27 homemade spice blends to choose from, you never have to reach for an expensive, additive-packed jar from the grocery store again. Pick a category, make a batch, and start cooking with full control over every flavor in the jar.
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please leave us a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five-star review in the comment section below. Thanks!
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Invaluable! Thank you!!
I think what you have shared is just AMAZING. THANK YOU
I’m trying to get the name of a season that my father used in his resturant over 20 years ago. It came in a yellow canister. And the powdwe was yellow also. He would add garlic power and paprika to it and would use it on fish and seafood that he broiled and for the life of me I cannot think of the name of that seasoning.
I use ground mustard in that way and the Coleman brand used to come in a yellow can. Maybe that was it? Or it could be a yellow curry powder.
@Bill, It was probably Old Bay Seafood Seafood Seasoning. Very popular in the south. Yellow can, and you still buy it today… even online.
I am trying to eliminate Onion and Garlic (FODMAP) while making homemade spice mixes. Any ideas?
You can try adding white pepper, chives, shallots, and leeks. Horseradish is also a great addition. You can probably find dried leeks and shallots online and maybe even powdered horseradish or you can use wasab powder.
I LOVE this collection! I have already made a bunch of these to give away as neighbor gifts and everybody was so happy to have something that wasn’t sweet for a change!
OK, this is seriously GENIUS to have all of these spice mixes and blends in one place. So helpful! I’ve made your taco seasoning and shawarma mix again and again… and I can’t wait to make more!
We love making homemade mixes! This is so informative and an amazing list to choose from! Thank you!
I have never made a seasoning recipe from your blog that I didn’t LOVE –and now they are all in one spot!! THANK YOU!!
Wow, I didn’t realize how many of your spice blends we use! Thank you for such amazing recipes!
I make all my own spice mixes and I see a few here I don’t have yet! Great recipes, thank you!
So much information in one place. This is awesome! I love learning about food, and this post makes me so happy. Thanks for all the hard work on it.
I love homemade spice mixes. They’re so much better for you…no additives or ingredients you can’t pronounce. This is an awesome collection!