Blackened Seasoning Recipe

This easy homemade blackened seasoning tastes and sears-up just like store-bought, but with the bonus of customizing the spininess and saltiness to your own taste.

What Is Blackened Seasoning?

Blackening seasoning (sometimes labeled blackened seasoning or blackening spice) is the key ingredient for amazing blackened chicken and other blackened dishes. This mix of spices gives the meat its characteristic spicy, smoky flavor and that deep dark color that you know and love.

It typically contains paprika, dried thyme, dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper.

Depending on where you’re located, blackened seasoning can be tricky to find in some grocery stores. It also might not be economical to buy a full container, unless you’re using it frequently.

Luckily, it’s pretty easy to make your own seasoning blends from standard spices. There’s a good chance that you already have all or most of the spices needed for this spice mix.

Blackened Versus Cajun and Creole Seasoning

Blackened seasoning uses a lot of similar spices as Cajun seasoning, but it has herbs (thyme and oregano) as well. Blackened seasoning is also similar to Creole seasoning, but blackened seasoning has a lot of paprika, which the Creole lacks entirely. It’s due to the paprika and herbs that blackened seasoning gets its classic darkened crust, so neither of those other blends is therefore a great substitute. If you have one of them and want to use it, go ahead, but you might want to add in some paprika, thyme and/or oregano, and know that you might not get that blackening.

Make A Small Batch

If you want a batch of Blackened Seasoning in your pantry that you can grab and use whenever, then scroll down to make the full recipe. However, if you just want a small batch to use right now in a recipe that calls for blackened seasoning, or, if you just want to know approximately how much of each ingredient to add directly to something that you’re cooking, I have the info for you here.

Customizing Your Blackened Seasoning

I will tell you that I often find blackened seasoning to be too salty. That’s party because we tend to go a bit heavy-handed with it as a coating so that we get that blackened effect. It is for that reason that I love making my own blend.

The recipes above and below are pretty similar in terms of salt levels to a lot of store-bought brands because the goal I had was for you to be able to make something that is similar to what you’d buy at the store, so that you can use it in recipes that call for it. But, you can absolutely reduce the amount of salt in the recipe if you, like me, sometimes find it too salty.

Similarly, you can increase or decrease the amount of black pepper and of cayenne to get the exact level of heat that you like.

Using Homemade Blackened Seasoning

You can use this mix for a variety of dishes including seafood like fish and shrimp, pork chops, and even vegetables, but I usually use it on chicken. You can get more details on cooking blackened chicken in my recipe, but here are the basics.

Heat your oven to 450°F while you prepare the protein. Unroll chicken thighs or pound chicken breasts to an even thickness for best results. You can use this directly on fish fillets, salmon, shrimp and pork chops. Once seasoned (see amount to use below), heat a cast iron skillet, or other heavy-duty skillet, over medium heat. Add a swirl of oil to the skillet. Add the piece of meat, fish, or poultry. You want to let the spices start to darken and form a crust. It takes 3-4 minutes on each side. Then for thicker items that need more time to cook through, transfer the skillet to the oven and let it bake until the desired internal temperature is reached. That’s 165°F for chicken, 145°F for pork, beef, and for most seafood.

If you’re cooking a larger roast, then you would start would use a lower oven temperature, like 350°F. You’d still sear the meat as instructed, but then it goes into that lower oven to finish getting to its desired temperature.

How Much Blackened Seasoning To Use

Sprinkle the blackened seasoning generously on all sides of your protein. How much you use depends on two key factors: (1) flavor of the protein, and (2) thickness and surface area.

(1) Flavor of the Protein

Use less seasoning on milder meats so the spice blend doesn’t overpower the natural flavor. This includes:

• White fish
• Shrimp
• Pork tenderloin or loin
• Chicken breasts

Use more seasoning on bolder-flavored meats, which can handle stronger seasoning:

• Salmon
• Chicken thighs
• Beef
• Pork shoulder or butt

(2) Thickness and Surface Area

The thinner the cut, the more surface area it has relative to its interior. This means seasoning will be present in every bite, so go lighter.

Thicker cuts have more interior meat per bite, so they can handle a heavier coating. More seasoning on the surface helps balance the unseasoned inside.

Single-Serving Pieces: General Amount Guidelines

For single-serving pieces (like chicken breasts, thighs, salmon portions, pork chops), use about 1 tablespoon per 8 ounces of meat.

• 8 oz chicken breast = 1 tablespoon
• 4 oz chicken thigh = 1½ teaspoons
• 5 oz salmon portion = 1¾ teaspoons
• 1 lb shrimp = 2 tablespoons

These are just guidelines—think in terms of a liberal, even sprinkling that coats the outside.

Multi-Serving Pieces: General Amount Guidelines

Multi-serving pieces include roasts, ribs, and whole fish or sides of salmon.

For larger, thicker cuts, like most roasts, you’ll need more seasoning, since each slice has a lot of unseasoned interior.

For thinner cuts (e.g., ribs, pork tenderloin, whole fish, sides of salmon), you’ll need less seasoning, since more of the surface ends up in each bite.

More Seasoning Mixes

Make more homemade spice blends with these amazing recipes.

• Copycat Old Bay Seasoning
• Santa Maria Steak Seasoning
• Montreal Chicken Seasoning Recipe
• Pot Roast Seasoning
• Homemade Guacamole Seasoning Recipe

Podcast Episode: Making Blackened Seasoning