If you want that savory, herby, slightly sweet fried-chicken coating without buying a premade packet, this homemade Colonel Sanders Secret Herbs & Spices mix gets you there with pantry staples and one blender.
Ever wanted to reproduce that delicious secret seasoning mix for the worlds most famous chicken? Now you can, here is our delicious copycat Colonel Sanders Secret Herbs and Spices Mix- for the best fried chicken ever!
It makes about 3/4 cup seasoning mix, which is enough to season roughly 12 cups of flour at the original rate of 1 ounce mix per 1 cup flour. That gives you plenty for fried chicken, oven-baked chicken, or even chicken-fried steak when dinner needs a little help and not a lot of drama.
Stored in an airtight jar in a cool, dry cupboard, this dry seasoning blend keeps its best flavor for about 1 year as an estimate, since dried herbs and seasoning blends lose quality over time and moisture shortens their life. For the best texture and flavor, use a dry spoon every time and keep the jar away from heat and steam, which lines up with general spice storage guidance from McCormick’s spice storage FAQ.
Colonel Sanders Secret Herbs & Spices Recipe
You’ll Need:
- 1 tablespoon rosemary
- 1 tablespoon oregano leaves
- 1 tablespoon powdered sage
- 1 tablespoon powdered ginger
- 1 teaspoon marjoram
- 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 3 tablespoons dry minced parsley
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons garlic salt
- 2 tablespoons onion salt
- 2 tablespoons powdered chicken bouillon
- 1 package Lipton Tomato Cup-a-Soup mix
Combine all of the ingredients in a blender, or use a mason jar blender if you have one handy, and pulse until the mixture is nearly powder. Transfer the seasoning to a spice jar, zip-top bag, or vacuum-sealed bag and close it tightly.
Expert Tip: Pulse in short bursts instead of running the blender nonstop. That keeps the herbs from packing under the blades and gives you a finer, more even mix that blends into flour better.
To Use:
Add 1 ounce of seasoning mix per 1 cup of flour for coating chicken. Dip raw chicken pieces in an egg-and-water mixture, dredge in the seasoned flour, then repeat the dip and dredge for an extra crispy crust. Fry or bake as desired. This blend also works beautifully on chicken-fried steak, or you can try it with recipes like Southern Fried Buttermilk Chicken or KFC Chicken Seasoning Mix.
Since the mix makes about 3/4 cup, figure on about 12 one-tablespoon servings if you’re portioning it as a seasoning blend. If you’re using it for dredging, the batch seasons about 12 cups of flour, so it stretches farther than it looks.
Store the dry mix in an airtight container in a cool, dark cabinet for up to 1 year for best quality as an estimate. If you’ve already used it on cooked chicken, refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and use them within 3 to 4 days.
Notes: One packet of tomato cup-a-soup can vary a bit by product size, so the final salt level may shift slightly from brand to brand. If your blender leaves larger rosemary or oregano flakes behind, give the mix a quick shake before each use so the heavier bits don’t settle at the bottom.
💸 Budget101® Price Breakdown: Colonel Sanders Secret Herbs & Spices
Ingredient |
Walmart Item |
Pkg Price |
Amount Used |
Cost Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Rosemary |
$1.24 |
1 T. |
$0.10 |
|
Oregano leaves |
$1.24 |
1 T. |
$0.15 |
|
Powdered sage |
$1.98 |
1 T. |
$0.44 |
|
Powdered ginger |
$1.24 |
1 T. |
$0.16 |
|
Marjoram |
$1.98 |
1 t. |
$0.11 |
|
Thyme |
$1.24 |
1 1/2 t. |
$0.09 |
|
Brown sugar |
$2.24 |
3 T. |
$0.10 |
|
Dry minced parsley |
$1.24 |
3 T. |
$0.39 |
|
Pepper |
$2.48 |
1 t. |
$0.07 |
|
Paprika |
$1.24 |
1 T. |
$0.12 |
|
Garlic salt |
$1.08 |
2 T. |
$0.24 |
|
Onion salt |
$1.08 |
2 T. |
$0.26 |
|
Powdered chicken bouillon |
$3.48 |
2 T. |
$0.29 |
|
Lipton Tomato Cup-a-Soup mix |
$2.98 |
1 package |
$0.75 |
💸 |
Cost |
|---|---|
🧾 Total Batch Cost |
$3.27 |
👨👩👧👦 Cost Per Serving |
$0.27 |
📅 Walmart prices last verified August 26, 2026. Prices may vary by location and are subject to change. Learn how to calculate the cost of a recipe on your own!
Frequently Asked Questions about Colonel Sanders Secret Herbs & Spices
You can, and it works well. Coat the chicken as directed, then bake until the chicken reaches 165°F in the thickest part, since the seasoning is built for flour dredging and still gives you that savory crust even without a deep fryer.
Use 1 ounce of mix per 1 cup of flour, exactly as written. Since 1 ounce of dry mix is roughly 2 tablespoons, measuring it that way is usually the easiest path unless you enjoy washing extra gadgets.
Use a little extra oregano if you need a practical swap. Marjoram is milder and slightly sweeter than oregano, so replacing the 1 teaspoon marjoram with 3/4 to 1 teaspoon oregano keeps the blend in the same neighborhood without throwing the whole mix off.
You can, but the flavor won’t be quite the same. That packet adds concentrated savory tomato notes, salt, and extra seasoning, so if you leave it out the blend tastes flatter and less rounded.
Because big flakes don’t cling to flour evenly. A finer grind spreads the rosemary, oregano, and parsley through the dredge so every piece of chicken gets the same flavor instead of one bite tasting seasoned and the next tasting like plain flour.
Keep moisture out of it from the start. Let the blender jar stay completely dry, store the mix with a tight lid, and scoop with a dry spoon instead of shaking it over a steaming pan, because steam is the fastest way to turn a good spice mix into a brick.
Absolutely. Keep every ingredient in the same ratio and blend in batches if your blender is small, because overfilling it leaves you with chunky herbs on top and powder on the bottom, which is not exactly precision cooking.
Try it on chicken-fried steak, pork chops, potato wedges, or stirred into plain flour for pan-fried cutlets. It has enough herb, salt, and bouillon flavor to carry mild meats and starchy sides without needing much else.
Smell it first. If the aroma is faint, dusty, or flat instead of savory and herby, it has probably lost enough punch that you’ll need more mix to get the same flavor, and at that point making a fresh batch is the smarter move.
No, not if it’s dry and sealed well. A cool, dark cupboard is the better spot, because refrigeration can introduce condensation when the jar goes in and out, and moisture is exactly what you don’t want in a dry spice blend.
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Colonel Sanders Secret Herbs & Spices
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon rosemary
- 1 tablespoon oregano leaves
- 1 tablespoon powdered sage
- 1 tablespoon powdered ginger
- 1 teaspoon marjoram
- 1 ½ teaspoons thyme
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar packed
- 3 tablespoons dry minced parsley
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons garlic salt
- 2 tablespoons onion salt
- 2 tablespoons powdered chicken bouillon
- 1 package Lipton Tomato Cup-a-Soup mix
Equipment
Instructions
- Combine the rosemary, oregano, sage, ginger, marjoram, thyme, brown sugar, parsley, pepper, paprika, garlic salt, onion salt, chicken bouillon, and tomato cup-a-soup mix in a blender.
- Pulse until the mixture becomes nearly powder.
- Transfer the seasoning mix to a spice jar, zip-top bag, vacuum-seal bag, or airtight jar and seal tightly.
- To use, add 1 ounce of mix per 1 cup of flour for coating chicken.
- Dip raw chicken pieces in a mixture of egg and water, then dredge in the seasoned flour.
- Repeat the dip and dredge for an extra crispy coating, then fry or bake as desired.
Recipe Size Alteration
💡 If you altered the ingredients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cook time.
Notes
Estimated yield is 12 tablespoons, or 12 servings at 1 tablespoon each.
One batch will season about 12 cups of flour based on the original 1-ounce-per-cup ratio.
Prep time is an estimate based on measuring and blending the ingredients.
Store the dry mix in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year for best quality as an estimate.
If used on cooked chicken, refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and use within 3 to 4 days.
I make this using: garlic powder, onion powder and tomatoe powder. I found that if I use the listed ingredients it is too salty for my families taste. You can always add salt, but you can’t remove it.