Creole Seasoning Substitutes: Homemade, Cajun and What to Use Without Either

Out of Creole seasoning? Mix your own from paprika, garlic powder, thyme and cayenne, or reach for a jar of Cajun seasoning, which on the spice shelf is close to the same thing. Either way, check the salt. The best-known jar, Tony Chachere’s Original, lists salt first,¹ while homemade blends lead with paprika and some have no salt at all, so a recipe written for one may need a salt adjustment for the other. The salt math for each option is below, along with fixes from Old Bay, Italian seasoning, Greek seasoning and adobo.

Quick answer

How the ratios on this page are labeled

Every ratio carries one of four labels.

• Computed: based on a measurable physical relationship.
• Attributed: a named source publishes this ratio. We quote it as theirs.
• Disputed: named sources give different answers to the same swap. You get each one, side by side.
• Method: our starting point, based on how the two compare. Taste and adjust.

Here, the Computed figures cover salt only. They’re arithmetic from the sodium on Nutrition Facts labels, so they apply to the products named. Nobody we found has published a heat measurement for any Creole blend.

What you are replacing

Creole seasoning is a ground Louisiana blend with no fixed recipe. Cook’s Country, which tests Cajun and Creole seasonings as one category, found that most commercial blends combine paprika, garlic, salt and pepper with some heat from cayenne or red pepper, and some add dried thyme or oregano.²

The jar leads with salt; the homemade version leads with paprika. Check which kind your recipe was written for. A recipe built around a salt-first blend may not tell you to add salt separately.

Thyme and oregano share the same signature compounds, which is why they can stand in for each other in a Creole-style blend.

If you want the closest overall match

1. Make your own

Everything in a Creole blend is a standard pantry spice, so homemade gets you closest.

Cook’s Country’s homemade Louisiana seasoning, meant for both Cajun and Creole cooking, is mostly paprika, then garlic powder, with smaller amounts of dried thyme, cayenne, celery salt, salt and black pepper. They suggest it for chicken jambalaya, chicken sauce piquant and pork grillades.²

Formula and ratio (Attributed): PepperScale’s homemade Creole seasoning goes the other way: it’s herb-led and has no salt. It’s 2 tablespoons paprika; 1 tablespoon each garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, dried basil and dried thyme; and 1 teaspoon each black pepper, white pepper (optional) and cayenne. Use it 1:1 for Creole seasoning, with 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne for less heat or 2 teaspoons for more. For a smoky version, PepperScale gives, per tablespoon of Creole seasoning, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and thyme, and a pinch of cayenne.⁴ Neither has salt, so add it to taste.

Amount (Method): Cook’s Country’s blend leads with paprika, and salt is only a small part of it.² A salt-first jar like Tony Chachere’s will be saltier spoon for spoon.¹ Use the homemade blend 1:1 for flavor, then taste and add salt.

The USDA’s purchasing specification, written for government buyers, not home cooks, puts mustard and fresh lemon peel in its Creole minimum but not its Cajun one.³ Want that difference in your homemade blend? A little dry mustard and grated lemon zest are the place to start. That’s our reading of the spec, not a tested recipe.

2. Cajun seasoning

In Louisiana, Cajun and Creole name different people and different cooking. On the spice shelf, though, the line is thin. Cook’s Country tests the two seasonings as one category.² Slap Ya Mama Original Cajun lists salt, black pepper, red pepper and granulated garlic,⁵ which is close to Tony Chachere’s Creole.¹ Tasting Table, citing MasterClass, says you can use them interchangeably, with Cajun the spicier and Creole the more earthy.⁶ The state tourism office’s guide says Cajun food is well seasoned but not necessarily hot: cayenne “is seasoning, not the main event.”⁷

Ratio (Attributed, with Computed salt): Tasting Table calls them interchangeable but doesn’t give a figure.⁶ PepperScale does: swap Cajun seasoning for Creole 1:1. It notes that Cajun seasoning usually runs spicier, and to get closer to Creole’s herbal side it suggests an extra 1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano per tablespoon.⁴ Then salt decides whether you need to adjust:

The 1/3 teaspoon is simple math: a teaspoon of Tony Chachere’s has about 1,360 mg of sodium, a teaspoon of McCormick Signature about 640 mg, and Morton lists its table salt at 590 mg per quarter teaspoon.¹⁸⁹ If your recipe was written for a paprika-led homemade Creole blend, skip the extra salt.

3. Old Bay

PepperScale suggests Old Bay 1:1 for Creole seasoning, or, to stay closer to Creole, 1 part Old Bay mixed with 2 parts paprika.⁴ McCormick’s label lists celery salt, then spices including red and black pepper, then paprika. So Old Bay brings a celery note that Tony Chachere’s label doesn’t name.¹⁰¹ See Old Bay vs. Creole seasoning.

Ratio (Attributed, with Computed salt): Old Bay has 125 mg of sodium per quarter teaspoon, about 37 percent of Tony Chachere’s 340 mg. Swapping it 1:1 for that jar, add about 1/3 teaspoon of table salt per teaspoon of Old Bay to match (Tony Chachere’s is about 1,360 mg per teaspoon, Old Bay about 500 mg, Morton table salt 590 mg per quarter teaspoon).¹¹⁰⁹ The paprika version is lower in salt still, so season to taste. If your recipe was written for a salt-free homemade blend, use Old Bay without extra salt.

If you have no Louisiana blend at all

Italian seasoning, with paprika, garlic powder and cayenne

Formula and ratio (Attributed): PepperScale mixes 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning with 2 teaspoons paprika, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, and uses the blend 1:1 for Creole seasoning. Italian seasoning already has the oregano, basil and thyme;⁴ the paprika and cayenne bring color and heat.

Salt (Computed): The formula has no salt. To match a salt-first jar like Tony Chachere’s, add up to about 1/2 teaspoon of table salt per teaspoon of the mix (1,360 ÷ 2,360 mg).¹⁹ If your recipe was written for a homemade blend, salt to taste instead.

Seasoned salt, with paprika and cayenne

Formula (Attributed): PepperScale mixes 2 teaspoons seasoned salt with 1 teaspoon paprika and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne for every tablespoon of Creole seasoning called for. Seasoned salt already leans salty, it warns, so taste before adding more.⁴

Greek seasoning, with paprika and cayenne

Greek seasoning shares the salt, garlic and black pepper of a Creole jar, plus oregano. Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning lists salt, black pepper, corn starch, garlic, monosodium glutamate, oregano, a flavor base, parsley and other spices.¹¹ McCormick’s Greek seasoning lists salt, spices, garlic, sugar, maltodextrin, onion, autolyzed yeast and lactic acid.¹² Neither label names red pepper or paprika, so on its own, Greek seasoning brings no heat and not much color. The MSG and yeast also make it more savory than a Creole jar.

Ratio (Computed salt): Cavender’s has 241 mg of sodium per quarter teaspoon,¹¹ about 71 percent of Tony Chachere’s.¹ Use it 1:1, add a pinch each of paprika and cayenne per teaspoon, and taste before adding salt. The pinches are just a starting point, not a measured match. McCormick’s Greek seasoning lists salt first, but we couldn’t get its sodium figure.¹²

Adobo seasoning, with paprika and cayenne

Goya’s adobo lists salt, garlic, black pepper, oregano and turmeric,¹³ and TASTE describes most adobo blends as garlic, pepper, salt and oregano.¹⁴ Goya’s blend has no chile, so no heat, and the turmeric tints things yellow.

Ratio (Computed salt): Goya’s adobo has 520 mg of sodium per quarter teaspoon. To match Tony Chachere’s salt (340 mg), use about 2/3 as much adobo (340 ÷ 520).¹¹³ Then add paprika and cayenne to taste, starting with a pinch of each per teaspoon. The pinches are only a starting point.

Chili powder, with salt

The USDA’s purchasing specification says chili powder should include ground chili pepper, cumin, oregano, salt and garlic powder.³ So you get chile, garlic and oregano, like some Creole blends, but also cumin, which pulls the dish toward chili con carne. It’s low in salt. USDA FoodData Central’s reference sample works out to about 77 mg of sodium per teaspoon (2,870 mg per 100 g, at 2.7 g per teaspoon).¹⁵

Ratio (Computed salt): Start with chili powder 1:1 for the spice. To match the sodium in a teaspoon of Tony Chachere’s (about 1,360 mg), add about 1/2 teaspoon of table salt per teaspoon of chili powder.¹¹⁵⁹ The 1:1 amount is a starting point. Chili powders vary in heat, so taste before you add cayenne.

What isn’t known

• PepperScale is the only source we found that publishes ratios for replacing Creole seasoning with another blend or a quick mix. No second source gives a figure for the same swaps, so none is Disputed.⁴ The salt figures are arithmetic from the labels of the products named.
• We didn’t find a published heat measurement for any Creole or Cajun blend, so how much cayenne to add comes down to taste.
• Brands don’t publish their spice proportions beyond the order of ingredients.
• No source we found draws a consistent ingredient line between retail Creole and Cajun blends. The USDA’s minimum lists are a purchasing spec, not a description of what’s on store shelves.²³

Related

• Creole seasoning and Cajun vs. Creole seasoning
• Cajun seasoning and Cajun seasoning substitutes
• Greek seasoning, adobo seasoning, chili powder
• Paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, celery salt
• Old Bay vs. Creole seasoning, jambalaya spices, all-purpose seasoning substitutes