Homemade Poultry Seasoning Recipe
Published November 20, 2023. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Learn how to make this delicious homemade poultry seasoning recipe that goes excellent on your favorite turkey dishes. You won’t believe how easy this is to make.
Spice blends and rubs can significantly enhance the flavor of any dish you use them in. You will likely already have many spices in your cabinets that make up some of these great rubs. If you are looking to try out some of these rubs, then be sure to check out my Grilled Pork Chops or Jerk Chicken.
Poultry Seasoning
Poultry seasoning has been used for generations to help season turkey recipes. William G. Bell of Boston is said to be one of the earliest creators of the spice, founding his blend in 1867, known as Bell’s Poultry Seasoning.
You can still find Bell’s Poultry Seasoning in grocery stores today. A simple poultry seasoning blend can easily be made at home with your current spices. It’s very easy to make and lasts just as long as all your dry spices. This simple blend has a unique flavor profile that greatly complements poultry, especially turkey.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Thyme – I prefer to use dry thyme leaves as opposed to ground.
- Sage – This is usually pre-ground, but you can find it in the dry leaf form.
- Rosemary – I like to use the whole dried leaves.
- Marjoram – Any dry-leaf marjoram will do. You can substitute it with dried oregano.
- Pepper – I use ground white pepper, so there are no large black specks in the all-green seasoning. If you only have black pepper, then please use i.t
- Nutmeg – You can use ground or freshly ground whole nutmeg seed.
How to Make Poultry Seasoning from Scratch
Add all the ingredients to a spice blender or a mortar bowl with a pestle.
Grind the spices until they are combined and like a seasoning blend. It’s ok if there are a few big chunks of spices.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 2 months ahead.
How to Store: Cover and keep in your cabinet or a dark place for up to 3 months or as long as each spice will last.
Recipe Chef Notes + Tips
- You can add salt separately or one tablespoon into the mix of this recipe.
- Other spices you can add to this blend are oregano and ginger. If you cannot find marjoram, you can substitute it for oregano.
- If you have all powder or pre-ground spices, then there is no need to grind them up.
- It’s okay if there are a few big chunks of spices after grinding.
- This recipe procedure is for when only leaves of herbs are available.
More Seasoning Recipes
Homemade Poultry Seasoning Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sage
- 1 ½ tablespoons thyme
- 1 tablespoon rosemary
- 2 teaspoons marjoram
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
Instructions
- If using leaves of herbs, then add all the ingredients to a spice blender or to a mortar bowl.
- Grind the spices together in the blender until they are combined or if it’s in the mortar, use a pestle to break up and grind. Store.
- If you are using the powdered or ground version of the spices simply add them to a bowl and whisk until combined. Store.
I made the homemade poultry seasoning for Thanksgiving. It was really good and I already had all the spices in my cabinet!
appreciate you trying it.
This was wonderful! Much better than the store brand I’ve been using
Thanks!
The best of all!!
so good!!
I love this recipe for the seasoning blend. Is it necessary to grind down the spices? I tend to like the whole leaves in most cases.
I have so many other questions to ask, but I will try to limit them for now. Thank you.
The whole leaves are just fine!