Greek Seasoning
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Look no further for the BEST Greek Seasoning recipe! Use it on your meats, seafood, pasta, vegetables, salads and dressings and more, this is a fabulous all-purpose seasoning with the perfect blend of flavors!
Why I Love This Greek Seasoning
I developed this Greek Seasoning recipe many years ago after being frustrated with the various blends available on the market. I wanted something bolder, more vibrant, more flavorFUL! And so after experimenting with different ingredients and ratios I finally cracked it….the ultimate homemade Greek Seasoning mix! It’s deliciously versatile and it has remained one of our family’s favorite seasoning blends. It’s the blend I use to make my homemade Greek Gyros and slow cooker Greek Chicken and is so versatile, it makes a great all-purpose seasoning.
It’s super quick and easy to make so you can either make it on demand in small quantities or you can double or triple it and store it to have on hand. Made from scratch, it’s free from additives and preservatives and tastes sooo much better than Cavender’s or the other stuff you find at the store.
Greek Seasoning Recipe
Combine all the spices and grind them to a fine powder in a spice or coffee grinder. I’ve been using my KRUPPS Spice/Coffee Grinder for years and it’s still going strong.
Note: If you prefer the appearance of flaky green herbs in your spice mix you can skip blending it in the grinder. However we recommend grinding it together to ensure an even ratio of ingredients when you shake the seasoning blend onto your food.
Storage
Store your blend in an airtight jar away from light and it will keep for a few months. For the best flavor, make it in small batches and consume within 2 months.
How to Use Greek Seasoning
This Greek Seasoning is a fantastic all-purpose spice blend that will add a Mediterranean flavor twist to a wide variety of foods. Here are just a few ways you can use it:
- Seasoning and Marinating Meats: This blend is excellent for both marinating and seasoning meats. Rub it on chicken, pork, beef, lamb, or seafood before roasting, grilling, baking, or frying. Mix it into ground meat to make Greek-flavored meatballs. I use this to make my Greek Gyros and Greek Chicken.
- Salad Dressing: Mix it with olive oil, lemon juice, and a little vinegar for a zesty salad dressing to drizzle over your Greek salad, feta cheese, fresh veggies, or olives.
- Roasted Vegetables: Toss your favorite vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, zucchini, bell peppers, and eggplant eggplant, or bell peppers, with this seasoning and olive oil and then roast them in the oven.
- Soups and Stews: Add some to your soups and stews for added depth of flavor. It pairs particularly well with tomato-based soups and bean soups.
- Grains and Legumes: Add some to your grain dishes like rice or quinoa and to lentils and beans while they’re cooking to enhance their flavor.
- Dips and Spreads: Stir some into Greek yogurt or sour cream to create a tasty Greek-inspired dip for fresh vegetables, pita bread, or as a refreshing topping for grilled meats. Remember, the intensity of Greek seasoning can vary depending on the brand or homemade recipe, so adjust the amount you use based on your personal preference. Start with a small amount and gradually add more if desired. Enjoy experimenting with this versatile blend of herbs and spices to add a Greek flair to your meals.
For seasoning meat, aim for about 2 tablespoons of this blend per pound of meat. If using it to season grains like rice, use a tablespoon per cup of uncooked grains. For dip, use 2 teaspoons per cup of sour cream/yogurt.
For more delicious homemade seasoning blends be sure to try my:
- Old Bay Seasoning
- Curry Powder
- Creole Seasoning
- Montreal Steak Seasoning
- Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
- Elote Seasoning
- Sazon Seasoning
- Pizza Seasoning
- Pickling Spice
- Poultry Seasoning
- Seasoned Salt
- Garam Masala
- Chaat Masala
- Dukkah
- Za’atar
- Chili Powder
- Chinese Five Spice
- Shichimi Togarashi
- Mixed Spice
- Taco Seasoning
- Berbere
- Baharat
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Greek Seasoning Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (note: freshly ground black pepper is less volume than non-freshly ground, so if using non-freshly ground use about half the amount)
- 2 teaspoons beef bouillon powder
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Combine all the spices and grind them to a fine powder in a spice or coffee grinder. Store in an airtight jar away from light until ready to use. Will keep for a few months but for best flavor use within 2 months.Makes about 1/2 cup.
Video
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet on Apr 4, 2013
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Love the idea of dried shiitake mushrooms and fennel. Anyone else try the dried mushrooms? Also why “beef” bullion out of curiosity?
Hello. I couldn’t use the powdered bouillon at all as it has MSG in it and will put me in the hospital – so I left it out. However, I did use a tablespoon of Better than Bouillion Beef Base in with the sauce – that has no MSG – and it worked great. Otherwise – love this seasoning. Thanks for sharinbg.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Kathi, thanks for the feedback!
Another thumbs up from me. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Steve!
Thankyou, Kimberly ~
Today, I was privileged to serve up Greek Gyros for lunch for a young family. First time for homemade. I used your spice blend recipe to augment a basic pkg of herbs already in the cupboard, plus a bit of fennel et smokey paprika. “Marinated” a combo of 1 lb ground lamb et 3/4 lb ground turkey for about 30 minutes, etc. Had made the Tzatiki sauce early this am. What was not homemade was the Naan flatbread, though it was fresh et tasty (never had that before either. I am used to baking breads of different types, so in the future, will be baking my own Naan – it is so easy – have in fact been pan frying flatbread style off et on for years, just didn’t know it had a “name.” Anyway, Thanks again. I think the company, as well as me, enjoyed their Lamb Gyros. Iced cucumber water probably didn’t hurt either.
Best thing, from the very start to the good-byes [and even after, the cleanup] was very enjoyable.
Thanks so much for the feedback, Constance, and I’m so glad that you and friends enjoyed it!
You can get Chicken McKay Seasoning Broth, and also Beef McKay, at the health food store. They are vegetarian. You can get it with or without MSG. You can also get Savorex, and other bouillon replacements at the health food store, or ask a SDA Christian.
I made keto Gyros today using this seasoning. I made one small change since I did not have any beef bouillon by grinding up two dried shiitake mushrooms for the umami flavor.
I used a pound of beef and a pound of lamb and added 4 tablespoons of the seasoning. Love your recipe. Thanks for your efforts.
Wonderful, Sue, I’m so glad you enjoyed it and the dried mushrooms was a great call as a substitute – thank you!
What beef bullion do you use? All the stuff I can find has like 800mg salt per tsp which seems like a lot more than you are showing.
THANK YOU! i HAVE TRAVELLED EXTENSIVELY TOO AND IN PARTICULAR nORTH Africa so am conversant with many meditterranean spices, always wanted the Greek mixture as it’s no difficult to find in the grocery stores. I use Harrissa a lot to give food heat and it’s perfect.
Celery seeds aqre a good addition too as they give that slight aniseed taste often found in Greek dishes, fennel works too!
We are not cultural at all, but like to mess around in the kitchen. We got out meat for fajitas, but didn’t have enough Mexican ingredients so looked up Greek on a whim. Your blend got an A+ from both of us and our 4 young children! We used the entire recipe (minus parsley because we were out) on approximately 3-4 lbs of sliced flank steak. It was slightly spicy but not enough to be minded by the kids. Served with flat bread and the only veggies in the house–carrots and radishes. A creamy sauce would have made it completely over the top!
I’m so happy to hear it was a family hit, Rachel, thank you!
This was so good. I placed 5 frozen breasts in the crock pot along with some broth, cooked it overnight and then wanted to slice it but it ended up being shredded I made your seasoning and poured about 1/2 of it in with the chicken along with some of the broth. So good. I am having company for lunch and usually I don’t make something new but I was today and I am so glad I did.
I’m so happy to hear that, Debbie, thank you!
Ok, I made this, but I did not have beef bullion and I did not have parsley. It was still tastes great without it. I used this on chicken. I will definitely be using this again. I do not have a coffee grinder and I think it would be better if I did grind it all together. I saw gyro seasoning at the store, but it was loaded with msg and didn’t want that. S9 glad I found this recipe. Thanks for posting it.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Diane, thank you! If you make it in a larger quantity you can also try using a blender.
I have 4 lbs of lamburger. I want to make gyro meatballs for Christmas. If I double this recipe do you think that would be an appropriate amount of the spice mixture?
In general how much of the spice blend to mix with a pound of meat?
Hi Vicki, this makes approx. 8 tablespoons of seasoning mix. I would say about 3 tablespoons of the seasoning per pound of meat. What I would do is start with that amount, break off a bit of the seasoned ground meat, fry it up and taste it – then you can determine if you want to add more.
I love this mixture! I recently started cooking for a Kashmiri & he misses his home-type foods. So I’m learning as much as he is(men don’t cook there, so I’m making both of us learn,lol) I omitted the onion & black pepper,& added allspice, rosemary, & coriander. I use it w/ beef ribs on a 3 hour slow simmer w/ a can of beer to give it that malty, rich flavor. In a pinch, 1/2 can Dr. Pepper works, but it won’t be exactly the same.
That sounds awesome, Kelly, thanks so much for the feedback!
How much does this entire batch make ? 1/4 cup?
Hi Susan, yes, about a 1/4 cup.
Please review your instructions for fresh ground pepper quantities; if we follow your premise that fresh ground occupies less volume (which in itself is wrong, as pre-ground spices compact over time; you don’t even need to grind any pepper to prove that, simply get your container of pepper and transfer some to another vessel, let’s say a shot glass, using a funnel, stop when full and tapping it on its side will magically create some more space to fill), your 2 teaspoons freshly ground would be equivalent to more than, not less, of already ground pepper. Aside from that, as Greek as cinnamon might be, it is not a part of traditional gyro recipes, nor is nutmeg. Your mix might be tasty, but no different than those cooks who surmise that throwing feta and Calamata olives in a recipe makes it “Greek”.
I and most other Americans have not been to Greece. However, I can be fairly certain that the culinary history of Greece as a country follows most, if not all of the many and diversified paths that other countries (and regions) have followed over the centuries. Until the 20th century, people living in most countries rarely traveled more than 50 miles from their home. And the food they prepared was made from recipes based on the ingredients available within 10 or 15 miles of their home. Therefore, there often were huge regional differences on how one prepared a particular dish. And what fun they had arguing about which recipe was the best and/or authentic. There are some ingredients that, while excellent quality, do not “travel” well and therefore are substituted, even today, by local or other ingredients that travel better. Here in the USA, we often craved the “tastes of the world” but again, until relatively recently some of the ingredients were not available in one part of our country or another. Each cook did the best that they could with the ingredients available and we ended up with many regional recipes for the same dish. That is probably the reason that in the USA, the farther you are from, say, Mexico, the less authentic the Mexican food available to you is. That does NOT mean that one region’s version of a dish is better in any way than another region’s. It DOES mean that the people of that region have become accustomed to the version of a particular dish made with ingredients that were historically available to their ancestors. Please keep this in mind when judging someone else’s culinary efforts.
Excellent observation, Pat. Thanks for you insights.