One way to save money and also avoid additives and preservatives in the kitchen is to make your own seasoning packets! I’m not very daring in the kitchen, so I have used a lot of pre-made packages in the past. But, I now love making my own and thought I would share with you my favorites of the ones I’ve used.
1. D R Y O N I O N S O U P M I X
I use this mix ALL the time on our crock pot roasts! It’s so simple to do a delicious roast with this mix. I just rub down the roast, add sliced onions, a big can of diced tomatoes and some sweet potatoes, and 8 hours later we have an amazing dinner ready. My only complaint about this recipe is that it involves using bouillon granules, which usually have MSG. So, you’ll have to be intentional about finding bouillon granules or another beef broth starter that doesn’t have any ingredients that you’re trying to avoid.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup dry onion flakes or onion powder
2 tablespoons beef bouillon
1/4 tsp parsley flakes
1/8 tsp celery seed or celery salt
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
The soup mix rubbed right into the roast. Yum!
2. T A C O S E A S O N I N G
I use this seasoning even more often – probably about once a week! We use it in tacos, taco casseroles, fajitas, taco salad, etc. When I make the seasoning I usually make at least 3X what the recipe calls for so that I have to make it a lot less often. I keep it in the pantry in a sealed, small tupperware container. I usually use about 3 tbsp per pound of ground meat, but you could do more or less as you like.
1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3. C H I L I P A C K E T S E A S O N I N G
This is not only good to make chili (just add ground beef, beans and canned tomatoes), but can also be used in any recipe that calls for a chili seasoning packet. You just stir it all together and store it in an airtight container, just like you would with the taco seasoning. It makes enough seasoning for a 6 serving chili.
2 tsp flour
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp tried basil
1/8 tsp pepper
Enjoy! Do you often cook with seasoning packets? Or do you make your own seasonings?
grapefruit / 4649 posts
Fun! We don’t do the seasoning packets but we do buy various spice blends from Penzeys and we go through tons of our favorites. Taco and adobo are our go to ones. I will have to see if making our most own would be more cost effective. Thanks for the inspiration!
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
This is so brilliant! Especially since I always seem to *think* I have them in the pantry. But I don’t.
pomegranate / 3779 posts
These look yummy, but I’m with @Cole above, we have a handful of Penzey’s blends that we use on everything.
blogger / nectarine / 2608 posts
I make my own seasoning blends, like fajita, Cajun, etc. I appreciate having control of what is in them, and have found it to be less expensive. I think it can be a really liberating and useful thing to realize all of the things that are easy and cost effective to make yourself, if you are so inclined. I really enjoy cooking in general– that helps, of course.
guest
Love this! I can get easy spice blends at the store, but it’s so much cheaper and without creepy extra ingredients (preservatives, etc.) to make it at home. Thank you!
nectarine / 2210 posts
Growing up my mom never used season packets, so I was slightly appalled when my husband used a store bought taco seasoning packet. I’ve since convinced him to ditch them, and we’ve slowly starting perfect the perfect mix of spice for us.