In This ArticleView AllIn This Article1. Bragg Organic Sprinkle: 24 Herbs & Spices2. Tony Chachere’s Famous Creole Cuisine No Salt Seasoning Blend3. Red Stick Spice Co. Salt-Free Cajun Blackened Seasoning4. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning Blend5. Frontier Co-Op Lemon Pepper Seasoning Blend6. Burlap & Barrel Herbes de Provence7. The Spice House Shawarma Seasoning8. Spicewalla Ras el Hanout9. Diaspora Co. Garam Masala10. The Spice Lab Salt-Free Salmon Seasoning
In This ArticleView All
View All
In This Article
Bragg Organic Sprinkle: 24 Herbs & Spices
Tony Chachere’s Famous Creole Cuisine No Salt Seasoning Blend
Red Stick Spice Co. Salt-Free Cajun Blackened Seasoning
Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning Blend
Frontier Co-Op Lemon Pepper Seasoning Blend
Burlap & Barrel Herbes de Provence
The Spice House Shawarma Seasoning
Spicewalla Ras el Hanout
Diaspora Co. Garam Masala
The Spice Lab Salt-Free Salmon Seasoning
Photo:Courtesy of Brand
Courtesy of Brand
Even though I’ve known for a long time thateating too much saltcan contribute to various health problems—including headaches, bloating and high blood pressure—I admit that I didn’t pay too much attention to my sodium intake until recently. That all changed when one of my aunts got doctor’s orders to cut way down on salt for health reasons. It was a wakeup call to the whole family to start paying attention to how much salt we eat, and also a challenge to figure out how to keep our food full of flavor, just the way we like it.
Since salt is a flavor enhancer, when you reduce it, you have to get clever about how to enhance the flavor in your meals. One of my favorite ways to boost the flavor in my meals without adding sodium is with store-boughtherb and spice blends. While some foodies turn their noses up at these flavorful convenience items, they’re missing out on an easy way to make meats, seafood, vegetables, grains, beans and more incredibly delicious without added salt.
“Salt-free blends open a world of possibilities and allow you to season food to your liking while still adding a ton of flavor to your cooking,” says Ren Rossini, culinary partnerships manager for Burlap & Barrel, one of my favorite spice purveyors. “They’re so versatile and can be used in savory cooking or baking and are more accessible for people with dietary restrictions.”
Browsing your local grocery store or online, you’ll find hundreds of different no-salt-added herb and spice blends. When our family challenge to cut down on sodium in our meals started, we all began trying out different blends and trading information on our favorites. Here are 11 of our old and new family favorites to try in your kitchen.
If you’re a fan of Bragg’s line of natural-food store staples like nutritional yeast and apple-cider vinegar, thissprinkleis another great product to add to your pantry. The first ingredient is rosemary, and while its flavor is predominant, it doesn’t overpower the other flavors—thyme, parsley, tarragon, garlic, onion and lemon peel. I like it sprinkled straight into salads (a trick I learned from one of my sisters), on steamed or roasted vegetables, onroasted potatoesand on popcorn.
My mom’s side of the family is from Louisiana, so we’re all fond of this no-salt-added take on Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning, a sweet and slightly spicy blend that includes onion, garlic, bell pepper, lemon, herbs and paprika. The thing I love aboutthis blendis that I can use a heavier hand with it than I would with the original without fear of oversalting my dish. Try it on shrimp and other seafood, chicken andoven fries.
This versatilelemon pepper seasoningblend also includes onion and garlic and is especially good on steamed broccoli with butter or olive oil. It’s great to have on hand for any savory recipes that you’d normally use fresh lemon juice or lemon zest in, either as a substitute or an extra punch of tartness. If you can’t find it, I also like theDash Lemon Pepper Seasoning Blend.
While I’m talking about Burlap & Barrel, I have to mention their other fantastic salt-free blends, including a collaboration with the nonprofit organization God’s Love We Deliver, a nonsectarian group that cooks and delivers free medically tailored meals to people in the New York City metropolitan area living with severe illness. The Smoke & Garlic and Herbs & Sumac from that collab are amazing on popcorn, roasted chicken thighs and vegetables. Plus, 20% of the sales from these blends goes to the organization.
Although shawarma usually refers to thinly sliced, deliciously seasoned spit-roasted meat, I lovethis blendof coriander, sumac, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, turmeric, cloves and allspice in vegetarian dishes, includingcrunchy roasted chickpeas, roasted cauliflower andmushrooms.
Spicewalla’s take on the Moroccan spice blend ras el hanout is fabulous onlamb,chickenand fatty fish likesalmon. But I also like using it on roasted vegetables and mixing it into the cooking liquid for quinoa. The blend can vary based on who makes it but typically includes warm spices like turmeric, coriander, ginger and cardamom. Spicewalla has more than a dozen other excellent salt-free blends and since they have free shipping on orders over $49, it’s worth stocking up.
I’ve long been a huge fan of Diaspora Co.’s single-origin individual spices, such as the single-variety chile powders (fruity Guntur Sannam and smoky Sirārakhong Hāthei are two of my favorites), but I only recently discovered theirgaram masala. This versatile blend is made up of a dozen spices, including cumin, fennel, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon and ginger. It’s amazing incurries, onchickenand—like so many of my favorite blends on this list—sprinkled over popcorn.
I eat a lot of salmon, and thisdill-forward blendis a great way to keep my fish dinners interesting. In addition to dill, it has black pepper, parsley, oregano, thyme, garlic and onion, plus a little sugar for a tiny bit of sweetness. So far I’ve only tried it on salmon, but I think it would also be excellent on shrimp and on steamed or roasted vegetables, especially broccoli. And probably popcorn too.
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