Sazón Sans Salt

One of my favorite recipes is for black beans. The main seasoning is often a little orange and white “flavor packet,” that contains a fair amount of salt and monosodium glutamate (MSG). The recipe below is a great starting point to recreate the flavors while putting you in control of the amount of salt in whatever your final dish may be.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika (for color and mild flavor)
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric (for extra warm yellow color)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients into a bowl or glass jar. 
2. Stir with or fork or whisk, or close jar and shake until well combined.
3. Use 1 1/2 teaspoons for each packet in your recipe.
4. Store in an airtight container away from light for up to six months.

NOTE: if you’d like to add salt to this recipe to create a “reduced sodium” sazón seasoning, add one teaspoon of regular salt. While it will add sodium, when used in recipes it will be largely diluted.

Salt Swap:

• This recipe swaps out the salt entirely from a traditional seasoning packet, allowing you to add and control the amount of sodium in your final dish.