You don’t need a salt shaker full of sodium to wake up dinner. This All Purpose Salt Substitute leans on garlic, basil, dillweed, oregano, and powdered lemon rind for bright, savory flavor you can shake onto vegetables, eggs, chicken, fish, or a baked potato that’s begging for help.
It takes about 5 minutes to mix, costs an estimated $1.96 per batch, and makes roughly 10 teaspoons, or about 40 quarter-teaspoon servings. Keep it in a shaker jar and use it anywhere you’d normally reach for seasoned salt, minus the actual salt.
🧂 Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon dillweed
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon powdered lemon rind
This blend stays salt-free, but it doesn’t taste flat. Garlic gives it backbone, the herbs round it out, and the lemon keeps everything from tasting dusty. That little bit of brightness matters more than people think.
🥣 How to Make All Purpose Salt Substitute
- Measure the garlic powder, basil, dillweed, oregano, and powdered lemon rind into a small bowl.
- Stir until the blend is evenly mixed and no pockets of one herb remain.
- Transfer the seasoning to a clean, dry jar, zip-top bag, or shaker bottle.
- Seal tightly and store in a cool, dry place.
- Shake over food just before serving, or add it during cooking to build flavor without added salt.
💡 Tips for the Best Flavor
Crush leafy herbs lightly before mixing. Basil, dill, and oregano can sit in bigger flakes than garlic powder. Rub them between your fingers before combining so the shaker blend comes out more evenly.
Use a dry jar only. One damp spoon is enough to make a dry seasoning clump. If your kitchen runs humid, a small glass spice jar with a tight lid works better than a flimsy bag.
Let the mix sit overnight if you can. It’s usable right away, but the lemon and herbs taste a little more settled after several hours together.
If you’re cutting sodium for health reasons, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommends using herbs, spices, citrus, and salt-free seasoning blends to boost flavor in place of salt. In other words, your taste buds are not doomed.
🔄 Easy Variations
If you like a brighter citrus note, add a little extra powdered lemon rind. Keep it modest so the blend stays flexible enough for vegetables, poultry, and fish.
Want a different herb profile? Try Lemon Herb Seasoning (Salt Substitute) if you want more citrus, or Spicy Salt Substitute if dinner needs a bit more attitude.
For a more general pantry seasoning, you might also like All Purpose Spice Mix, which plays well when salt is not the main point.
🥄 How to Use It
Start with about 1/4 teaspoon per serving and adjust from there. Because this mix has no salt, you can be a little more generous without overdoing the sodium.
- Shake it over scrambled eggs or omelets
- Sprinkle it on steamed or roasted vegetables
- Use it to season chicken, fish, or pork before cooking
- Add it to rice, pasta, or plain potatoes that need flavor fast
- Stir a pinch into sour cream or plain yogurt for a quick dip base
- Toss it with a little oil over popcorn for a salt-free snack option
📦 Storage
Store the finished seasoning in an airtight jar or sealed bag in a cool, dark, dry cupboard. For best quality, use it within 6 months. That’s a conservative estimate based on dry herb freshness and the fact that homemade blends lose punch long before they become unsafe.
If the mix smells weak, looks faded, or tastes dusty instead of bright and herby, it’s time to make a fresh batch. Dry spice blends are shelf-stable when kept dry, but quality slips with age, heat, light, and moisture.
If you stir this seasoning into a prepared dip, dressing, or other perishable food, refrigerate that finished dish promptly and use it within 3 to 4 days. The storage clock then follows the prepared food, not the dry seasoning.
💸 Budget101® Price Breakdown: All Purpose Salt Substitute
Ingredient |
Walmart Item |
Pkg Price |
Amount Used |
Cost Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Garlic powder |
$1.24 |
2 t. |
$0.08 |
|
Basil |
$1.24 |
1 t. |
$0.07 |
|
Dillweed |
$1.98 |
1 t. ≈ 1 bunch ≈ 1/4 cup chopped |
$0.17 |
|
Oregano |
$1.24 |
1 t. |
$0.05 |
|
Powdered lemon rind |
$0.65 |
1 t. |
$0.22 |
💸 |
Cost |
|---|---|
🧾 Total Batch Cost |
$0.59 |
👨👩👧👦 Cost Per Serving |
$0.01 |
📅 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
- Garlic Powder, 3.4 oz
- Basil Leaves, 0.62 oz
- Dill Weed, 0.75 oz
- Oregano Leaves, 0.87 oz
- Dried Lemon Peel Granules, 4 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 All Purpose Salt Substitute
Use it on eggs, vegetables, chicken, fish, potatoes, rice, pasta, or popcorn. Start with about 1/4 teaspoon per serving, then add more after tasting because this blend brings flavor without the sharp hit of actual salt.
Not for storage, no. Fresh zest adds moisture, and moisture is how a dry seasoning turns clumpy and short-lived. If fresh zest is all you have, mix only what you’ll use right away or dry the zest first before adding it to the jar.
Plan on about 6 months for the best flavor if you keep it airtight in a cool, dark, dry cupboard. It may stay safe longer if it stays dry, but dried herbs fade fast enough that an old batch can taste like flavored dust, which is not doing your dinner any favors.
Moisture is usually the culprit. A damp measuring spoon, steam from a pot, or a humid pantry can make garlic powder and dried citrus pull together, so use a completely dry spoon and shake the mix onto food away from rising steam.
Absolutely. The ratio is simple: 2 parts garlic powder to 1 part each basil, dillweed, oregano, and powdered lemon rind. That makes scaling easy, and it also saves you from doing teaspoon math before coffee.
No, and that’s an important difference. This is a salt-free seasoning blend made from herbs and spices, so it adds flavor but does not mimic the mineral taste of table salt the way potassium-based salt substitutes try to.
Yes, and it helps if your shaker lid has small holes. Pulse the dried herbs briefly in a spice grinder or crush them between your fingers before mixing, but don’t turn everything to powder unless you want a very fine, fast-pouring blend.
It brightens the whole mixture so the herbs taste livelier instead of heavy. You won’t get a lemonade flavor here, just a cleaner, fresher edge that works especially well on vegetables, fish, and chicken.
You can do both. Sprinkle it on food before roasting or sautéing to build flavor, then add a little more at the table if needed since some of the herbal punch softens during cooking.
Use it with foods that usually lean on salt for flavor, like eggs, potatoes, rice, plain vegetables, or simple baked chicken. It’s especially handy when the rest of the meal is pretty plain and needs a nudge without another salty sauce.
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🖨️ Print-Friendly All Purpose Salt Substitute
All Purpose Salt Substitute
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon dillweed
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon powdered lemon rind
Equipment
Instructions
- Measure the garlic powder, basil, dillweed, oregano, and powdered lemon rind into a small bowl.
- Stir until evenly combined.
- Transfer the mixture to a clean, dry jar, shaker bottle, or zip-top bag.
- Seal tightly and store in a cool, dry place.
- Serve in a salt shaker or use as needed to season food.
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
Serving estimate: 40 servings at 1/4 teaspoon each.
Prep time is an estimate based on measuring, mixing, and transferring the dry ingredients.
For best quality, store airtight in a cool, dark, dry place and use within 6 months.
If used in a prepared dip or other perishable dish, refrigerate that finished dish promptly and use within 3 to 4 days.
definitely gonna try this out:momkids:
How long will this keep?