This Copycat Old Bay Seasoning Mix is made with lots of different savory spices with hints of warmth and a little spicy kick. Use it on seafood, on potatoes or corn on the cob – it’s perfect for many summer classics!
I love knowing how to make my own spice mixes – I first started with my gingerbread spice mix way back in time, because it was always so difficult to find it readily mixed at the store. Being able to whip up your own spice mixes can be so convenient if you can’t locate something, or if you just want to know exactly what’s going into your food!
I do have a hard time finding Old Bay Seasoning locally, so it’s something I do often make myself. It’s so great for all kinds of summer foods – and while it does have a lot of individual spices, it’s still incredibly easy to make!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Ground bay: If you can’t find ground bay leaves at the store (I looked in 5 stores and couldn’t locate them anywhere), use 10-15 whole dried bay leaves and grind them to a powder using a small food processor or high-powered blender.
- Paprika: Feel free to use smoked paprika for a smokey hint.
- Substitutes: I know, this is quite a bunch of different spices here. Bay, mustard, paprika, celery seed and pepper are the main flavors to me – if you can add these, you’ve got a good base. The cinnamon/allspice/nutmeg/mace/cloves/ginger/cardamom spices can easily be substituted with 2-3 teaspoons homemade or store-bought pumpkin pie spice or gingerbread spice mix for a similar flavor profile.
- Heat: Feel free to adjust the chili flakes and cayenne pepper to your taste. As written, the mix has a mild kick (my 6 year old loves food seasoned with it, my 4 year old can’t handle it yet; my husband thinks I could increase the chili flakes x10000 ?).
How to make a copycat Old Bay Seasoning Mix
This really is a non-recipe – you just need the ingredients, really. Combine everything in a small bowl and you’re good to go!
Recipe tips
- I like using a small fork to mash up any lumps in the individual spices and to fully combine the mix. You can also use a small whisk, if you have one.
- This makes a generous amount of spice mix for several uses (unless you’re making a large batch of shrimp boil, in which case you would probably need to double or triple the recipe). Feel free to cut it in half or less if you only need to use it once.
Storage tips
Store the spice mix in a clean, dry, tightly closed jar. I prefer keeping spices in a kitchen cabinet, where they are protected from heat and sunlight. Use the mix within 6 months.
Ideas for using
- Use the spice mix for seafood dishes like a seafood boil, or use it in garlic butter with grilled shrimp. I have also used it in Sausage Foil Packets before and it was delicious!
- It’s delicious to use on baked potatoes or to season potato wedges, roasted baby potatoes or roasted fingerling potatoes.
- The seasoning mix also works great combined with butter for corn on the cob – I love air fried corn on the cob or grilled corn in foil!
More homemade spice mixes
Or browse all of my homemade pantry ideas.
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Copycat Old Bay Seasoning
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground dried bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon celery salt
- 2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
- 2 teaspoons ground paprika regular or smoked both work
- 1 teaspoon ground celery seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground mace
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- crushed red pepper flakes to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Store in a dry, tightly closed jar for up to 6 months.
Notes
- Ground bay: If you can’t find ground bay leaves at the store (I looked in 5 stores and couldn’t locate them anywhere), use 10-15 whole dried bay leaves and grind them to a powder using a small food processor or high-powered blender.
- Substitutes: I know, this is quite a bunch of different spices here. Bay, mustard, paprika, celery seed and pepper are the main flavors to me – if you can add these, you’ve got a good base. The cinnamon/allspice/nutmeg/mace/cloves/ginger/cardamom spices can easily be substituted with 2-3 teaspoons homemade or store-bought pumpkin pie spice or gingerbread spice mix for a similar flavor profile.
Ed says
I’ve been hoping to find an Old Bay like spice mix with lower salt for a year or 3 now. I think that your recipe will be a great place to start. My only immediate thoughts are that you may be low on the paprika and high on the ground bay. But that’s just my gut feel. Thanks for sharing the recipe and I’m planning to try it with just a change to the bay and paprika, along with replacing the celery salt with celery powder to reduce the sodium. If anyone is interested, I’ll be happy to tell how it goes.
Bonnie says
Thank you for providing this list. I can’t wait to try it, as I’m very excited to find a way to make my own Old Bay copycat. Now I can use this to adjust the sodium level for our needs. I’ll probably eliminate the celery salt altogether & increase the ground celery seed to make up the difference. Then I can add salt separately in a recipe to season as needed more sparingly.
Perhaps you can add your own suggestions for making a salt-free or lower sodium version for the many of us who love Old Bay’s spiciness but need to cut back on salt.
Ed says
Hi Bonnie,
Did you try the recipe? And if so, how did it turn out? It sounds like we are after the same thing, a lower sodium version of Old Bay. Old bays sodium content has actually dropped over the last decade or 2, but not by much.