A simple combination of herbs and spices give you a supply of your own homemade Southwest Spice Blend. Use it for grilling or roasting meats, and more.
What exactly is my Southwest Spice Blend?
Myy recipe is a simple rustic chunky blend, more resembling the texture of a Montreal steak seasoning, rather than the more common fine spice mixes resembling a rub.
The difference with my Southwest Spice Blend is that I’m combining dried onion flakes, parsley flakes, Mexican oregano and crushed red pepper flakes. All of these are somewhat large in size compared to most fine blend jarred spices.
Chili powder and garlic powder join in for a traditional Southwest flair and the star of the show is adding chicken bouillon powder or granules.
This Southwest Spice Blend is a recipe that one of our Chef Instructors and I stirred together one day at Culinary School to season pork to make shredded pork tacos. During the process, we wanted it to be robust, we wanted it to be simple, we wanted to avoid a blend with an over-achieving list ingredients to confuse our tastebuds.
We wanted a Southwest Spice Blend that would build flavor, rather than mask flavor.
Let’s take a look.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chili Seasoning: Don’t confuse Chili Seasoning with a single blend red chile powder. Chili seasoning is a blend of several spices developed to season Texas Style Chili Soups. To learn more reference my article Chili vs. Chile.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Red chile flakes are the key component on kicking up that Southwestern heat we all love.
- Mexican Oregano
- Garlic Powder: Or Garlic Granules.
- Kosher Salt: Chefs prefer Kosher for it’s pure salt flavor.
- Dried Onions: Dried onions start as white onions that have been chopped and dehydrated. During the drying process, they become toastier and richer in flavor than fresh onions.
- Dried Parsley: Dried parsley not only adds color, but adds a mild, slightly sweet and earthy flavor to this spice blend.
- Chicken Bouillon: Full of savory umami flavor, it also brings a blast of salt and poultry.
Mexican Oregano is preferred for this recipe. It’s peppery, grassy, earthy flavor is a good compliment for Mexican Food. If you don’t have Mexican Oregano, substitute Marjoram. Known for its aroma and delicate flavor, its related to oregano and will bring a sweet undertone to any recipe.
Step By Step Instructions, It’s Easy
- Step 1: Simply combine all ingredients in a bowl and use a whisk to blend. Store in an air-tight container, preferably a Mason-style jar.
Stored in an airtight container, in a cool dry pantry, this spice blend will last six months or longer.
This recipe uses a healthy amount of red chile pepper flakes, which in fact are quite spicy. This spice blend is not spicy hot for us, but feel free to play with the ingredients. Cut the amount of red pepper flakes in half and substitute 1 Tablespoon of Paprika, or Smoked Paprika for one tablespoon of the red pepper flakes. Doing so will tame that heat.
Tips For Success
- A good rule of thumb to use this Southwest spice mix is to plan on one tablespoon per pound of meat.
- All of the spices used to make this recipe are easily found on the spice aisle at your local grocer and you may already have everything you need on hand.
Ways To Use Southwest Spice Blend
- Spice up those scrambled eggs. Sprinkle this spice blend over eggs at the beginning of the scrambling process. Make it a meal and add some drained black beans, chopped avocado and shredded cheese. Use 1 teaspoon for 4 scrambled eggs.
- Grilled chicken: Sprinkle over chicken thighs or chicken breasts before grilling.
- Whether grilling or pan searing, jazz up that next flank steak.
- Try Southwest Spice Blend on roasted vegetables. Just sprinkle over the vegetables before placing them in the oven.
- Use it to make simple tacos. Sprinkle over ground beef or ground chicken to quickly flavor the meat.
- Add a sprinkle of this spice blend over shrimp to make a quick cheesy shrimp quesadillas.
More Recipes You Might Like
And if you’re looking for more ways to spice up meats and sauces, don’t miss my category for Condiment Recipes. You’ll find lots of easy recipes, including the most popular on my site for Spicy Pickles Made From Store Bought Dills.
And if you’re a fan of Southwestern recipes, don’t miss my category for Mexican Food. Lots of great recipes to spice up your meal plans.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I always appreciate your feedback and hearing how everything went.
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Southwest Spice Blend
Ingredients
- ⅓ Cup Dried Onion Flakes
- ¼ Cup Dried Parsley Flakes
- 1 Tablespoon Chicken Bouillon Powder or granules
- 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Crushed Red Pepper Flakes or 1 Tablespoon New Mexico Red Chile Powder
- 1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients in a small bowl and use a whisk to combine.
- Transfer to a Mason type jar with a tight fitting lid.
- Store in your pantry alongside your other spice blends.
- When ready to use, shake the jar well to redistribute the ingredients. This is a mix of large, fine, medium sized ingredients. Smaller spices may settle to the bottom of the jar.
Notes
- A good rule of thumb to use this Southwest spice mix is to plan on one tablespoon per pound of meat.
- All of the spices used to make this recipe are easily found on the spice aisle at your local grocer and you may already have everything you need on hand.
- Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place. A Mason-style jar works well here. Shake jar before each use to distribute spices well.
Nutrition
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
I’m sure this will be great in so many recipes. I think that since I’m cooking for just two, that I’ll cut the recipe in half. Thanks Lea Ann.
Lea Ann, I don’t know why more of us don’t make our own spice blends. Your southwestern blend is delightful. I like the larger spices in the blend. I think it gives more texture and pronounced flavors.
Cheers!
Velva