Homemade Poultry Seasoning Recipe: Learn how to make your own blend of herbs and spices to turn chicken or turkey from bland and boring to a bold and flavorful family meal.
What Are Poultry Seasonings?
You might be curious about what’s in poultry seasoning! Poultry Seasoning is just a mix of spices that are often used in recipes for turkey and stuffing. I always add a little spoonful to my broth or chicken soup to give it that savoury taste we associate with turkey dinner. Herbs like sage and rosemary give food a homey taste.
You can buy it in the spice section of the grocery store or online, but you can also make it at home quickly and easily.
You probably already have all of these ingredients, so making your own poultry seasoning blend is easy. Except for the rosemary, you may already have mixed most of the spices. I just put it in my coffee grinder or magic bullet to grind it up a little bit.
Once blended, this can be stored in an airtight container or spice jar for up to 6 months and is an excellent substitute for store-bought poultry seasoning. This recipe only makes 3 tablespoons, but it’s easy to double or triple the amount if you want more.
It goes well in dishes like casseroles and dumplings that use chicken. When I roast a turkey or chicken, I also rub the outside with olive oil and then sprinkle it with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. It makes the most delicious, crispy, savoury skin.
Recipe for Seasoning Poultry
This is my go-to seasoning for chicken, especially chicken breasts that I bake in the oven.
When I make my own seasoning at home, I love that I can add more or less of my favourite herbs and spices to make it taste just the way I like it.
I can also make an extra-large batch so I don’t have to worry about running out of one of my most-used spice mixes in the middle of making one of my favourite dishes, like Baked Chicken Parmesan or Baked Chicken Thighs.
What’s in Poultry Seasoning?
Some of the things that go into homemade poultry seasoning are:
Dried Thyme
Earthy and more subtle in taste. The lemony notes in thyme go well with almost anything.
Dried Oregano
Dry oregano tastes better than fresh oregano. It has a strong smell and is warm. It can be quite spicy and a little bit bitter, but the intensity depends on the quality and where it is grown.
Dried Basil
When comparing dried basil to fresh basil, it has a much weaker flavour than oregano. It is still an important part of any spice mix, but it tastes more like grass, like a mix of hay and liquorice.
Dried Marjoram
Marjoram comes from the same family as mint and oregano. When they are fresh, they look a lot like oregano. Marjoram, on the other hand, is usually sweeter, more delicate, and less spicy than oregano.
Dried Rosemary
Strong, tasty, and a little bitter, Dried rosemary has a woodsy smell, like thyme, but if too much is used, it tastes more bitter.
Garlic Powder
Like fresh garlic, garlic powder has a lot of flavours. I wouldn’t say much more. I only added 1 tablespoon to this recipe.
Paprika
This spice, which is mild and a little bit sweet, is used to flavour and colour different foods.
Onion Powder
Onion powder is dried and ground onion. You can find it in many different spice mixes or seasoned salts.
Dried Sage
With hints of eucalyptus and citrus, it is sweet and a little bit bitter. But the most important thing to remember about dried sage is that it doesn’t last very long. In other words, you shouldn’t add dried thyme that is a year old to your own homemade poultry seasoning.
Red Chili Flakes
I like just a little bit of heat. If you don’t like spicy food or are making food for kids who can’t handle much heat, you might want to leave out the red chilli flakes.
Do You Need to Add Salt?
This is an excellent question. I chose to leave the salt out of this recipe for poultry seasoning. Leaving the salt out of a recipe lets me start with a salt-free slate. There’s no need to be concerned about how much salt is already present.
- The herbs and spices in this shallow bowl are used to make homemade poultry seasoning.
- A shallow bowl filled with chicken and poultry herbs and spices.
How to Make Seasoning for Poultry
Depending on how “mixed” you like your herbs, there are two ways to make your own seasoning (particularly the rosemary).
Either way, it’s very easy and only takes a few minutes to make your own unique poultry seasoning blend.
Gather all of your spices, measuring spoons, and a small mixing bowl for the first method. Put all the ingredients in the bowl and stir them together well. That’s the end of it. You can add salt and pepper right to the seasoning mix, or you can wait and add them to the chicken instead.
Collect your dried herbs, measuring spoons, and a tiny food processor for a more blended seasoning. In the bowl of your small food processor, combine all of the ingredients and pulse until the desired consistency is attained. Again, that’s the only thing that’s needed.
The poultry seasoning in these pictures was not mixed in a food processor. I didn’t think it was important, but you should do what works best for you.
Uses for Poultry Seasoning
This chicken spice, like my handmade Italian seasoning, is without a doubt one of the most commonly used components on this blog. Sprinkled on everything, not just chicken and turkey, it tastes great. Some of my favourite recipes include:
- Bruschetta Chicken Recipe
- Italian Ratatouille Recipe (Ciambotta)
- Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
- Greek Tortellini Salad Recipe
- Chicken and Broccoli Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
How to Store It and for How Long?
Your homemade poultry seasoning should be kept in a dry, airtight jar or container that is not in direct sunlight. You can use old spice jars or a small mason jar with a lid that twists on and off.
This seasoning can last for about 6 months, but for the best results, you should use it within 4 months.
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