Cajun Seasoning

Cajun seasoning brings a taste of the Southern USA to dishes like gumbo, jambalaya, grilled meats and seafood, adding a signature smoky, spicy kick. Make your own for an authentic, bespoke blend adjusted to your tastes.

Cajun Seasoning

Cajun cooking is simply too good to not have a wider audience. Cajun food is known for its bold, flavourful, and hearty dishes, often made with simple, locally-sourced ingredients. this seasoning blend makes it wasy to cook Cajun inspired dishes at home.

The key flavours in Cajun food are bell peppers, onions, celery (the “holy trinity”), garlic, and spices giving its signature depth and heat.

Hallmark dishes include gumbo, a savory stew made with seafood, sausage, and okra; jambalaya, a rice dish with meat, vegetables, and spices; and crawfish étouffée, a rich, spicy shellfish dish.

See also

• Fajita seasoning is a fantastic blend, with warming chilli powder, smoked paprika, and cumin.
  
• My chicken seasoning is a winner for tasty chicken dishes in a hurry. 

• My Seafood seasoning adds delicious layers of flavour to fast cooking seafood.

• All my homemade seasoning blend recipes

I love having a jar of seasoning to hand to add both flavour and character to a dish, and to transport me to another place!

Why make Cajun Seasoning

• Homemade seasoning blends make cooking easy.  This is a one jar flavouring solution, saving time and effort (and putting all those jars back in the cupboard). It has so many uses – anywhere you might use pepper, think about using Cajun seasoning!

• Easy to customize to your taste, feel free to amp up the heat, make it super smokey, make it herby!

• UPF free! If you read the label on a commercial blend you will never ever buy it again – there are so many ingredients that have no place in a seasoning mix!

• A mix means it is easy to add a small quantity of the more powerful ingredients without overwhelming the whole dish. You simply cannot measure less than 1/4 tsp accurately!

• Convenient and saves time – no more searching through the spice shelf every time you cook

Cajun seasoning recipe ingredients

• Smoked paprika – I love hot smoky flavours and a good smoked paprika forms the base for this seasoning. Some sweetness, a little heat and all that lovely smoky flavour.
  
• Hot chilli powder – adds the essential heat to the mixture. I suggest a hot chilli powder, but use what you like. You could use cayenne powder.
  
• Dried oregano – adds a warm and earthy flavours to this mix. Its robust, slightly bitter taste is primarily earthy, but with green flavours of hay and a hint of mint.
  
• Dried thyme – adds more earthy flavours, with hints of citrus, floral flavours and mint.
  
• Black Pepper – for some more heat and warmth – a course or home ground is better.
  
• Garlic powder – by using powder, you add garlic flavours, and save time compared to using fresh.
  
• Ground cumin – even more earthiness, and rounds and balances the flavour of the spice blend.

How to make Cajun seasoning – step by step

Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this Cajun seasoning recipe perfectly every time.

Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.

Step One – Put all the ingredients into a bowl and give them a good stir to thoroughly mix. I like to use a mini whisk to break up any clumps.

Step Two – Transfer to an airtight jar and seal. A jam funnel makes this easy and minimises any spills.

Usage

2-3 teaspoons of seasoning for two people for a main dish, and 1 generous teaspoon for a side for two.

Variations

• Adjust how hot the Cajun seasoning is by changing the type of chilli powder to one with a different level of heat.
• Or, use smoked dried chipotle chilli, for a smokier flavour.

How to use

Cajun spice mixture is so versatile, with many different uses. Here are some of my favourites:

• As a rub for meat, fish or seafood, or use as a seasoning to a dish such as jambalaya
• With potatoes: add to fried potatoes half way through cooking, or a seasoning for Hasselback potatoes.
• Add to soups and stews for an added layer of flavour and complexity.
• Simply use it any time you would use pepper!

Storage

Store the seasoning in an airtight container in a cool, dry cupboard, and it will last for a few months. Don’t try and store it for years, because the spices will lose their flavour. A jam jar is the perfect container, as the glass won’t get tainted by the spices.

The use by date is the shortest date of any of the ingredients.

Hints and tips

• Write the use by date on a label, and stick it to the jar.

• Before using the mixture, give the container a good shake to make sure everything is evenly distributed. A stir with a teaspoon can also do the same job.
  
• It’s better to mix the ingredients in a bowl and transfer them to a jar, as you can check that everything is evenly distributed.

Buying and Storing Spices

I am a frequent user of spices in my cooking, but even then I don’t use enough to use all of a large bag before the spices lose their flavour. I also find that small jars from the supermarket are poor value for money.

So, I buy medium sized packets from a local corner shop, or the “world foods” aisle of the supermarket. Large enough to be good value, but small enough not to have lost all the flavour by the time I get to the bottom of the packet.

I seal the bags with clips, and keep them in an airtight container, itself kept in a cool, dry and dark cupboard.

Ideally, I have separate boxes for savoury spices, dried herbs, and sweet spices.

More American influenced recipes

• BBQ Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken
  
• Slow Cooker Beef Chili (Beef Mince Chili)
  
• Best Easy Brownie Recipes
  
• Pulled Chicken and Chickpea Sloppy Joes

• My best chilli recipes – something for everyone.