Homemade spice mixes and herb blends – Four DIY Recipes- are much cheaper than store-bought versions. Plus, you know exactly what's in them and what isn't, and did I mention they make a fabulous gift too!
Looking for an easy, budget-friendly gift idea that you can make yourself?
Making your own herb and spice blends only takes a few minutes and you likely have most of the ingredients on hand. Many store-bought seasonings use anti-caking agents, some have GMO-derived ingredients, and many contain maltodextrin. Maltodextrin is used as a thickener but studies show it can have a negative impact on blood sugars and gut health*source, so these homemade spice mixes in a jar contain only the good stuff and none of the bad!
Presented in a spice jar with a printed label and tied with a bow, they are as pretty as they are useful!
Resources for Homemade Spice Mixes and Herb Blends
Glass herb and spice storage jars with lids and shakers.
Kraft card stock paper for labels
Red and white Baker's twine for tying on the labels
Where to get your spices and herbs
We grow and dry some of our own herbs here on our homestead. While it's too late right now if you haven't done this already, I highly recommend you plan on putting in some herbs this year. They require little growing space and are an excellent way to begin growing your own food. Medicinal Kitchen Herbs (6 Herbs You Should Grow)
Purchasing in bulk has always proved to be cheaper for us. You can check the bulk food section at your local co-ops and even Fred Meyer's Health Food Section has a bulk spice and herb area.
However, they don't carry all the spices or herbs.
Ordering directly from Starwest Botanicals is a great option for both culinary and medicinal herbs.
If you're an Azure Standard customer, they are an online co-op where you can get a lot of items in bulk, they have some great prices for spices and herbs. Simply pop in your zip code to see where they deliver in your area if you're new to them!
If ordering on Amazon I prefer the Frontier brand, the bulk herb, and spice section if you can't find it locally or want to price check (always smart!)
In fact, I have 5 spice mix recipes in the over 100 recipes in my new book Hand Made: the Modern Guide to Made-from-Scratch Living, plus custom spice and herb labels, including culinary and medicinal use.
Psst, did I mention the 3 bonus teaching videos you get with it on how to make homemade doughnuts, sourdough starters, and more, check it out here.
How to make Homemade Christmas Spice Gifts
Here are four of my favorite blends for gift-giving, with printable labels so you can whip them up and wrap them up in no time.
I printed the labels on craft paper for a more rustic look, but they would be just as pretty printed on white card stock and tied with red or green ribbon.
To make things easy on the budget, purchase your herbs and spices in bulk, and look for spice jars at thrift stores.
Each mix makes enough for about 2- 3 spice jars, depending on their size. The recipes are easily doubled if you want to make a larger batch. For the herbs, you will want to use the leaves, not the powdered varieties.
Best Homemade Seasoning Blends
Directions for all mixes:
- Combine all of the herbs and/or spices in a bowl
- Transfer the mix into a jar. A funnel can be helpful!
- Close the jar, tie on a tag, and it's ready to go!
How to Use Homemade Spice Mixes
Grab the free printable labels with instructions for ranch dip (make your own yogurt here for the dip base.)
Ranch mix – on popcorn, on pot roast (seriously it's soo good!), roasted chicken
Italian mix – add a few teaspoons to tomato sauce for a homemade pizza sauce, add this to your pot roast with the ranch mix, mix in stews like this old-fashioned beef stew
Bouquet Garni – add to soups, pork, chicken, turkey, or stews
Taco Seasoning- make nacho popcorn, ground beef, and homemade chili
What are some of your go-to handmade gifts for the holidays? Have you ever made spice mixes for gift-giving?
P.S. Today was a guest post by Andrea and if you're looking for some new crochet patterns, check out her Etsy shop.
Homemade Spice Mixes and Herb Blends for Gift Giving + Free Printable Tags
Ingredients
Italian Seasoning
- 1/4 cup basil
- 2 Tbsp thyme
- 2 Tbsp marjoram
- 2 Tbsp rosemary
- 2 Tbsp oregano
Ranch Dip Mix
- 1/3 cup parsley
- 6 tsp dill
- 4 tsp chives
- 4 tsp onion powder
- 4 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp salt
Taco Seasoning
- 1/4 cup chilli powder
- 8 tsp cumin
- 3 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp granulated garlic
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
Bouquet Garni
- 2 Tbsp summer savory
- 2 Tbsp basil
- 2 Tbsp sage
- 1 Tbsp oregano
- 1 Tbsp marjoram
- 1 Tbsp rosemary
- 1 Tbsp thyme
- 1 Tbsp dill
Instructions
Directions for all mixes:
- Combine all of the herbs and/or spices in a bowl
- Transfer the mix into a jar. A funnel can be helpful!
- Close the jar, tie on a tag, and it's ready to go!
More Gifts in Jars Ideas
- How to Make Celery Salt
- DIY Homemade Brownie Mix in Jar- Best Ever Fudge Brownies
- DIY No-Knead Bread Mix Recipe in a Jar
- Homemade Cake Mix Recipe in a Jar
- Homemade Pancake Mix
- DIY Homemade Pantry Mixes
- Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix 3 Ways (From Scratch!)
Do you make any homemade spice mixes or seasoning blends? Did you try these, which is your favorite?
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Love this! Thank you!
You always have such great ideas. I will be using these for gifts for all my special people .Thank You.
Georgina, I’m so glad you enjoyed these and I’m sure your special people will, too. Andrea did a great job on the fun gift tags.
Thank you very much for the spice mixes – a wonderful idea to have on hand instead of pulling out all the jars separately.
Melissa
thank you for these seasons and herbs. I have started making my own as much as possible I have started to use more and more as well using my dehydrator. Again thank you for sharing this information,
Thank you. I love making my own spice and herb blends. I also grow herbs and dehydrate them.
Nice mixes, I don’t expect to EVER receive the free printables. I just get sent in a continuous circle of signing up and never getting the e-mail link to get the printables. I must be “signed up” for your posts three or four times over by now.
Check your spam folder. I tested this numerous times and I got them to my email in less than a minute. You can also email me at [email protected] and I can send them to you manually.
Hi Melissa, I just printed out the recipes for your homemade spice mixes and couldn’t find anything on the free printable labels. Are those still available and if so could you please send me a link to them? By the way I love your videos and books! I watch them and read them every chance I get. Thank you! I have learned so much all ready!
Shared your post today on my FB page (pameperedchef with connie ruff) Thanks for your wonderful posts! Merry Christmas
I wanted to try making my own ranch mix because I don’t like having the chemical and preservative filled packets from the store. I wrote down the recipe and was wondering why my mix was so red when it’s usually white in the store once I made it. I obviously couldn’t read my own handwriting, by mistake I put in chili powder instead of dill. However, it was a happy mistake as the dip came out really good, a bit more spicier, and it was gone almost right away!
I bet that was good, I might try that for our Christmas dip!
I’ve tried several ranch dip recipes, and none were quite right. This one is delicious and exactly what I was looking for! Thanks so much.
I’m so glad you liked it! It’s my favourite dip! 🙂
Thank you for these blends. Homemade is always the best! I am hoping to start growing my own plants this year. I don’t have much room though.
Thank you so much for the seasoning recipe .
Going to make some up .
Thank you for sharing this idea! Love that I can tailor each spice for the person it’s intended for as well.
Hi Melissa,
Im preparing for making my xmas gifts like I have to do every year due to money..I wanted to pin this page..i tried several times using my Microsoft edge browser it kept saying something was wrong with your page. It had just done that to me on another website so I thought it was msn I hate it anyway. I usually used internet explorer but pinterest is always bugging me to update my browser-so I went and signed in with that browser came back here tried to pin..same thing says something is wrong on your end.
How do I make the ranch dip with the mix
I like your webpage and ideas. Thanks Happy Merry xmas to you all. I live the same kind of life too. Healthy and enjoyable too.
You forgot to list how much to mix when you what to use it. how much & what else do you use for the ranch dip. (FOR EXAMPLE)
That’s what the free printable tags are for, they say on them how much to use of each item. 🙂 Just click on the orange text under the Resources for Homemade Spice Mixes and Herb Blends
Glass heading and the words –> Click Here for your FREE Printable Tags
Thank you for sharing these delicious spice mixes!
The link to the free printable tags is no longer functional. Do you have a new link for us?
Right above the heading, “Where to get your spices and herbs” is the form that says free printable labels, just fill that out and the labels will show up on the next screen and a download link will come to your email.
Only one has how much to use
Nope, no link for the tags above where to find herbs.
I have tried several times to get the printables, but it just sits there with a circle spinning away and never goes through? It’s still spinning now and has been for 20 minutes. Can you please just email them to me?
I love this idea! Can’t wait to try. I’ve been looking for a good homemade ranch…so I’m especially excited to try that!
How do you print the tags?
Thank you for sharing your favorite homemade spice mixes!! A few years ago I put together little gifts for my staff that included a decorative ramakin that included festive shred and a Christmas bulb shaped craft item (they come in glass or plastic) filled with an assortment of my favorite homemade mixes! I added a gift tag on how to turn the mixes into either a dip or dressing and enjoy with friends and families for the Christmas Holiday season. They were adorable and a big hit!
Thank you. How do I get the printable tags. Love your resources you are so kind to offer.
how much taco seasoning do you use for 1Lb of meat?