10+ Poultry Seasoning Substitutes
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If you wonder what can be excellent poultry seasoning substitutes, this post is for you! It is so disappointing when you are preparing dinner and realize you have no poultry seasoning available.
Poultry seasoning is added to various recipes as it brings a divine burst flavor. It can make a plain poultry dish taste more mouth-watering. As it is used regularly, you will often run out of it.
In case you can not grab another poultry seasoning immediately, here are 10 alternatives for your consideration, as well as how to make homemade poultry seasoning with your available ingredients. But first, let’s take a closer look at poultry seasoning and its distinct flavor.
General Knowledge About Poultry Seasoning You Should Know
Let’s get to know poultry seasoning deeply to choose the most suitable replacement for your foods. Through this section, you will discover what poultry seasoning is, its flavor, and other fascinating information about it.
What Exactly Is Poultry Seasoning And How Does It Taste?
Poultry seasoning is a widely used spice blend in every home kitchen. Its ingredients are pretty versatile, but they usually are sage, thyme, marjoram, and rosemary. Some recipes can contain more or less than these 4 ingredients.
Poultry seasoning has an earthy, woody, astringent, somewhat bitter, and intensely savory taste with a hint of citrusy flavor. When the recipe contains nutmeg, it may produce a sweet-savory flavor. And it will have a more herbal taste if added with rosemary.
How People Usually Use Poultry Seasoning In Cooking?
Thanks to its diverse and complex flavor, people love to use it in poultry dishes like chicken and turkey. It is also suitable for dishes featuring pork, veal, lamb, and veal. Some typical recipes that call for poultry seasoning are stuffing, roasted chicken, gravy, and soup.
People also add it to beef, fish, tofu, meat rubs, salad dressings, meatloaf, casseroles, herb bread, and sauces. You can sprinkle poultry seasoning on the surface of roasted meat and push the mixture of poultry seasoning and butter under the skin.
Poultry Seasoning – A Great Source Of Health Benefits
Besides the delightful and delicate flavor, poultry seasoning is also packed with essential nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and fiber that offer some notable health benefits. (1)
- Constipation: Since most of the poultry seasoning ingredients contain a significant amount of fiber, it can help boost the digestive system and reduce the risk of constipation.
- Anti-Inflammation: Because some elements in poultry seasoning contain antioxidant compounds, it can reduce illnesses resulting from inflammation.
- Osteoporosis: Poultry seasoning is also a great source of calcium which is beneficial for bone health and prevents the symptoms of osteoporosis.
- Cancer: Poultry seasoning is packed with a high level of vitamin K, which can help decrease the risks of certain cancers, including lung cancer, liver cancer, Prostate cancer, and leukemia. (2)
12 Poultry Seasoning Replacements For Your Consideration
Below are 12 excellent alternatives you can choose when you run out of poultry seasoning. However, each replacement will offer a slightly distinct flavor to your dishes. Let’s explore one-by-one substitutes and opt for the most suitable one for your recipes.
This table shows the information about poultry seasoning replacements and the quantity needed.
1. Italian Seasoning
Although its name is Italian seasoning, this spice blend is an American invention and indispensable in Mediterranean cuisine.
Italian seasoning can be one of the best substitutes for poultry seasoning as it shares similar rich and intense flavor and ingredients. Italian seasoning is made from various herbs, including basil, thyme, sage, coriander, rosemary, and oregano.
You can easily find it in a large number of Indian dishes, such as potatoes, meatloaf, pasta, chicken, turkey, and marinades. However, it will bring a subtly earthy and citrusy to your foods in the place of poultry seasoning.
When substituting poultry seasoning with Italian seasoning, the recommended ratio is 1:1. Use a teaspoon of Italian seasoning for every teaspoon of poultry seasoning.
Here is the quickest and easy homemade Italian seasoning recipe you are looking for!
2. Dried Sage
You can also use ground dried sage as a poultry seasoning because it is one of the critical ingredients used to make poultry seasoning. Sage tastes mildly peppery and slightly earthy with a lemon, mint, and eucalyptus note.
To make its flavor closer to poultry seasoning, you can mix ground dried sage with dried rosemary and thyme. Since it has a more robust flavor than poultry seasoning, you should use a half teaspoon of it to substitute for poultry seasoning.
You can mix ¾ teaspoon of dried sage with ¼ teaspoon of black peppercorns to create a hot mixture of spices to add a spicy kick to your dish.
People usually use dried sage to make stuffing, but you can also add it to your fried chicken or fried turkey to enhance the overall flavor.
3. Dried Marjoram
Although marjoram might not be a popular spice, it is included in poultry seasoning. Dried marjoram has a sweet, woodsy, floral, and delicate flavor with a slightly bitter and citrusy note. The taste of marjoram is considered similar to dried thyme.
It also gives a floral aroma. You can use it alone to replace poultry seasoning or create a spice mixture, including dried marjoram and other ground spices.
Unlike fresh marjoram that is usually added at the end of the cooking process, you should add dried marjoram earlier. Dried marjoram works well in stews, pizza, tomato sauce, stuffing, particularly poultry like chicken and turkey.
The substituting ratio is 1:⅓. To replace a teaspoon of poultry seasoning, you should use ⅓ teaspoon of dried marjoram.
4. Dried Thyme
Using dried thyme to substitute poultry seasoning is also a good choice, although it may change the dish’s aroma. Dried thyme yields a sharp flavor that is subtly minty and aromatic that will enhance your food without overwhelming it.
You can come across dried thyme in the turkey, chicken, stuffing, bread, cream cheese, and soup recipes. Mix them with other herbs and ingredients like nutmeg, rosemary, and garlic if you have them at home.
Dried thyme works well in place of poultry seasoning in cream sauces. To have the best substituting result, you should use ⅓ teaspoon of dried thyme for every one teaspoon of poultry seasoning.
5. Dried Rosemary
Because ground dried rosemary is also a staple ingredient of poultry seasoning, it can be a suitable replacement as well. However, it will not offer precisely the same flavor as poultry seasoning as it lacks other ingredients.
Dried rosemary has a woodsy, citrusy, and floral flavor, which is quite intense, but it will not overpower the full flavor of your dishes. It also adds a floral and sweet aroma the recipes call for poultry seasoning.
You can add dried rosemary to roasted chicken, roasted fish, marinades, meatloaf, or potatoes. The suggested substituting ratio is 1:½, which means you can replace a teaspoon of poultry seasoning with a half teaspoon of dried rosemary.
To enrich the flavor of chicken and turkey dishes, you can add dried rosemary with salt and pepper to rub the poultry’s skin. Also, mixing dried rosemary with oregano, thyme, and sage gives you a more robust spice mix.
If you just have fresh rosemary, let’s learn how to make dried rosemary!
6. Zaatar
Zaatar is also a suitable replacement for poultry seasoning as it contains some similar staple ingredients, including marjoram, thyme, and oregano. It is a popular spice blend that is widely used in Middle-Eastern cuisine.
Although containing some similar ingredients, zaatar and poultry seasoning do not share the same flavor profile. Zaatar has a herbal, nutty, and well-rounded flavor. Nonetheless, it also works well in place of poultry seasoning in any recipe.
To avoid your dish being overwhelmed, you should start with a small amount of zaatar before adding more to control your dish’s flavor.
7. Dried Oregano
Dried oregano is also an excellent option to substitute poultry seasoning. Oregano has an aromatic, subtly sweet, bitter, earthy taste and a minty note. Dried oregano frequently appears in Italian, Mexican, Turkish, and Greek cuisine.
People prefer adding dried oregano to their salad dressings, pasta salad, green sauce, chicken, and turkey. You can mix it with dried thyme to make dried oregano come closer to poultry seasoning’s flavor.
The ratio when substituting poultry seasoning with dried oregano is 1:⅓, which means you use a ⅓ teaspoon of dried oregano to replace 1 teaspoon of poultry seasoning. Do not add too much oregano, as it will overpower and dry up your food.
8. Herbes De Provence
The name Herbes de Provence is that the herbs included in this spice blend are grown in France’s Provence region. Some herbs are also ingredients in poultry seasoning, such as thyme, parsley, and rosemary.
However, Herbes de Provence and poultry seasoning do not share the same flavor profile. Some herbes de Provence recipes also contain lavender, and some others do not consist of sage – the critical ingredient of poultry seasoning.
As a result, you should add a small amount of Herbes de Provence when substituting poultry seasoning to ensure that it will not affect the overall taste. It tastes good when combined with grilled fish, meat, and vegetable stews.
9. Salt And Pepper
Salt and pepper are the two ingredients that are surely available in every family kitchen. Although salt and pepper can not provide the unique flavor of poultry seasoning, it is still better than not adding any seasoning to your foods.
You can use any kind of salt and pepper to replace poultry seasoning, ranging from sea salt and black cracked pepper to table salt and black or white fine pepper. If there are any herbs like rosemary sitting around your pantry, add them to the mixture.
As salt and pepper have a solid peppery and salty flavor, pay attention to the amount added to your foods. You need to add a small amount of it first before adding more to prevent your foods from being too salty to eat.
10. Dried Garlic Powder
Opt for garlic powder to substitute poultry seasoning is also a wise choice, although it is rarely included in traditional poultry seasoning ingredients. Moreover, the combination of garlic powder and chicken or turkey is a flavor explosion.
Since garlic powder offers a robust and aromatic, with a slightly harsh flavor, it can upgrade the final cooking result. You can also create a new mixture of aromatic spices by mixing garlic powder with other available seasonings.
Because of garlic powder’s robust and intense flavor, you should start with a small amount of it to not overwhelm your dish. Then, you can add more to suit your taste.
How about trying this crispy garlic chicken thighs recipe for dinner?
11. Turkey Rub
Turkey rub can also be a poultry seasoning alternative as it contains many similar ingredients like poultry seasoning. However, it offers a spicier taste with chili powder, cayenne powder, paprika, black pepper, and red pepper included.
You can use turkey rub to replace poultry seasoning in mostly Turkish cooking and vegetables, lamb, chicken, meat, salad, soup, and Kebab. It also works perfectly in cooking dense and dark meat, such as goose and duck.
To substitute poultry seasoning with turkey rub, you should start with a small amount to easily compensate for the flavor without being overwhelmed.
12. Citrus Blend
Because poultry seasoning has a hint of citrusy flavor, replacing it with the citrus blend is suitable.
To make it more fragrant, savory, and close to poultry seasoning flavor, you must mix citrus blent with other aromatic herbs and spices, including sea salt, black pepper, parsley, rosemary, and garlic.
You can add the mixture of spices you have made to grilled or toasted poultry rubs, such as chicken, turkey, and bird rub.
As the recipe is various, the amount needed to substitute depends on what dish you are cooking. But, you should start with a small amount first before adding more.
Detailed Guide On How To Make Poultry Seasoning Successfully
If the 10 excellent substitutes for poultry seasoning that I have introduced above can not satisfy you, let’s learn how to make your homemade poultry seasoning! The recipe is effortless, but to make it successfully, you need to prepare well all of these ingredients:
- Ground dried sage: 2 tsp
- Ground dried thyme: ½ tsp
- Ground marjoram: 1 tsp
- Black pepper: ½ tsp
- Ground nutmeg: ½ tsp
- Dried rosemary: ¾ tsp
When all of the ingredients are available, all you have to do is mix them finely. Then, store your homemade poultry seasoning in an airtight jar, tin, or bag to prevent it from curdling and losing flavor and aroma.
You can follow this guide to make the perfect poultry seasoning ever!
FAQs
Before wrapping up this article, below are some questions you may have during the reading process. Scroll down to find whether the answer can clarify your curiosity or not!
Which Of The Excellent Substitutes Above Will You Use?
I have introduced to you the general knowledge of poultry seasoning, its suitable substitutes, and the recipe to make homemade poultry seasoning.
Nevertheless, remember that all the ingredients you use to make homemade poultry seasoning have to be dried. If you make your mixture of spices with fresh herbs, you should refrigerate it to prolong its shelf life.
If the provided information is fascinating and helpful for you, do not forget to like and share this article. By the way, leave some words in the comment section to share with me your ideas or your substituting result.
References
- 2021. [online] Available at: <https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/171331/nutrients>.
- Freefoodfacts.com.. Nutrition Facts – Spices, poultry seasoning. [online] Available at: <http://www.freefoodfacts.com/spices-poultry-seasoning/>.