You don’t need a pricey shaker blend to season fish, shrimp, or crab well. This homemade Seafood Seasoning Blend gives you a bold, savory mix with pepper, mustard, celery salt, bay, and just enough cayenne to wake things up without scorching your taste buds.
It takes about 5 minutes to mix, costs an estimated $8.49 per batch, and makes about 19 teaspoons, or roughly 19 one-teaspoon servings at about $0.45 each. Keep it on hand for broiled fish, shrimp boils, crab cakes, chowders, and even fries that need a little backbone.
- 🧂 Ingredients
- 👩🍳 Instructions
- 💡 Tips for Best Flavor
- 🔄 Easy Variations
- 🥡 Storage
- 🍤 How to Use It
- 💸 Budget101® Price Breakdown: Seafood Seasoning Blend
- 🛒 Walmart Grocery List
- ❓ Frequently Asked Questions about Seafood Seasoning Blend
- 📌 Love this Seafood Seasoning Blend? Pin it!
- 🖨️ Print-Friendly Seafood Seasoning Blend
Ingredients
This blend leans warm, peppery, and a little old-school in the best possible way. Celery salt and bay give it that classic seafood-house flavor, while mustard, ginger, and cloves round out the sharper edges so it tastes layered instead of flat.
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 2 tablespoons celery salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground bay leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
If you like building your own spice cabinet from scratch, this one fits right in beside Lemon Pepper Seasoning Mix #2, Homemade Baja Seasoning Blend, and Crab & Shrimp Seasoning Mix.
Instructions
- Measure the black pepper, dry mustard, celery salt, ground bay leaves, nutmeg, cloves, ground ginger, paprika, and cayenne into a small bowl.
- Stir until the color and texture look even and no pockets of spice remain.
- Transfer the seasoning blend to a zip-top bag, spice jar, or vacuum-seal bag.
- Seal tightly and store in a cool, dry place away from heat and light.
Tips for Best Flavor
Shake before each use. The finer spices tend to settle, especially if you store the mix in a jar for a while.
Use a dry spoon. Steam and damp fingers are the fastest way to turn a good seasoning blend into a clumpy brick. Charming in masonry, useless in dinner.
Start lighter on delicate fish. One teaspoon per pound works well for mild fillets, while shrimp, crab, or fried seafood can usually handle a little more.
Taste with salt in mind. Since celery salt is already doing part of the heavy lifting, you may not need much extra salt in the rest of the dish.
Easy Variations
For a milder blend: Cut the cayenne to 1/2 teaspoon.
For a smokier finish: Swap the regular paprika for smoked paprika.
For a saltier boil-style seasoning: Increase the celery salt slightly, but taste carefully before adding extra salt anywhere else.
For a brighter fish rub: Pair this blend with a squeeze of lemon or serve the finished seafood with a simple citrus butter. That same trick works nicely with Lemon Pepper Seasoning Mix if you want a sharper citrus profile next time.
Storage
Store the blend in an airtight jar or sealed bag in a cool, dry cupboard, away from the stove and direct sunlight. For best quality, use it within 6 months. That’s a conservative estimate based on the shortest-lived ground spices in the mix and standard dry-spice storage guidance. If it smells dull, looks faded, or tastes flat, it’s time to mix a fresh batch.
Ground spices keep flavor best when they’re protected from moisture, heat, and light. The University of Delaware Cooperative Extension’s herb and spice storage guidance recommends airtight containers in a cool, dry place, which is exactly what this blend needs.
How to Use It
Use this seasoning anywhere you want a bold seafood-house flavor without opening three cabinets and a drawer. Try it on shrimp before sautéing, sprinkle it over white fish before baking, or stir a little into breading for fried seafood.
- Fish fillets: about 1 teaspoon per pound
- Shrimp: 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons per pound
- Crab cakes: 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per pound of mixture
- Chowders and seafood dips: start with 1/4 teaspoon, then taste and adjust
- Fries or roasted potatoes served with seafood: a light sprinkle right after cooking
💸 Budget101® Price Breakdown: Seafood Seasoning Blend
Ingredient |
Walmart Item |
Pkg Price |
Amount Used |
Cost Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Black pepper |
$2.48 |
1 T. |
$0.20 |
|
Dry mustard |
$3.98 |
1 T. |
$0.60 |
|
Celery salt |
$1.68 |
2 T. ≈ 1 count ≈ 0.5 cup(s) |
$0.05 |
|
Ground bay leaves |
$1.24 |
1 1/2 T. ≈ 1 leaf ground ≈ nominal volume |
$0.89 |
|
Nutmeg |
$2.48 |
1 1/2 t. |
$0.17 |
|
Cloves |
$2.98 |
1 t. |
$0.15 |
|
Ground ginger |
$1.24 |
1 t. |
$0.05 |
|
Paprika |
$1.24 |
1 t. |
$0.04 |
|
Cayenne pepper |
$1.24 |
1 t. |
$0.04 |
💸 |
Cost |
|---|---|
🧾 Total Batch Cost |
$2.19 |
👨👩👧👦 Cost Per Serving |
$0.12 |
📅 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!
🛒 Walmart Grocery List
- Ground Black Pepper, 3 oz
- Ground Mustard, 1.75 oz
- Celery Salt, 5.25 oz
- Bay Leaves, 0.12 oz
- Ground Nutmeg, 1.1 oz
- Ground Cloves, 0.9 oz
- Ground Ginger, 1.5 oz
- Paprika, 2.5 oz
- Cayenne Pepper, 2.25 oz
Not sure exactly what this batch costs you per serving? Here’s how to break down the real cost of any recipe so you know before you shop.
Frequently Asked Questions about Seafood Seasoning Blend
Start with 1 teaspoon per pound for fish and 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons per pound for shrimp. Fish can get overpowered fast, especially thin fillets, while shrimp usually stand up to a little more seasoning without tasting like you dropped them in the spice jar.
You can, but it works best as a lighter blackening-style blend rather than a heavy crust. Coat the seafood lightly with oil or melted butter first, then add the seasoning so it sticks evenly and doesn’t fall off into the pan.
Crushed whole bay leaves are the best swap if you can grind them finely yourself. If not, you can leave them out, but the blend will lose some of that classic savory seafood-house note, so add a pinch more celery salt and black pepper to keep the flavor from going flat.
It has a noticeable kick, but it’s not brutally hot at the listed amount. The cayenne is only 1 teaspoon in the full batch, so the heat stays in the background unless you pile it on like you’re trying to prove something.
Moisture is usually the culprit. If you shake the jar over a steaming pan or use a damp spoon, the fine spices pull in humidity and start caking, so measure what you need into a dry dish first and keep the jar away from the stove.
Yes, but you’ll need to replace both the celery flavor and the salt. Try 1 tablespoon celery seed plus 1 tablespoon fine salt, then taste the finished dish carefully because celery seed can come across stronger and a little more bitter than celery salt.
It’s especially good on shrimp, crab, white fish, salmon, and scallops. The warm spices also make it useful in crab cakes, seafood salad, chowder, and even breading for fried fish when plain salt and pepper feel a little half-awake.
Absolutely. Double, triple, or quadruple it and mix in a larger bowl so the heavier spices distribute evenly. If you’re making a big batch, whisk first, then shake it in a sealed container before filling jars so one jar doesn’t get all the cayenne and another gets a nap.
Give it the sniff test and a quick look. If the aroma is faint, the paprika looks dull, or the blend tastes dusty instead of lively, it won’t improve by sitting there judging you, so make a fresh batch.
Yes, and it’s especially good on roasted potatoes, corn, and fries served with fish. Use a lighter hand than you would on seafood, since celery salt and cloves can take over quickly on mild vegetables if you get enthusiastic.
📌 Love this Seafood Seasoning Blend? Pin it!
Did you make this recipe? Tell us how you used it and what you seasoned with it in the comments. Your notes help other readers skip the guesswork and get dinner right the first time.
🖨️ Print-Friendly Seafood Seasoning Blend
Seafood Seasoning Blend
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- 2 tablespoons celery salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground bay leaves
- 1 ½ teaspoons nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Equipment
Instructions
- Measure the black pepper, dry mustard, celery salt, ground bay leaves, nutmeg, cloves, ground ginger, paprika, and cayenne into a small bowl.
- Stir until the seasoning is evenly combined.
- Transfer the blend to a zip-top bag, spice jar, or vacuum-seal bag.
- Seal tightly and store in a cool, dry place.
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
Prep time is an estimate based on measuring and mixing the ingredients.
For best quality, store airtight in a cool, dry place and use within 6 months.
Because this blend contains celery salt, reduce added salt in the final dish until you taste it.
Seasoning your seafood is important to help bring out the flavor and make it more enjoyable. This blend will work for most types of fish, but you can easily adapt this recipe based on what type of food you’re cooking.
Follow these simple steps below to create a delicious seasoning mix!
-Step 1: Combine all ingredients listed in medium bowl
– Step 2: Store in airtight container or jar with lid. Shake well before each use.
With just four ingredients, this easy homemade spice blend takes seconds to whip up and adds tons of great flavor! You’ll love how versatile it is too; use it on any number of dishes including pasta sauces, popcorn, chicken breasts steaks–the possibilities are endless!