10 Delicious Salt-Free Seasoning Blends to Help You Cut Down on Sodium, According to a Food Writer

Even though I've known for a long time that eating too much salt can contribute to various health problems—including headaches, bloating and high blood pressure—I admit that I didn't pay too much attention to my sodium intake until recently. That all changed when one of my aunts got doctor's orders to cut way down on salt for health reasons. It was a wakeup call to the whole family to start paying attention to how much salt we eat, and also a challenge to figure out how to keep our food full of flavor, just the way we like it. 

Since salt is a flavor enhancer, when you reduce it, you have to get clever about how to enhance the flavor in your meals. One of my favorite ways to boost the flavor in my meals without adding sodium is with store-bought herb and spice blends. While some foodies turn their noses up at these flavorful convenience items, they're missing out on an easy way to make meats, seafood, vegetables, grains, beans and more incredibly delicious without added salt. 

"Salt-free blends open a world of possibilities and allow you to season food to your liking while still adding a ton of flavor to your cooking," says Ren Rossini, culinary partnerships manager for Burlap & Barrel, one of my favorite spice purveyors. "They're so versatile and can be used in savory cooking or baking and are more accessible for people with dietary restrictions." 

Browsing your local grocery store or online, you'll find hundreds of different no-salt-added herb and spice blends. When our family challenge to cut down on sodium in our meals started, we all began trying out different blends and trading information on our favorites. Here are 11 of our old and new family favorites to try in your kitchen. 

1. Bragg Organic Sprinkle: 24 Herbs & Spices 

If you’re a fan of Bragg’s line of natural-food store staples like nutritional yeast and apple-cider vinegar, this sprinkle is another great product to add to your pantry. The first ingredient is rosemary, and while its flavor is predominant, it doesn’t overpower the other flavors—thyme, parsley, tarragon, garlic, onion and lemon peel. I like it sprinkled straight into salads (a trick I learned from one of my sisters), on steamed or roasted vegetables, on roasted potatoes and on popcorn. 

2. Tony Chachere's Famous Creole Cuisine No Salt Seasoning Blend 

My mom's side of the family is from Louisiana, so we're all fond of this no-salt-added take on Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning, a sweet and slightly spicy blend that includes onion, garlic, bell pepper, lemon, herbs and paprika. The thing I love about this blend is that I can use a heavier hand with it than I would with the original without fear of oversalting my dish. Try it on shrimp and other seafood, chicken and oven fries. 

3. Red Stick Spice Co. Salt-Free Cajun Blackened Seasoning

Another Louisiana favorite of mine, this kicky blend is one of many salt-free spice blends created by Red Stick Spice Co. that I pick up every time I visit my family in Baton Rouge, but you can also order them online. In addition to using it on chicken and fish, I love it on roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. Their cayenne-flecked BBQ Shrimp Seasoning is another great taste of Louisiana.  

4. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning Blend

Dash—aka Mrs. Dash—was the name in salt-free seasonings for a long time, and the company's blends are still easy to find at just about any grocery store. I was introduced to this tart and spicy blend by one of my sisters, who uses it as a substitute for the fabulous chili-lime seasoning Tajín. While it doesn't exactly replicate Tajín, it is a great stand-in when you want to add the zesty flavor of lime and spices like cumin, paprika and cayenne without salt. My sister mixes it into sour cream and uses it as a topper for black bean tacos and a dip for tortilla chips. I also like it sprinkled on corn on the cob, popcorn and mild white fish like flounder.

5. Frontier Co-Op Lemon Pepper Seasoning Blend

This versatile lemon pepper seasoning blend also includes onion and garlic and is especially good on steamed broccoli with butter or olive oil. It's great to have on hand for any savory recipes that you'd normally use fresh lemon juice or lemon zest in, either as a substitute or an extra punch of tartness.  If you can't find it, I also like the Dash Lemon Pepper Seasoning Blend.

6. Burlap & Barrel Herbes de Provence

Burlap & Barrel's take on this classic blend includes rosemary, savory, oregano and thyme, but unlike many herbes de Provence blends, it doesn't contain any lavender, which I prefer. "The farmers in Provence who created the herbes de Provence recipe are adamant that they would never add lavender to their herbes de Provence, so the blend is a more savory, herby mélange that ends up being so versatile," Rossini says. Sprinkle it on roasted cherry tomatoes, chicken and steamed vegetables like broccoli, or stir some into a simple tuna salad with olive oil and lemon juice. 

While I'm talking about Burlap & Barrel, I have to mention their other fantastic salt-free blends, including a collaboration with the nonprofit organization God's Love We Deliver, a nonsectarian group that cooks and delivers free medically tailored meals to people in the New York City metropolitan area living with severe illness. The Smoke & Garlic and Herbs & Sumac from that collab are amazing on popcorn, roasted chicken thighs and vegetables. Plus, 20% of the sales from these blends goes to the organization.  

7. The Spice House Shawarma Seasoning 

Although shawarma usually refers to thinly sliced, deliciously seasoned spit-roasted meat, I love this blend of coriander, sumac, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, turmeric, cloves and allspice in vegetarian dishes, including crunchy roasted chickpeas, roasted cauliflower and mushrooms. 

8. Spicewalla Ras el Hanout 

Spicewalla's take on the Moroccan spice blend ras el hanout is fabulous on lamb, chicken and fatty fish like salmon. But I also like using it on roasted vegetables and mixing it into the cooking liquid for quinoa. The blend can vary based on who makes it but typically includes warm spices like turmeric, coriander, ginger and cardamom. Spicewalla has more than a dozen other excellent salt-free blends and since they have free shipping on orders over $49, it's worth stocking up. 

9. Diaspora Co. Garam Masala 

I've long been a huge fan of Diaspora Co.'s single-origin individual spices, such as the single-variety chile powders (fruity Guntur Sannam and smoky Sirārakhong Hāthei are two of my favorites), but I only recently discovered their garam masala. This versatile blend is made up of a dozen spices, including cumin, fennel, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon and ginger. It's amazing in curries, on chicken and—like so many of my favorite blends on this list—sprinkled over popcorn. 

10. The Spice Lab Salt-Free Salmon Seasoning

I eat a lot of salmon, and this dill-forward blend is a great way to keep my fish dinners interesting. In addition to dill, it has black pepper, parsley, oregano, thyme, garlic and onion, plus a little sugar for a tiny bit of sweetness. So far I've only tried it on salmon, but I think it would also be excellent on shrimp and on steamed or roasted vegetables, especially broccoli. And probably popcorn too.