Learning how you can make your own spice blends at home is one of the highest-value kitchen skills there is. Shop-bought blends are fine, but they’re often mostly salt and filler, ground months ago, and weirdly expensive for what they are. Homemade takes five minutes, costs a fraction, tastes dramatically better, and you control everything — the salt level, the heat, the freshness. Once you start, you’ll wonder why you ever paid £3 for a tiny jar of ‘Italian seasoning’.

How Can I Make My Own Spice Blends At Home: The Basics

The formula is simple: measure ground spices into a bowl, mix, funnel into a jar, label with the date. Whole spices toasted in a dry pan for 2–3 minutes then ground give a deeper flavour, but pre-ground works perfectly well for everyday blends. Use within 3–6 months — ground spices lose their punch faster than most people realise, which is exactly why shop blends taste flat.

Garam masala

• 2 tbsp ground coriander, 1 tbsp ground cumin, 2 tsp ground cardamom, 2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp ground nutmeg.
• Mix well. This is a finishing blend — stir it in at the end of cooking for the brightest flavour.

Cajun seasoning

• 2 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp onion powder, 2 tsp dried thyme, 2 tsp dried oregano, 1–2 tsp cayenne (to taste), 1 tbsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper.
• Brilliant on chicken, wedges, and roasted veg. The smoked paprika is non-negotiable — it’s what makes it taste like Cajun rather than just ‘spicy’.

Italian herb seasoning

• 2 tbsp dried oregano, 1 tbsp dried basil, 1 tbsp dried thyme, 1 tbsp dried rosemary (crushed), 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder.
• Better than the shop version because you control the ratios — most commercial ones are 80% oregano.

Ras el hanout (cheat’s version)

• 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp turmeric, ½ tsp ground cardamom, ½ tsp cayenne, ½ tsp ground allspice.
• Wonderful in tagines, on roasted carrots, or stirred through couscous.

Spice Blend Tips That Actually Matter

• Buy small quantities: a huge bag of paprika you’ll use twice a year is false economy. Buy from shops with high turnover — Asian and Middle Eastern grocers are usually cheaper and fresher than supermarkets.
• Toast whole spices: cumin seeds, coriander seeds and similar, toasted 2–3 minutes in a dry pan until fragrant, then ground in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar. The difference is night and day.
• Label with dates: blends are at their best for 3 months, acceptable to 6. After that they’re just coloured dust.
• Keep salt separate: make salt-free blends and season dishes separately. Shop blends use salt as cheap filler; yours don’t need to.
• Start mild, adjust: you can always add more chilli. You can’t take it out. Taste your blend on the back of your hand before committing it to dinner.

Spice blends are also brilliant homemade gifts — a jar of your Cajun mix with a handwritten label beats a £10 gift set. And if you’re building a from-scratch kitchen generally, homemade granola is the next easy win.

For sourcing, BBC Good Food’s spice guide is a solid primer on what each spice does, and Wikipedia’s overview of spice mixes covers the world’s classic blends if you want to expand your repertoire.

Five minutes, a few teaspoons, one jar. That’s all it takes to never buy a bland, overpriced blend again. Your curries, roast chicken and roasted veg will thank you.

Spice Blend FAQs

How long do homemade spice blends last?
At peak flavour for about 3 months, acceptable up to 6. Ground spices lose volatile oils steadily once mixed — which is exactly why shop blends taste flat. Make small batches (enough for a month or two) rather than huge jars.

Do I need a spice grinder?
Not to start — pre-ground spices make perfectly good blends. But a cheap blade grinder (£15–£20) or even a pestle and mortar handles whole spices, which are dramatically more flavourful. It’s the single best upgrade for homemade blends.

Why does my garam masala taste bitter?
Usually burnt spices — toasting whole spices for even a minute too long turns them bitter. Toast until fragrant (2–3 minutes max in a dry pan, shaking constantly), then get them out. Bitter spices can’t be rescued; start over.

Can I make blends without salt?
Yes, and you should — salt-free blends give you full control over seasoning. Shop blends use salt as cheap filler; yours don’t need to. Season the dish separately and taste as you go.

Growing Your Spice Collection Smartly

Don’t buy 30 spices at once — build around what you actually cook. Start with the workhorses: cumin, coriander, paprika (smoked and sweet), turmeric, cinnamon, black peppercorns, chilli flakes, oregano, thyme. That handful covers 80% of home cooking. Add specialist spices (cardamom, saffron, sumac) only when a specific cuisine grabs you.

Buy from high-turnover sources — Asian, Middle Eastern and African grocers sell spices fresher and cheaper than supermarkets, often in quantities that make sense. And store them right: airtight, away from heat and light (not above the hob — the worst spot in the kitchen). A cool, dark cupboard keeps them potent twice as long.

The Bottom Line on Spice Blends

Five minutes, a few teaspoons, one jar — and you never buy a bland, overpriced blend again. That’s the whole pitch, and it’s a good one. Homemade blends are fresher, cheaper, salt-free, and tuned to your taste. The garam masala, Cajun and Italian recipes in this guide cover 90% of what you’ll ever need.

Start with one: the Cajun seasoning, I’d suggest — it’s the most transformative, turning plain chicken and roast veg into something genuinely exciting. Toast the whole spices if you’re feeling keen, or just mix the ground ones. Label it, date it, use it for a month. Then make the next one. Within a season you’ll have a spice shelf that embarrasses the supermarket aisle, and your cooking will taste like it.

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