Cajun Seasoning

Cajun Seasoning is so easy to make and can be added to anything for a bold smokey, garlicy, and peppery kick. This homemade blend contains NO SALT so that you can control the saltiness of each dish.

Enjoy all your favorite flavorful southern dishes with this salt free Cajun Seasoning! Add this spice mix to your pantry collection so that you can easily add it to any dish to spice it up a bit. It’s great as a rub for chicken, shrimp, and roasted veggies. Or you can throw it in soups, sheet pan meals, homemade fries, and of course the classics like gumbo, Crawfish Étouffée, jambalaya, Louisiana Chicken Pasta, Creamy Cajun Pasta with Smoke Sausage,…

Homemade Cajun Seasoning

Anyone else annoyed with seasonings that contain salt? Just give me the flavor! I can add the salt, thank you very much. Well, now you can make your own Cajun Seasoning and add however much salt you want to your food.

What is Cajun Seasoning?

Cajun seasoning is a blend of spices that originated in Louisiana where the Cajun cuisine all began. This mix is a peppery garlic blend with smokey undertones from the paprika and sweet earthy flavors from the thyme and oregano.

Cajun Seasoning Ingredients:

• Paprika– I highly recommend using smoked. It has a greater depth of flavor.
• Garlic powder– Don’t skimp on the garlic!
• Black Pepper– Use fine cracked pepper.
• Cayenne Pepper– Yes, there is a lot of cayenne pepper. Cajun food is supposed to have heat.
• Onion Powder– This adds lots of flavor. Even if you don’t like onions, you need onion powder.
• Dried Oregano– Has an earthy, slightly bitter flavor.
• Dried Thyme– Adds an earthy sweetness.

What does Cajun seasoning taste like?

Cajun Seasoning has a mixed flavor profile of smokey, garlicy, peppery, and earthy.

How to Make Cajun Seasoning:

Mix the spices together in a bowl and then pour through a funnel into a container with an airtight lid.

How to store homemade seasoning?

Store your Cajun Seasoning in an airtight container. You can use a spice container or just a glass jar.

It will stay fresh up to a year. It won’t make you sick after that but it will lose its potency and therefore not flavor your dish properly.

As will all spices, a dry, dark environment is ideal for storage.

Cajun vs Creole

Creole and Cajun both have their own culture and cuisines but blend well together. The Creole cuisine comes from those of European (French and Spanish) or African descent from the West Indies or French and Spanish America. Creole is “city food” and consists of a wide variety of ingredients brought to the New Orleans ports from the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and Native Americans.

Cajun cuisine was developed by French Canadian immigrants and is known as “country food” because of the rural area they settled in. They lacked access to the resources of the city but held to their French heritage and made adaptions to make due with what Louisiana’s agriculture offered.

There is a lot of overlap of both cuisines but an easy way to distinguish between the two is that Cajun dishes do not contain tomatoes; however, after generations of being blended together you’ll find that many “Cajun” recipes call for some tomatoes.

Another distinction is that a Creole roux is made with butter while Cajun is made with oil. This is due to the Creole kitchens having access to technology like ice boxes to preserve ingredients.

Cajun Vs Creole Seasoning

Both of Cajun and Creole Seasoning contain paprika, garlic, pepper, and herbs however Cajun tends to be a little spicer and Creole uses more herbs including the addition of basil.

To make the below Cajun Seasoning more of a Creole Seasoning, add 1 tablespoon dried basil.

Here are some recipes this seasoning would be great in:

• 20-Minute Simple Salmon & Asparagus (Use 2 teaspoons in place of spices except salt.)
• 5 Cheese Mac & Cheese (Add 1/2 tablespoon for a little kick.)
• Salsa Chicken Tacos (Add 1/2 tablespoon for a bold flavor.)
• Sheet Pan Paprika Chicken (Use 1 tablespoon in place of the 1 tablespoon paprika.)
• Sheet Pan Baked Tilapia (Omit spices and herbs except salt and use 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning.)