Making your own Homemade Italian Seasoning Recipe is easy, convenient, and completely customizable. A delicious blend of dried herbs and spices, enjoy this Italian seasoning added to baked chicken, homemade croutons, and all your favorite pasta or pasta sauces.
Italian Seasoning
Italian seasoning, traditionally made from a blend of basil, oregano, rosemary, and thyme now comes in countless versions and varieties often including ingredients such as crushed red pepper, sage, cilantro, and even garlic powder.
Despite its name, Italian seasoning did not originate in Italy. In fact, this popular seasoning blend originated in the Mediterranean with the purpose of mimicking the flavors of Italian foods.
What I love about making my own homemade Italian seasoning is that I have the freedom to add more or less of my favorite herbs so that it tastes exactly how 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 seasoning blends right in the middle of cooking my favorites such as Baked Chicken Parmesan and Chicken and Broccoli Stuffed Spaghetti Squash.
What is in Italian Seasoning
The ingredients in Italian seasoning include,
- Dried Oregano – Oregano is more flavorful when dried than fresh. Aromatic, warm, the potential to be quite spicy and somewhat bitter, its intensity varies by quality and region of cultivation.
- Dried Basil – Unlike oregano, basil has a much weaker flavor when comparing dried versus fresh. Still an essential part of any Italian seasoning blend, its taste is more grass-like, a little like a mixture of hay and licorice.
- Dried Thyme – Earthy and more delicate flavoring. Thymes lemony undertones blend well with just about everything.
- Dried Marjoram – A member of the mint and oregano family, marjoram and oregano, when fresh, are often confused as they look quite similar. Unlike oregano, however, marjoram is typically sweeter, more delicate, and less spicy when compared to oregano.
- Dried Rosemary – Stong, flavorful, and somewhat bitter, dried rosemary is woodsy, similar to thyme, but more bitter if too much is added.
- Dried Sage – sweet and somewhat bitter with notes of eucalyptus and citrus. The most important thing to note about dried sage, however, is that dried sage does not have a long shelf life. In other words, it isn’t recommended that you add year-old dried thyme to your homemade Italian seasoning.
Optional (less traditional) additions:
- Dried Cilantro – You’ll see that I added some dried cilantro to this mix. No, cilantro is definitely not traditional to Italian cooking, but I love it, so I added a small amount. Feel free to add it in there or leave it out.
- Red Chili Flakes – I love just the tiniest little hint of heat. If you’re not a fan or you’re cooking for super sensitive kiddos, you may want to leave out the red chili flakes.
- Garlic Powder – I did not add garlic powder, but I know that several Italian seasoning blends do. My reasoning for leaving it out is simple, I prefer fresh garlic. If you typically add garlic powder rather than fresh garlic to your cooking, you may want to add a half teaspoon or so to your blend.
Should you add salt?
This is an excellent question. Personally, I decided to leave the salt out of my Italian seasoning recipe. Leaving salt out of the blend allows me to cook recipes with a blank (salt) slate. No need to worry about how much salt may or may not already be in there.
What is the difference between Italian seasoning and Herbs de Provence?
While there are several overlapping characteristics between Italian seasoning and Herbs de Provence, the two are actually quite different.
As mentioned, Italian seasoning originated in the Mediterranean containing a blend of basil, oregano, rosemary, and thyme.
Herbes de Provence, on the other hand, is a mixture of dried herbs originating in the southern French region of Provence. The original version of this seasoning blend contained rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, and savory. It wasn’t until the 1970s that lavender leaves were added to blends sold in the North American market.
How to make Italian Seasoning
Technically there are two ways of making Italian seasoning depending on how “blended” you prefer your herbs.
Either way, making your very own personalized Italian seasoning blend is super easy and takes just a few minutes!
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In the first method, gather all your spices, measuring spoons, and a small mixing bowl. Add all ingredients to the bowl and mix well to combine. That’s literally it.
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For a more blended Italian seasoning, gather your dried herbs, measuring spoons, and a small food processor. Add all ingredients to the bowl of your small food processor and pulse until desired consistency is reached. Again, that’s literally all it takes.
The Italian seasoning you see in these images were not blended in a food processor. I didn’t find it necessary, however, you do whatever works best for you.
Italian seasoning uses
This is, without a doubt, one of the most regularly used ingredients on this blog. Delicious with everything – not just Italian food – some of my favorite recipes include:
- Jambalaya
- Super Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce
- Three Bean Salad Recipe
- American Goulash Recipe
- Bruschetta Chicken
- Skinny Baked Popcorn Chicken
How to store and how long does it keep?
It’s important to store your homemade Italian seasoning in a dry, air-tight jar or container out of direct sunlight. Feel free to recycle old spice jars or use a small mason jar with twist-on lid.
Although your Italian seasoning will last up to 6 months or so, I recommend using it within 4 months for best results.
For more Italian recipes, check out:
- Italian Pasta Salad Recipe
- Easy Baked Ziti Recipe
- Bruschetta
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Easy Shrimp Scampi Recipe
If you try making this Italian seasoning recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
RECIPE CARD
Italian Seasoning Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon dried oregano
- 3 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 tablespoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoon dried marjoram
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon dried sage
- 2 teaspoon dried cilantro - optional (not authentically Italian)
- 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes - optional (see notes)
Instructions
- Combine - Add all ingredients to a small bowl. Mix well to combine.
- Store - Transfer to an airtight jar or container and keep stored in a cool place for up to 6 months.
Jessica's Notes
- Add more or less red chili flakes to suit your own personal preference.
- If you prefer a more blended Italian seasoning, transfer the spices to small food processor and pulse until desired consistency is reached.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
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