The easiest way to make your own salt-free seasonings. So quick and simple, these 7 seasoning blends will be perfect for your spice cabinet, all with no salt!
Why the h$!! are seasonings soooo expensive? Honestly, they blend up a few different herbs and spices and charge you up the rear for their “special blend”! When, in reality, you can totally DIY your own salt-free seasonings.
It’s time to save money on your seasonings, and I’m going to show you how. But first, some background info.
Tommy and I have been budgeting every month since we got married last September. We follow the Dave Ramsey program, and are working on getting completely debt free.
One of the budget items we struggle with is groceries. Ugh.
We just feel like we spend so much on food! Being a dietitian, I can’t just give up my way of eating and stop buying healthy foods just to save some money.
I have to come up with other ways to lower our grocery bill. In addition to meal planning, budgeting, and meal prepping, I’ve also been making my own salt-free seasonings.
Why salt-free seasonings?
Because you don’t need a bunch of salt to make things taste good. Plus it’s bad for your heart, your blood pressure, and your kidneys.
Salt can also make you hold on to a lot more water than usual, especially in the summer months. I know if I eat something really salty, when I wake up the next morning my hands are sooooo puffy from all the water retention. My beautiful wedding ring barely fits, and that’s just depressing!
If I can flavor things without a lot of added salt, I know I’m doing my body a favor.
RELATED: Meal Planning 101
How does it save you money?
I buy all the spices in bulk at Winco. This is so much cheaper than buying spices in the spice aisle. All you have to do is get your bulk spices, mix them up in a small bowl, and then store them in pretty spice containers like these:
If you want to save more money, just refill your empty spice containers with the bulk spices. Don’t waste your money buying pre-packaged spices anymore!
My 7 Favorite Salt-Free Seasonings:
1. Fajita Seasoning
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Yield: 2/5 cup or just under 7 tablespoons
This salt-free fajita seasoning is what I use for my Chicken Fajita Tacos!
2. Italian Seasoning
- 3 tablespoons oregano
- 1 tablespoon marjoram
- 2 tablespoons thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried sage
Yield: 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons
This one goes great in my Layered Beef Noodle Casserole recipe!
3. Cajun Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon thyme
Yield: Just under 1/2 cup, or 7 tablespoons
I love this one on my fish! I use it for my Blackened Tilapia With Mango Avocado Slaw recipe.
4. Ranch Seasoning
This one you have to combine in a food processor because of the chives. Just pulse until the chives are all flaked and everything is combined.
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons dill weed
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon onion flakes
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried chives
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- Yield: Just under 1/2 cup, or 7 tablespoons
I love this salt-free ranch recipe in my buffalo chicken chili recipe. Grab that one, along with some other great freezer meals here.
5. Curry Seasoning
- 3 tablespoons coriander
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 2 tablespoons turmeric
- 1 teaspoon dried ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon dried mustard
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- Yield: Just over 1/2 cup, or 9 tablespoons
This one could go great on some chicken or curried beef!
6. Taco Seasoning
- 5 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 3 tablespoons cumin
- 2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Yield: Just over 3/4 cup or 13 tablespoons
SO many options with this salt-free taco seasoning. It would work amazing in these vegan black bean tacos or even on my healthy taco salad recipe!
7. Pumpkin Spice
Anyone else super pumped for the fall (aka pumpkin spice season)?! I’ll probably use this spice blend to make a pumpkin spice latte at home once fall gets here.
- 4 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon dried ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- Yield: Just over 1/3 cup, or just under 6 tablespoons
Pin me for later!
xoxo Megan
How can I print these for my use?
Great question, I don’t have a printable version of these but I will be updating this post within the next month or 2 and will be adding a printable along with it! 🙂
My favorite place to buy spice is Savory Spice Shop. The spices are more expensive than grocery store blends, but, they don’t have the fillers and their flavors are more intense. I do avoid some of their seasoning packets because they usually contain salt. I, personally, dislike the taste of too much salt, so most everything I cook is almost salt-free. My husband, on the other hand loves salt, so these blends are a great choice.
Can’t wait to try the Cajun blend. Each one I try taste different. Just want one that consistent and making my own will do that.
The cajun one is my personal favorite, so excited for you to try it!
Do you happen to have a lemon pepper recipe?
I don’t, I’m so sorry! This one looks pretty good though!
sorry…which one are you referring to..for the lemon pepper?
No lemon pepper recipe, but that’s a great idea to add to this post!
Chili powder contains sodium.
I’ve made the taco seasoning and ranch seasoning. But, now I am not sure how much to use if a recipe calls for a packet of taco seasoning or ranch seasoning. Please help.
Hi there! If a recipe calls for 1 packet of taco seasoning or ranch seasoning, that equates to 2 tbsp of seasoning in both cases! Hope that helps!
Thank you sooo much for the spice recipes. I am a Louisiana Girl and I love my Cajun and creole seasonings (full of salt), but my doc has banned me from salt. I’ve spent a small fortune trying other salt free seasonings…now I can blend my own!
My husband who LOVES salt (I can’t have it anymore) loves these fajita and taco seasonings better than the store bought versions!
I’m going to try the ranch mix next. How much would you use for ranch dip? (Regular size container of sour cream – or even dressing?)
Thank you so much for all of this!!
Hi there! I’m so glad I could help! I would try 1 tablespoon ranch mix per 1/2 cup of sour cream. You may need to use a little more since there isn’t salt in the mix, just to make sure there’s plenty of flavor! 🙂
store bought chili powder has salt in it
You’re completely right it does, but not very much, about 40 mg per teaspoon. When I wrote this post years ago I should have titled it “low sodium” seasonings instead. This one definitely needs updating!
Los Chileros brand puts out a no sodium chili powder. Can be found on Amazon.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, I’m still quite young, but I’ve had three heart attacks,an my many doctors can’t tell me why, other than that I’m the healthiest person around,but so tired of bland food, these recipes
are awesome thank you so much for sharing
I’m so glad you’ve found these salt-free seasonings, they will definitely come in handy!
I live on the East Coast and eat a lot of seafood. Do you have a combination of spices that lend itself to coastal eating?
Although I don’t have a specific spice blend for seafood, I use a blackened seasoning on my fish quite often, you can find that recipe here!
where can i buy winco spices in bulk
Hi there!
You can buy spices in the bulk section of the grocery store. Not all grocery stores have bulk spices, but Winco definitely does! I hope that helps 🙂
Walmart has some.
Terrific article
Thank you so much! 🙂
Thanks so much for the inspiration I will be doing my prep this weekend to make sure I have plenty of seasoning options at hand. I have inflammation in my ear and the doc says no salt!! Very tricky as I am a chef and I LOVE salt.
I think you’ll love these blends. I am a salt lover myself, but I still really like these blends because they’re so flavorful! 🙂
I’m looking forward to trying these. Hubby has a heart condition and we were told to stop using No Salt!
I am looking forward to trying these!
Let me know what you think! 🙂
These all sound great! When it doesn’t specifically say to use dried herbs, are fresh herbs to be used? Luckily, I have all these ingredients either in my cupboard or in the herb garden. Thank you for your reply.
Hi Barbara! I used all dry herbs since they’re much easier to work with for seasoning mixes. You could dry herbs from your garden and use them though! 🙂
I’ve never responded to anything on the internet before now but Iam so excited to buy these ingredients and make these awesome salt free seasonings tomorrow..I’m so burned out using just Garlic powder on all my food..
Ty again.
Julien, this makes me so happy! I’m so glad I could help! 🙂
I LOVE all of these homemade seasoning recipes! I agree that it can be SO expensive to buy them pre-made and so many of them are loaded with sodium! Love how you can control the sodium level with these DIY rubs! Will definitely try them out! Thanks for sharing your recipes! 🙂
Wow thank you so much for the great feedback! 🙂 I’m feeling the love lol Let me know what you think of them once you try them out!