I always get rave reviews from my readers about my seasoning blends, and I have a feeling that this one will be no different! Blackening seasoning creates a deliciously rich crust on whatever meat you’re searing. Chances are you have all the ingredients on hand now so you could use it tonight!

Mason canning jar with blackening seasoning.

Blackening Spice Recipe

I have been creating gifting-worthy spice blends for about 15 years now! I try to make them easy to make with simple ingredients you can find ANYWHERE, and give you a lot of ideas to use them!

This blackening seasoning is a great shortcut that will save you from opening several spice jars during dinner prep. It’s easy use, and can be used anywhere in a recipe that calls for “blackening seasoning” or the combination of spices used in a blackening recipe.

What is Blackened Seasoning?

I used to think that blackened chicken/fish was food that was slightly charred — and thus “blackened”.

Nope.

Blackening seasoning is a combination of spices that coats a piece of meat and then creates a richly spiced crust when it is seared.

That’s it! Just a spice blend!

My blend uses a lot of smoked paprika because I love that extra smoky flavor.

Ingredients for blackening seasoning: garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, dried oregano, dried thyme, black pepper, salt.

Blackened Seasoning Recipe ingredients

Smoked Paprika – You can use regular paprika if you don’t have smoked, but I preferred smoked paprika when I was testing this recipe.
Sea Salt – I use Himalayan pink salt, but you can use fine sea salt, too. If you use Kosher salt, you’ll need to increase the amount by 1 teaspoon.
Ground Black Pepper
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder – granulated garlic works OK here, too.
Dried Thyme
Dried Oregano

How to make Blackening Seasoning

Put all the ingredients into a lidded jar.
Store at room temperature.
That’s it. ;)

All of the spices spooned into a small bowl, but not mixed yet.

How to Blacken Foods with Blackening Spice

When you use the blackening seasoning, you’ll want to coat the chicken or fish or whatever you’re using with a generous amount of the seasoning. This allows it to form that delicious crust!

What to use Blackening Spice on

There are a lot of recipes for blackened [insert meat] on the Internet, but if you would like a couple of recipes that I’ve tested out and that my family loves, try one of these!

Blackened Fish Tacos

Blackened Chicken Skillet

How to store Blackening Seasoning

Like all of my seasoning blends, you can store this in a lidded container (spice jar, canning jar, etc) at room temperature for several months.

Blackening Seasoning Recipe FAQs

What is the difference between blackening and cajun seasoning?

Actually… not a lot. They’re often used interchangeably and have the same paprika/onion/garlic base.

How do you get blackening seasoning to stick?

When you sauté the meat, try not to move it around. Let it sit for a few minutes, undisturbed when it first goes into the hot pan in order to form the crust. Then try to only flip it one time. The more you poke, nudge, and flip the meat around, the more seasoning crust you’ll lose.

Why is it called blackened?

“Blackened” refers to the dark color of the crust that is formed from the heavy-handed spice blend you rub onto the meat once it’s sautéed. It shouldn’t burn unless the pan is turned up too high.