Seasoned Salt Substitute: Best Swaps

Seasoned salt is salt first and spice second, so the main job of any substitute is putting back the right amount of salt. Lawry’s and Morton’s Season-All both list salt first,¹² and US labels list ingredients by weight, heaviest first.³ The labels also let you measure it: Lawry’s Original carries 380 mg of sodium per 1/4 teaspoon,¹ and Morton’s iodized table salt carries 590 mg in the same 1/4 teaspoon.⁴ Get the salt right with table salt, then fill in with paprika, onion powder and garlic powder. Old Bay, adobo and sazón work too, once you adjust the salt.

Quick answer

What the seasoned salt is doing	Best substitute	Starting amount, per 1 teaspoon seasoned salt	Treatment
Seasoning beef, burgers, fries or potatoes	Your own mix: table salt plus paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and a pinch of sugar	About 5/8 tsp table salt plus about 3/8 tsp of the spices	Computed (salt), Method (spices)
Same job, from a jar	Morton Season-All or Tony Chachere’s Creole	1 tsp	Computed (salt)
Seafood, chicken or fries	Old Bay, plus salt	1 tsp Old Bay plus a scant 1/2 tsp table salt	Computed (salt)
A garlic-forward shake-on	Goya adobo	3/4 tsp	Computed (salt)
Rice, beans or stews	Goya sazón, plus salt	1 tsp sazón plus about 3/8 tsp table salt	Computed (salt)

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.

Every Computed figure here is about salt only. It comes from dividing the sodium on one product’s Nutrition Facts label by another’s, for the products named. It tells you nothing about flavor, and other brands will differ.

The salt in each option

Product	First ingredients	Sodium per 1/4 tsp	1:1 swap gives, vs. Lawry’s Original	Source
Lawry’s The Original Seasoned Salt	Salt, sugar, spices (paprika, celery seed, turmeric), onion	380 mg	100%	¹
Morton Season-All Seasoned Salt	Salt, spices (chili pepper, black pepper, celery seed), maltodextrin, paprika	350 mg	92%	²
Tony Chachere’s Original Creole	Salt, red pepper, black pepper, chili powder, garlic	340 mg	89%	⁵
Lawry’s 25% Less Sodium	Salt, potassium chloride, sugar, spices	270 mg	71%	⁶
Goya Sazón with Coriander and Annatto	Monosodium glutamate, salt, dehydrated garlic, cumin	170 mg (1 g serving)	45%	⁷⁸
Old Bay	Celery salt (salt, celery seed), spices (including red and black pepper), paprika	125 mg	33%	⁹
Goya Adobo All-Purpose with Pepper	Salt, garlic, anticaking agent, black pepper, oregano, turmeric	520 mg	137%	¹⁰
Morton Iodized Table Salt	Salt	590 mg	155%	⁴

The percentages are our math from the labels: each product’s sodium divided by Lawry’s 380 mg.

If it is seasoning beef, burgers, fries or potatoes

Morton suggests Season-All for ribs, beef and pork.² This is the job most recipes have in mind.

1. Make your own

Salt (Computed): A teaspoon of Lawry’s Original carries about 1,520 mg of sodium (4 × 380 mg).¹ At 590 mg per 1/4 teaspoon,⁴ about 5/8 teaspoon of table salt carries the same. For Morton Season-All (1,400 mg per teaspoon), it’s a little over 1/2 teaspoon.²⁴

Spices: Fill out the rest of the teaspoon, about 3/8 teaspoon, with paprika, onion powder and garlic powder, plus a pinch of sugar and celery seed if you have them. Those are the flavorings on the Lawry’s label,¹ but no maker publishes its proportions, so this is a starting point, not a copy. Mix a batch, taste a pinch on a potato or a bit of cooked meat, and adjust.

Making your own lets you pick the salt level. Want less sodium? Keep the spices and cut the salt. Lawry’s own reduced-sodium version lists 270 mg per 1/4 teaspoon, partly by adding potassium chloride.⁶

2. Another seasoned salt or a Creole blend

Ratio (Computed, salt only): Morton Season-All gives about 92 percent of Lawry’s sodium in a straight swap, and Tony Chachere’s Original Creole about 89 percent.²⁵¹ Both are close enough to use 1:1. The flavors differ, though. Season-All lists chili pepper and black pepper and no sugar,² and Tony Chachere’s lists red pepper second,⁵ so expect more heat than Lawry’s sugar-and-paprika profile.

If it is on seafood, chicken or fries

Old Bay

McCormick describes Old Bay as celery salt, 18 herbs and spices, and paprika, and suggests it for chicken, fries and vegetables, among other things.¹¹ Celery salt is listed first,⁹ so it tastes more of celery and pepper than of onion and garlic.

Ratio (Computed, salt only): Old Bay lists 125 mg of sodium per 1/4 teaspoon,⁹ about a third of Lawry’s. A teaspoon of Old Bay plus a scant 1/2 teaspoon of table salt comes close to a teaspoon of Lawry’s in sodium.¹⁴ Add the salt separately instead of adding more Old Bay, or the pepper climbs right along with it.

If you want a garlic-forward shake-on

Goya adobo

Goya’s adobo with pepper lists salt, garlic, an anticaking agent, black pepper, oregano and turmeric.¹⁰ No onion, no paprika. It leans on garlic and oregano.

Ratio (Computed, salt only): At 520 mg per 1/4 teaspoon,¹⁰ adobo is saltier than Lawry’s. Use about 3/4 as much (380 ÷ 520 = 0.73) to match the sodium.¹

If it is in rice, beans or stews

Goya sazón

Goya suggests its sazón for meats, stews, soups, poultry, pasta, rice, beans and vegetables.⁸ Its label lists monosodium glutamate first, then salt, dehydrated garlic and cumin, with coriander, annatto (for color), Yellow 5 and Red 40.⁷ So along with salt it brings savory depth, a strong orange-red color, and cumin, which seasoned salt doesn’t have.

Ratio (Computed, salt only): Goya’s Coriander and Annatto sazón lists 170 mg of sodium per 1/4 teaspoon,⁸ 45 percent of Lawry’s. Use it 1:1 and add about 3/8 teaspoon of table salt per teaspoon.¹⁴ Goya sells low-sodium versions too,⁷ which would need more added salt, so check the box.

What isn’t known

No maker publishes the proportions of the spices in its seasoned salt, so there’s no way to show a homemade mix matches Lawry’s or Morton’s.
All the Computed figures are for the specific products and labels named. Store brands and other versions will differ, so read the sodium on your own jar.
You’ll often hear that Lawry’s was the first product of its kind and that seasoned salt is especially tied to soul food. We couldn’t trace either claim to a source.

Lawry’s The Original Seasoned Salt, 16 oz, label ingredients and Nutrition Facts via ShopRite. shoprite.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹
Season-All Seasoned Salt, Morton Salt. mortonsalt.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶
21 CFR 101.4, Food; designation of ingredients, eCFR. ecfr.gov · Regulator ↩
Morton Iodized Table Salt, Morton Salt. mortonsalt.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶
Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning, label via Giant Food Stores. giantfoodstores.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³
Lawry’s 25% Less Sodium Seasoned Salt, 8 oz, label ingredients and Nutrition Facts via ShopRite. shoprite.com · Merchant ↩ ↩²
Sazón with Coriander and Annatto, Goya Foods. goya.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³
Goya Sazón With Coriander and Annatto, Goya online shop. shop.goya.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³
Old Bay Seasoning, 16 oz, Nutrition Facts and ingredients via ShopRite. shoprite.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³
Adobo All-Purpose Seasoning with Pepper, Goya Foods trade page. trade.goya.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³
OLD BAY Classic Seafood Seasoning, McCormick. mccormick.com · Merchant ↩

Seasoned Salt Substitutes, With the Salt Worked Out From the Labels