Cajun Seasoning Recipe

Cajun Seasoning

Carolyn Shearlock

2011

Dave and I like — well, no, love — Cajun food. I probably make gumbo or jambalaya at least once a week. But this past weekend, we had some truly great crawfish etoufee. The blend of spices was just perfect, better than any mix I’ve ever made or bought.

And the best part is that our friend who made it, Drew Daugherty, enthusiastically gave me the recipe for his Cajun seasoning and told me to share it here on The Boat Galley!

That’s Drew in the photo, having just won the Y-Flyer National Championship. He’s also an excellent keelboat sailor.

In our cruising, we found that we virtually never found pre-mixed Cajun seasoning outside the US, but we could almost always find the ingredients. And Drew’s mix is a lot better than the one I used to make!

Cajun Seasoning

Author: Carolyn Shearlock

Recipe type: Seasoning

Prep time: 3 mins

Total time: 3 mins

Serves: any number

Make your own Cajun seasoning blend with far less sodium than most commercial blends and fantastic taste. Use it in Cajun cooking and more!

Ingredients

1 part red pepper (cayenne)
1 part black pepper
1 part white pepper
2 parts ground thyme
4 parts oregano
1 part garlic powder
1 part salt
Make this Cajun seasoning blend in any quantity you want — each “part” can be a teaspoon, tablespoon, ¼ cup or more.

Instructions

Put it all in a large shaker, put the lid on and shake to mix.
You can also mix it in a plastic bag or even a cup.
Store it in an airtight container.

Notes

For a spicy dish, such as gumbo or etoufee, use about 1 teaspoon of this Cajun seasoning per serving (it will be pretty spicy, although not unbearably hot). This takes the place of the spices that might be called for in the recipe. Adjust the amount up or down, depending on your preference for mild to spicy. To liven up things like rice, hash browns, or fried eggs, just sprinkle some over the top like you would salt or pepper. It’s also good on vegetables, in soups and on burgers (you might want more than just a sprinkle on burgers).

As written, Drew’s Cajun seasoning has 9% of the sodium in an equivalent amount of salt. If you use Lite Salt instead, it’s less than 5%. You can even leave the salt out completely; it’s still a good blend and you’re down to zero sodium. My preference is the Lite Salt option — I have to watch my sodium but that doesn’t mean that I can’t have any. (Read my longer article on ways I prepare flavorful food with low sodium.)

Lots of times cruising, it’s hard or impossible to find your favorite spice blends wherever you are. We included “recipes” for making a number of them yourself in The Boat Galley Cookbook‘s Substitutions chapter.