Use this customizable spice mix to enhance your seafood dishes — and so much more!
Seafood seasoning is a mixture of spices and various herbs that are traditionally used to season fish or seafood before cooking.
I am a huge fan of seafood seasoning — my favorite personal use is preparing grilled shrimp and zucchini noodles separately and then sprinkling them with seafood seasoning for a flavorful and healthy lunch.
I always have seafood seasoning on hand, largely because I follow my own seafood seasoning recipe, which is super simple to make.
A lot of these ingredients may already be in your spice cabinet, so you may find this surprisingly easy to make last minute. And even if you have to purchase new ones, you’ll find they are versatile enough to use for an array of recipes and seasoning mixes in the future, so you’re not wasting a dime.
I’m big on making the most of my money and I can tell you that seafood seasoning spices are ones you surely want on hand for a multitude of reasons!
Our Best Seafood Seasoning Recipe
The ingredient list for seafood seasoning is as follows:
- 3-4 tablespoons salt (start with less and add more to taste)
- 3 2/3 tablespoons ground celery seed
- 2 ½ teaspoons dry mustard powder
- 2 ½ teaspoons red pepper flakes, ground
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground bay leaves
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
You can use any type of salt in your spice blend, but many people prefer sea salt.
How to Make Seafood Seasoning
Making seafood seasoning is easy!
Prep time: Start to finish prep time is 15 minutes or less!
Serving size: This recipe yields 180 servings, equal to 1 cup.
Simply gather the above ingredients and measure them accurately.
Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix together until thoroughly combined.
Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place (out of direct sunlight — like your pantry).
This recipe has no fat or carbs.
Ground spices are freshest within 3 months of preparation, and will stay fresh for approximately one year, so properly stored seafood seasoning mix should last you a significant amount of time!
Can I Adjust the Recipe?
Absolutely!
Play around with the ingredients that are called for, or consider adding others. Consider adding cayenne, coriander, white pepper, basil, oregano, smoked paprika, or onion powder, among other aromatic spices.
Some people prefer their seasoning to have more or less salt, so adjust your seasoning to taste by adding or omitting ingredients as you see fit.
The fun part about building your own seasoning recipe is that you can customize it for your personal preferences or dietary needs.
What Can I Use Seafood Seasoning For?
Besides the obvious — any seafood dishes from crab cakes to all types of fish — seafood seasoning is actually very versatile and can be used on a variety of meats and vegetables.
Seafood seasoning is essentially a seasoned salt, which makes it perfect for just about anything. Another excellent use for seafood seasoning is soups, anything from vegetable-based to seafood chowders and bisques.
It can be particularly delicious on burgers, especially veggie burgers, or baked chicken breasts.
You could also use it on one of these Thanksgiving seafood dishes!
Other Seasoning Recipes
We love doing everything ourselves — after all, it’s what can make or break the recipe! As a result, we have a TON of seasoning recipes that have been perfected over the years to share with our loyal readers.
The good news is these seasoning blends contain natural ingredients and can all be easily modified depending on your preferences to give you the perfect blend that suits you.
Of course, you can always buy seafood seasoning online or from a store with a brand like Old Bay (or something else) — but now that you see how simple it is to make your own and customize it, why not DIY!
Seafood Seasoning Spice Mix Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Medium bowl
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp salt (add more to taste if desired)
- 3 2/3 Tbsp celery seed ground
- 2.5 tsp dry mustard powder
- 2.5 tsp red pepper flakes ground
- 1.5 tsp black pepper ground
- 1.5 tsp bay leaves ground
- 1.5 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cloves ground
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp ginger ground
- 3/4 tsp cardamom ground
- 0.5 tsp cinnamon ground
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients and measure them accurately.
- Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix together until thoroughly combined.
- Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.