A jar of homemade Italian seasoning is one of the easiest ways to add flavor to pasta sauce, roasted vegetables, chicken, potatoes, soups, pizza, garlic bread, and marinades. Instead of measuring several individual herbs every time you cook, you can combine them once and keep the mixture ready in the pantry.
The basic blend takes only a few minutes to make and uses dried herbs you may already have on your spice rack. Better yet, making your own lets you adjust the proportions. Love oregano? Add a little more. Prefer a stronger rosemary flavor? Increase it. Want some heat? A pinch of crushed red pepper transforms the basic mixture.
Although the name suggests a traditional Italian recipe, Italian seasoning is really a convenient herb blend inspired by flavors commonly associated with Italian and Italian-American cooking. There is no single official formula, which means homemade versions are especially easy to customize.
🌿 Classic Homemade Italian Seasoning
This all-purpose version is the one to make if you want a substitute for bottled Italian seasoning. Oregano provides the strongest herbal note, while basil, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and parsley round out the mixture.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Makes: About 7 tablespoons
🛒 Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon dried marjoram
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
🥄 How to Make Italian Seasoning
Measure all of the dried herbs into a small bowl or jar.
If your rosemary consists of large, needle-like pieces, crush it lightly between your fingers or with a mortar and pestle before adding it. Smaller pieces distribute more evenly throughout the seasoning.
Stir the herbs together thoroughly, or place the lid on the jar and shake until evenly combined.
Transfer the seasoning to an airtight spice jar if you mixed it in a bowl. Label the jar with the name and date, then store it in a cool, dry, dark cupboard.
That is all there is to it.
🧄 Garlic Italian Seasoning
If you frequently use Italian seasoning for roasted vegetables, chicken, bread, or pasta sauce, adding garlic and onion powder makes an especially convenient all-purpose blend.
Combine:
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon dried marjoram
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Mix thoroughly and store in an airtight container.
This version is particularly handy for seasoning chicken breasts, roasted potatoes, vegetables, homemade croutons, and garlic bread.
Because it already contains garlic and onion, remember to consider those ingredients when seasoning a recipe that calls for additional garlic or onion powder.
🌶️ Spicy Italian Seasoning
For pasta sauces, pizza, roasted vegetables, and dishes where you want a subtle kick, add crushed red pepper to the basic mixture.
Combine:
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon dried marjoram
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder, optional
One teaspoon of red pepper flakes gives the mixture noticeable warmth without making it overwhelmingly spicy. Start with 1/2 teaspoon if you prefer mild heat, or increase the amount if your household enjoys spicy food.
🍋 Lemon-Herb Italian Seasoning
A bright lemon-herb variation is particularly good with chicken, fish, roasted zucchini, potatoes, and salad dressing.
For a seasoning you intend to store in the pantry, use dried lemon peel rather than fresh lemon zest. Fresh zest introduces moisture and is better added directly to a dish when you cook.
Combine:
- 2 tablespoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon dried marjoram
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon dried lemon peel
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder, optional
Mix everything together and store just as you would the classic blend.
For an even fresher lemon flavor, use the basic Italian seasoning while cooking and add freshly grated lemon zest directly to the finished dish.
🌿 What’s in Italian Seasoning?
There is no universal recipe, but several dried herbs appear again and again.
Oregano is usually one of the strongest flavors. Its robust, slightly peppery character works especially well with tomatoes, pizza, grilled meats, and roasted vegetables.
Basil adds a sweeter, more aromatic note that balances oregano particularly well.
Thyme contributes an earthy flavor that works beautifully in soups, chicken dishes, beans, vegetables, and slow-cooked sauces.
Rosemary has a strong, piney fragrance, so a little goes a long way. Crushing dried rosemary before mixing prevents large pieces from dominating individual bites.
Marjoram is related to oregano but has a gentler, slightly sweeter flavor. It helps round out the stronger herbs.
Parsley is comparatively mild but adds another herbal layer and makes the blend particularly versatile.
Garlic powder, onion powder, sage, fennel, and crushed red pepper are all optional additions rather than ingredients every Italian seasoning mixture must contain.
🇮🇹 Is Italian Seasoning Actually Italian?
Not exactly.
Italian cuisine certainly makes extensive use of herbs such as oregano, basil, rosemary, sage, parsley, and thyme, but cooks in Italy do not rely on one universal dried mixture called Italian seasoning.
The bottled blend familiar in American supermarkets is better thought of as an Italian-inspired or Italian-American pantry convenience.
That does not make it any less useful. It simply means you do not have to worry about finding one supposedly “authentic” formula. Different proportions work for different cooks and different dishes.
🧂 Should Italian Seasoning Contain Salt?
I prefer to leave salt out.
A salt-free herb mixture gives you much more control when cooking because you can season the food itself according to taste.
It is also easier to use in recipes containing naturally salty ingredients such as Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, olives, cured meats, broth, or canned tomatoes.
If you want a ready-to-use seasoning salt for grilled meat or vegetables, you can always mix Italian seasoning with salt immediately before using it.
🥄 How Much Italian Seasoning Should You Use?
For many recipes, 1 to 2 teaspoons is a good starting point.
For a large pot of pasta sauce, soup, or stew, you may want a tablespoon or more.
For approximately 1 pound of chicken, meat, or vegetables, start with around 1 tablespoon of seasoning, then adjust according to the other ingredients in the recipe.
Dried herbs need a little time and moisture to release their flavor, which is why they work especially well in sauces, soups, marinades, and dishes that spend some time in the oven.
🍅 How to Use Homemade Italian Seasoning
One of the reasons this blend deserves a permanent spot in the spice cabinet is its versatility.
Stir it into marinara, pizza sauce, tomato soup, or Bolognese. Sprinkle it over vegetables before roasting them with olive oil. Rub it onto chicken before grilling or baking, or add it to meatballs, burgers, and meatloaf.
Italian seasoning is also excellent in vinaigrettes and marinades. Whisk it with olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper for a quick dressing.
Mix it with softened butter for an easy herb butter, or combine it with melted butter and garlic before brushing it over bread.
It is equally useful sprinkled over potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, eggplant, white beans, or chickpeas before roasting.
🍕 Use It for Pizza
Italian seasoning is an easy way to add extra herbal flavor to homemade pizza.
Sprinkle a little into tomato sauce before spreading it over the dough, or add a light pinch over the cheese and toppings before baking.
Oregano is particularly closely associated with the familiar flavor of Italian-American pizza, so you can increase the oregano in your homemade blend if pizza is one of your main uses for it.
🍝 Add It to Pasta Sauce
Dried herbs work especially well in sauces because they have time to hydrate and release their flavor.
Start with about 1 tablespoon of seasoning for a large 28-ounce can of tomatoes, then taste the sauce after it has simmered.
Fresh basil or parsley can still be added near the end of cooking. Using dried Italian seasoning does not mean you have to choose between dried and fresh herbs; the two can complement one another beautifully.
🥔 Season Roasted Vegetables
Toss potatoes, zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, or carrots with olive oil and Italian seasoning before roasting.
Because homemade Italian seasoning contains no salt, season the vegetables separately with salt and black pepper.
A little freshly grated Parmesan added toward the end of roasting makes an especially good finishing touch.
🍗 Use It on Chicken
Combine Italian seasoning with olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh garlic for an easy chicken marinade.
You can also simply brush chicken breasts or thighs lightly with olive oil and sprinkle them with the herb mixture before roasting.
Lemon works particularly well with Italian herbs, so squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over the chicken before serving.
🥖 Make Easy Italian Herb Bread
Mix Italian seasoning with softened butter and minced garlic, then spread it over slices of Italian or French bread.
Add a little Parmesan or mozzarella if desired and bake until the bread is hot and crisp around the edges.
The same mixture works on breadsticks, focaccia, dinner rolls, and homemade pizza crust.
🔄 Italian Seasoning Substitute
If a recipe calls for Italian seasoning and you do not have a prepared blend, you can improvise.
For 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, combine approximately:
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary
If you have marjoram, add a small pinch as well.
Exact proportions are not critical. Even a simple combination of oregano and basil will provide a similar general flavor direction in many recipes.
🌿 Can You Use Fresh Herbs Instead?
Fresh herbs can absolutely be used in a recipe, but they are not a good substitute for the dried herbs when making a shelf-stable seasoning jar.
Fresh herbs contain moisture and need to be refrigerated or properly dried before long-term storage.
When replacing dried herbs with fresh herbs directly in a recipe, you will generally need more fresh herbs because dried herbs have a more concentrated flavor.
Use fresh basil, parsley, oregano, rosemary, and thyme when they make sense for the dish, particularly as finishing herbs.
🫙 How to Store Homemade Italian Seasoning
Transfer the seasoning to an airtight container and keep it somewhere cool, dry, and dark.
A pantry or cupboard away from the stove, dishwasher, sink, and sunny windows is ideal. Heat, light, air, and moisture gradually diminish the flavor and aroma of dried herbs.
For the best flavor, plan to use your homemade mixture within about 6 months to 1 year.
Dried herbs do not suddenly become unusable on a particular date, but their aromatic oils fade over time. If an older blend smells faint when you rub a pinch between your fingers, it is probably time to make a fresh batch.
🚫 Keep Moisture Out of the Jar
Do not hold the seasoning jar directly over a steaming pot while shaking herbs into your food.
Steam can carry moisture into the container.
Instead, measure the amount you need into your palm, a measuring spoon, or a small dish before adding it to the pot.
Always use completely dried herbs in blends that will be stored at room temperature.
✨ How to Make the Blend Your Own
Once you have made the classic version, start adjusting it to suit the way you cook.
Increase the oregano for pizza and tomato-heavy dishes. Add extra rosemary if you often roast potatoes or chicken. Mix in red pepper flakes if your cooking tends toward spicy pasta sauces.
Garlic powder and onion powder turn the basic herb mixture into more of an all-purpose seasoning, while dried lemon peel adds brightness for fish and vegetables.
You can also leave out any herb you dislike.
That flexibility is the biggest advantage of making seasoning blends yourself.
🌿 A Simple Pantry Staple
Homemade Italian seasoning is one of the easiest pantry staples you can make. There is no grinding, cooking, or special equipment required—just measure, mix, and store.
Start with oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and parsley for a versatile everyday blend. Keep it classic or customize it with garlic, chile flakes, or dried lemon peel.
Once a jar is waiting in the pantry, adding a quick burst of herbal flavor to pasta sauce, roasted vegetables, chicken, soup, pizza, and bread takes only a few seconds.
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