All Purpose Seasoning
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This ridiculously easy All Purpose Seasoning mix is a quick homemade spice blend that’s salty, savory, and a little sweet. With just 6 very common pantry spices, you can get a jar of homemade seasoned salt ready to go when you need it.
It has taken me WAY too long to get this all purpose seasoning up on the blog, considering how often I use it. I love seasoning salt. It’s a little smoky, a little sweet, has hints of garlic and of course, a good punch of salt.
BUT I also despise buying extra things when I can literally make it with stuff I already have. That’s why I started making this all purpose seasoned salt recipe. I use it on literally everything. Roasted potatoes or broccoli, check, twice fried french fries, check, that flank steak on the grill, check again.
What’s In All Purpose Seasoning?
There’s a great divide on the internet about what makes a good all-purpose seasoning. If you look at a dozen versions they’re all a little different. Some have dried herbs, some have a dozen ingredients, and some, like mine, are super, super simple, and easy to toss together.
- Salt – I’ve used kosher and fine sea salt, both work but I find the finer grain easier to use in blends because coarse salt sinks to the bottom. Even distribution is key!
- Black pepper – I only have whole peppercorns, so I just ground them up finely in my pepper mill. You can use what you like, but again with a coarse grain pepper, you’ll have sinking and distribution issues.
- Smoked paprika – this is the sweet pepper and smoky note that is so essential to the success of this seasoned salt.
- Garlic powder – either granulated or a finer powder both work.
- Onion powder – same for this – either granulated or finely ground.
- Sugar – say WHAT? I know, but hear me out!! IT IS KEY! White granulated sugar is the kiss of perfection for this blend. It doesn’t make things ‘sweet’ or dessert-like, but it does caramelize, add a hint of sweetness, and frankly is just damn delicious.
I like to keep this simple, most of the time this is all I put in. On occasion I’ll add some dried oregano, but only if I have it.
The point for me is to be able to open my spice pantry, pull out the basic staples I always keep stocked, and combine them into a fantastic all purpose blend that I can sprinkle on anything when I’m pressed for time.
FAQ’S
It’s the easiest thing in the world – just add it to a small jar and shake! Keep it to my ingredients list or add a dried herb or two to make it your own. I’d recommend adding the herbs in the quantity as the paprika.
For me they’re the same. Before I became obsessed with minimizing my pantry and making things from scratch, I used Lawry’s seasoning salt on a lot. This is my replacement, and I call it all-purpose…because it is!
When you’re ready to use it, give it a couple of good shakes, and then sprinkle it on whatever you’re using. Aside from french fries or other freshly fried things, I recommend seasoning before cooking.
That really depends on your spice pantry. Spices have an ‘expiration date’ but they don’t exactly spoil. It’s more about potency. If your paprika is three years old, it’s probably not as flavorful as it was when it was fresh. This all purpose seasoning will last for a year I’d say, but if your spices are old, refresh them before you mix up a batch.
You bet! Double it, or if you’re wanting a big jar of it ready to go, just use tablespoons instead of teaspoons and you’ll have plenty to last you a good long time.
All Purpose Seasoning
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 3 teaspoons finely ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 1/4 teaspoons granulated sugar
Instructions
- Combine in a jar and shake to mix. Shake before using.
- Store in a dark, cool cupboard for longest shelf life. Doesn't spoil, but may lose potency after a year or so.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information and cooking times are provided as a best estimate. Values may vary based upon ingredients and equipment.
Wow! This all-purpose seasoning is a must in every kitchen storage! An awesome and perfect seasoning to boost and add more flavor to our dishes! Plus we only needed 6 ingredients for this! Loved it!
Jamie, Thanks, it is a great blend good for any dish you wish to use it in. I used mine this morning in our fried potatoes!
This is such a great idea and so simple to make! I’m trying it on roast potatoes to start with, but I’m also pretty sure that I will be adding it to almost anything in no time!
Thanks Anna, I’m glad you found it a simple recipe to put together. I would love to hear what you family thought of the roasted potatoes with the all purpose seasining.
I have never tried to make my all-purpose seasoning and this one is so easy and amazing! Thank you!
That is great to hear, I know you will find it delicious in so many dishes.
Thanks. Perfect seasoning for any dishes. A bottle in my kitchen is a must.
I would love to hear the dishes you are using it with, I use mine on veggie dishes, all my proteins and on salads too!
I made this all-purpose seasoning and have been using it on everything from beef to poultry. It tastes amazing on veggies and in potato dishes as well!
Marta, I’m so glad you like it and have found multiple dishes to use it with!
Hello! I’m hoping that your Christmas was lovely, and that it brought you and yours joy. I have a question regarding this blend since seeing that you used this in your crispy baby potatoes recipe. For that recipe, I thought that the sugar was used to caramelize the potatoes and give it a beautiful color, but reading that you also use it on meat and vegetables makes me wonder how it affects the flavor; I’m going to be making the potatoes later this week, so I’m curious. So – how *does* the sugar work in this blend? (Oh! And I’m making your sugar cookies on Thursday, I’m very excited!)
Hi Kate! So sorry I was late responding to this! I had did have a lovely (and crazy!) Christmas, I hope you did as well. I hope you enjoyed the sugar cookies! So I LOVE the sugar in this seasoning mix. It’s just enough so I’ve never had issues with burning, but it adds a great sweetness to things. If you like bbq sauce on your meat, then this seasoning is perfect, just a touch sweet, but mostly savory! I would avoid very high direct heat, like on a grill over direct flame or in the broiler, because the sugar can caramelize and burn, but you should be good to go otherwise. Hope that helps and enjoy 🙂