herbs de Provence (herb blend)

This classic Provençal (French) seasoning blend is packed with flavor. Another salt-free seasoning you’ll use on everything!

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1 T rosemary
1 T savory
1 T lavender flowers (cut in half if you use lavender leaves – i dried some from my garden)
1 T thyme
1 T basil
1 T marjoram
1 T parsley
1/2 T fennelseed
1/2 T tarragon
1/2 T oregano
1/2 t bay leaves

it’s okay to leave out any ingredients you don’t have

combine, store in a sealed, air-tight container. (all ingredients must be dried completely or they will mold.) best used within a year.

adapted from a recipe from Mariposa at allrecipes

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Whether you have hypertension, or just want to cut back on salt, a salt-free seasoning blend is an amazing way to impart flavor to your food. Healthy food has a bad reputation for being bland & flavorless. If anything, I think the opposite is true; salt and sugar often take the place of real flavor in processed food. If you have access to fresh ingredients – lemon zest and juice, fresh herbs, homemade fruit vinegars, fermented veggies – there’s little need for heavy, strong flavors. Regardless of what you have, something simple like herbs de Provence can add something special to anything you prepare.

Need some inspiration? Sprinkle some on your roasted potatoes or chicken, in the batter of anything you fry, in a simple pan sauce or homemade salad dressing or yogurt dipping sauce or aioli, on any salad (especially a cold summery bean salad or chicken salad,) in ratatouille, in a tomato sauce or cream sauce for pasta, in marinated olives or cheese, or just sprinkled on some fresh garden tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil. I especially like herbs de Provence on vegan food; your vegan pasta or chickpea salad game will never be the same! Lately, I have been roasting bags of frozen broccoli with a little olive oil and a healthy dusting of herbs de Provence. It’s such a great lazy weeknight snack!

I still use my salt-free ‘ranch’ / Capitol Hill seasoning blend multiple times a week, because everything is better with garlic. (It really makes the best garlic bread in the world.) If you’re using bland ingredients, like veggies from Walmart, maybe you want to go big, like some ras-el-hanout or a heavily roasted Sri Lankan black curry powder. But especially when working with delicate ingredients like potatoes or tomatoes fresh from the farmers market, this herbs de Provence really hits the spot.

What’s your favorite way to use herbs de Provence?

jerk chicken

Is it the best chicken in the world? I understand if you say “no” – but I might disagree.

• 4 lbs. Chicken
• 10-12 Tablespoons Jerk Seasoning/Marinade
• Lemon/Lime juice or Vinegar
• 2 Teaspoons Garlic Salt (optional)
• 2 Teaspoons Paprika
• 2 Tablespoons Dry Jerk Seasoning

recipe by Xavier Murphy at jamaicans.com

mix everything together. marinate in the refrigerator for at least one day.
then grill it, traditionally over allspice branches for extra flavor, according to Xavier Murphy
(or you can bake it; I won’t tell anyone)

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jerk marinade recipe by Winsome Murphy at jamaicans.com

• ½ cup allspice berries
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• 6-8 garlic cloves
• 4-6 Scotch bonnet peppers (note: obviously, this will be quite hot. 1 is not enough. I’d go with at least two, even if you are sensitive to spice.)
• 1 tablespoon ground thyme or 2 tablespoons thyme leaves
• 1-2 bunches scallions (green onions)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce to moisten

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dry jerk seasoning recipe by Imma at African Bites

1½ tablespoon (15 g) onion powder
1½ tablespoon (15 g) garlic powder
1 tablespoon ( 5 g) ground ginger
1 tablespoon ( 5 g) dried thyme
1 teaspoon (2 g) white pepper, freshly ground (I used black pepper)
½ tablespoon (3.5 g) cinnamon
1 tablespoon (7 g) ground allspice
1 tablespoon (7 g) smoked paprika
½ tablespoon (3.5 g) ground nutmeg
2-3 tablespoons (28-42 g) coconut sugar, or replace with brown sugar
½-1 tablespoon (5-10 g) vegetable bouillon. chicken, or Maggi powder (to taste)
1 tablespoon ( 5 g) hot pepper, or more (Scotch bonnet, cayenne pepper, or pepper flakes (to taste)
2 tablespoons (10 g) dried chives or scallions

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A note to our vegan and vegetarian friends: this marinade is unbelievable on tofu, or served as a dipping sauce for grilled veggies, and the dry jerk seasoning is fantastic on everything from corn-on-the-cob to grilled cauliflower. It’s quite adaptable! Blend the marinade with a mango for a surprisingly good hot sauce. Coat fish before roasting. Sprinkle the dry seasoning on frozen fries or veggies before you bake them. The possibilities are endless! What is your favorite thing to jerk?

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I understand that someone out there might prefer something sweeter and less spicy, like an apricot-honey chicken tagine. Someone might prefer a five-ingredient chipotle-lime chicken to save time. They might even prefer their chicken fried and not grilled, like Korean-style fried chicken. However, I am not these people. I am a simple jerk, and I know of no better chicken on the planet than an authentic plate of jerk chicken, grilled up by a Caribbean family, served with a bit of ginger drink and a shot of rum. However, if you’re not invited to the Jamaican barbecue, you can make this. It might be a bit lonelier, and it will not taste the same. But it’s damn good.

salt-free herb ranch seasoning

You’ll be surprised how often you find yourself using this savory herb blend. Of course it’s amazing mixed into plain yogurt or sour cream for a great dip. Yes, it’s fantastic sprinkled on pasta or pizza as a no-sodium umami boost. But then you will try it on popcorn. Sprinkled in the middle of a grilled cheese sandwich. On mashed potatoes. On roasted veggies. In your veggie/meat burgers. On fish. If you’re on a low sodium diet, this may quickly become one of your go-to seasoning blends.

The ranch I grew up with was mostly cheap soybean oil with an unbelievable amount of sugar and salt. The label’s serving size (two tablespoons of ranch) contains almost 300mg of sodium – that’s 20% of the salt someone with high blood pressure should eat for the entire day (source: ranch / American Heart Association)!! I grew up dipping my pizza crusts into that greasy sludge. If you think that’s what we’re making here, think again!

It reminds me of Capitol Hill seasoning (shallots, dill weed, parsley, chives, salt and pepper; all dried) – a perfect umami kick to top anything bland.

(updated 2023)

2 T dried parsley 1.5 T dried parsley
2 t dried dill
2 t garlic powder
2 t onion powder
1 t dry flake onion
1 t black pepper
2 t dried chives
1 t oregano
buttermilk powder (optional. I hear this adds a great tang like a buttermilk ranch, but I left it out and it’s still great.)
if you left out buttermilk powder: 1/2 t orange zest (optional; adds the tang)

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adapted from gimme some oven and from some other recipe I can no longer find rip

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Made this for the first time in early April 2019, and by mid-April I already used almost an entire batch of this on everything from charred onion and cucumber salad to roasted potatoes to Persian chopped salad. Such a great springtime blend to add something different to your healthy diet!

Just one teaspoon of salt has 2300mg of sodium – that’s way more than people with high blood pressure are supposed to have over the course of a day (source : Harvard). Even though most people get most of their sodium from processed foods like frozen food and bread, it can be easy to go overboard on the salt shaker when you are cooking blander food like potatoes and rice. This is an awesome way to give you the flavor bomb you want while cutting back on your salt intake!

This doesn’t taste like the ranch you grew up with – if you want that, add cheap soybean oil, sugar, MSG, tons of salt, and egg yolks. Even if you hate ranch, give this a try! But if herbs aren’t your cup of tea, try some other salt-free spice blends from around the world!

updated for 2023: i use this *all the time*. favorites include homemade garlic bread, eggs, and grits.

salt-free seasoning blend

My first salt-free seasoning blend was improvised without a recipe. I made a ton, and it was perfect. No clue what I put in it, but my goal is to craft a recipe. Here’s round 2:

1 T coarsely ground black pepper 1/2 T coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 T whole white pepper, coarsely ground
1 T whole mustard seed, coarsely ground
1 T garlic powder or roasted garlic powder
1 T dried minced onion
1 T paprika
3/4 T ground chilli or cayenne
1/2 T dried chives
1/2 T dried basil
1/2 T dried thyme
1/2 T whole coriander seed, toasted and ground
1/2 T whole black or white sesame seeds, coarsely ground
1/4 t powdered ginger
3/4 t dried powdered orange zest
1/4 t smoke powder

There is no particular logic to how this ended up this way besides reading recipes by linda larsen at the spruce eats, bake at midnite, and christina at allrecipes, and whatever I read the first time I made this.

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Needs WAY less black pepper, WAY more sour (lemon zest?), and way more diversity of seasoning. Next time, I will add more smoke powder, more seeds or nuts, lemon zest, and way less pepper!

My salt-free seasoning blends are an essential part of my pantry, so I’m tagging this “favorite”. This will be a living document, edited constantly over time, so check back in to see its evolution!

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I’ll also be doing some different salt-free blends this spring – looking forward to trying a ranch seasoning with no dairy, and a mess of new smokey meat salt-free blends with the smoke powder Mark got me for the holidays. But for now, check out some of my favorite salt-free seasoning blends – like ras-el-hanout, bokharat / baharat, and numbing xi’an spice.

hot and numbing xi’an style spice

This is by far my favorite new condiment. I made a batch for numbing Xi-an style oven-fried chicken, and ate the entire container of the spice blend within a week. Since then, I’ve made two or three more batches, because it’s amazing on eggs, in salad dressing, on pork, on popcorn… everywhere!

This is now a blend I keep in the house at all times, along with my salt-free seasoning blend, bokharat / baharat, ras-el-hanout, and a simple curry powder.

The heat comes from the chili. The “numbing” comes from the Sichuan peppercorns. It’s sweet, savory, hot – a really magical flavor when it comes together. It’s impossible to describe the flavor. Just try this:

It couldn’t be easier. Just toast 1 tablespoon whole cumin seed, 1 teaspoon whole fennel seed, 1 tablespoon dried red pepper flakes (preferably Thai,) and 1 tablespoon whole Sichuan peppercorns, seeds removed. When toasty, grind in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Add a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of brown sugar.

Recipe from kenji at serious eats

I can’t recommend this highly enough! If you like spicy, you’ll love this! Tagged favorite because it’s just that incredible.

advieh (persian spice mix)

this persian spice mix is used for khoresh (advieh-ye khoresh)

add this to your chicken and eggplant stew for amazing flavor. or add it to stir-fry or soups!

2 T cinnamon
2 T dried rose petals
1 t ground cardamom
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 t ground angelica
1 t ground nutmeg
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground coriander seed
1 t dried persian lime powder

grind, mix, and store in an airtight container

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from New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies by Najmieh Batmanglij – a beautiful book heavy on the recipes – so nice to see a cookbook that isn’t mainly focused on art, layout, and food photography – although the photography sprinkled throughout is very nice, and the persian art is even better, the book is squarely focused on the recipes and not the aesthetic. probably the best cookbook i have read all year.

ras-el-hanout (moroccan spice blend)

similar to the middle eastern spice blend known as baharat or bokharat, you will be amazed how incredibly versatile this is.

i highly recommend this on anything from popcorn to stewed chickpeas with dried fruit.

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1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

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recipe from epicurious

baharat (middle eastern spice mix)

another variation of bokharat

1 dried chili
1 T + 1/2tsp coriander
1 T + 1 3/4tsp cumin
2 1/2tsp ground allspice
1 1/4tsp white pepper
1/2tsp ground turmeric
2 1/2tsp of sweet spice mix

preheat oven to 375. crack dried chili and shake out the seeds. roast deseeded chili, and the whole coriander and cumin seeds, for 6 min. cool, crumble/grind, mix with ground spices, and store in airtight container.

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from Honey & Co. The Cookbook by Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer

middle eastern sweet spice mix

for baked goods

10 cardamom pods
6 cloves
1/2 nutmeg
1 1/4tsp whole fennel seeds
2 1/2tsp whole mahleb seeds
1 T + 1/2tsp ground ginger
1 T + 1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

preheat oven to 375.

roast cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg for 5 minutes, then add mahleb and roast another 5 minutes.

cool, grind, and mix together.

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from Honey & Co. The Cookbook by Itamar Srulovich and Sarit Packer

bokharat (arabic seven spice powder)

2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

mix and store in airtight container

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from egyptianfood.org

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very clove-y, so it’s best on things that cook for a long time. so far, i love it in chili and sprinkled on chicken before it bakes. bet this would also be amazing mixed with brown sugar and paprika on ribs. it’s great in stews, like a chickpea stew, or anything with lentils. it’s also perfect on anything grilled, like eggplant or squash, or mixed into ground meat for burgers. it can be brushed onto flatbread dough with olive oil. what do you like to do with your baharat / bokharat?

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update: posted another version here – baharat