Behind the Seasoning: Poultry Seasoning

If you’re looking for one seasoning to make your Thanksgiving or holiday meal much easier, you need Poultry Seasoning. With loads of sage, onions, garlic, rosemary, and more, the seasoning blend has everything you could want to make your Thanksgiving meal taste out of this world. And it’s not just for turkey! Read on to learn more.

What is Poultry Seasoning?

There’s a lot going on when it comes to poultry seasoning — in a good way. The spice blend is our dried spice mix version of a classic, fresh poultry seasoning. While the blend was developed as a seasoning for the Thanksgiving meal, it goes way beyond the November holiday (and the turkey). This sage-forward seasoning blend is great to use on pork and lamb, in soups, and for seasoning vegetables. 

What spices are in Poultry Seasoning?

The spices in our poultry seasoning are carefully crafted to give maximum flavor. Rubbed sage is the main ingredient of the blend, but it doesn’t overpower the other herbs & spices. When it comes to the herbs, rosemary, thyme, parsley, marjoram, and Greek oregano pair with the sage to round out the herby flavor of the blend. Granulated onion, granulated garlic add sharpness and aromatics, while ground black pepper and ground ginger add a touch of heat. A few other spices are mixed in to create depth of flavor and complexity. It may seem like an overwhelming amount of spice and herbs, but each component is necessary for this essential fall flavor. 

Is Poultry Seasoning vegan?

Contrary to the name, our poultry season is completely vegan. The blend gets its name because of its use and not because there is any poultry in the mix. But don’t let the name fool you. In addition to being vegan, Poultry Seasoning isn’t just for chicken or turkey. We love to use our poultry seasoning in side dishes, when roasting vegetables or for adding richness to comforting soups and vegetable-forward stews.  

Is Poultry Seasoning gluten-free?

Like most of our spices, poultry seasoning is gluten-free. It is great to add to your gluten-free stuffing (especially if the gluten-free bread is lacking in flavor!) as well as other gluten-free holiday sides. 

Is Poultry Seasoning salt-free?

You don’t have to worry about overloading on the salt when it comes to our poultry seasoning. Unlike many traditional poultry seasonings, our blend is salt-free. That said, you can absolutely add a pinch of salt to suit your taste. The fact that this is a salt-free mix doesn’t mean our combination is less flavorful. In fact, our blend features over 10 spices, each more tasty than the next. 

Where & How to Buy Poultry Seasoning

Fresh herbs for poultry and poultry seasoning are typically available in most markets year-round but are especially easy to find during the Thanksgiving and holiday season. Our store carries Poultry Seasoning in many different sizes, so you don’t have to worry about running out while cooking your holiday meal.

We know that for many people this is one of those spice blends that only gets pulled out of the pantry once a year. (We can help you solve that, read on for additional non-holiday recipes.) Just remember to take a sniff when you pull your Poultry Seasoning out of the pantry — if it doesn’t have smell, it doesn’t have flavor!

If you’d prefer to check out our Poultry Seasoning in person, head to our store locator feature to see where you can find our products in a store near you. 

What Does Poultry Seasoning Taste Like?

Don’t let the name fool you! Poultry seasoning tastes nothing like poultry. It gets its name from its common use of seasoning poultry. Since the seasoning is a blend of many spices, it can have many flavor profiles. The blend is definitely herby and also a little peppery, sweet-spiced, aromatic, and a bit bittersweet. Our blend is heavy on the sage but the flavor of that one ingredient isn’t overpowering. This herby blend of spices is sometimes called Stuffing Seasoning as well.

What Other Spice, Seasoning, and Flavors Pair Well with Poultry Seasoning?

Since poultry seasoning is already a mix of herbs and spices, it pairs well with many spices and seasonings. The blend doesn’t need much else unless you are trying to highlight other flavors in the mix. Our blend highlights sage, but if you are looking to bring out flavors like onions, garlic, or thyme, feel free to add more of those spices to the mix. 

Don’t let the name of this mix limit your creativity when it comes to cooking with the blend. Poultry Seasoning is perfect in recipes that have nothing to do with poultry. The blend is excellent in soups, dips, and marinades. It even works well alongside other seasonings to make a rub, like in our Frying Pan Pork Sausage Spice Blend. 

What are Uses for Poultry Seasoning?

If it wasn’t obvious by now, poultry seasoning is a must when making a Thanksgiving meal. However, that is only one day of the year. Instead of letting your spice mix sit for the other 364 days, put it to use in your everyday cooking. Use the spice blend to season croutons, make soups (try Chicken Noodle Soup or Chicken and Dumplings Soup) and stews, in marinades for  or to season pork and lamb, and for adding flavor to roasted vegetables. 

How much Poultry Seasoning to use?

When using this blend to season your Thanksgiving stuffing, we recommend using ½ to 1 teaspoon per cup of stuffing. If you’re making your own bread or cornbread and add it in then, use less when making your stuffing.

When used as a rub or marinade, a small amount will go a long way. Cover the meat or add a dash of the seasoning blend to your marinade or rub. When using the blend to season vegetables, sprinkle directly onto the veggies before roasting to get the maximum amount of flavor. 

What is a Poultry Seasoning Substitute?

We’ve all been there — doing your last-minute Thanksgiving cooking and you run out of seasoning. There is no need to panic, as substitutions for the blend are easy to come by. Sage, thyme, and marjoram will be your best bet to replace the main flavors of the mix. Our blend is heavy on the sage, so the herb will be an excellent replacement. 

If you are out of poultry seasoning but find yourself with a cabinet full of spices and herbs, you can make your own poultry seasoning. Simply combine sage, onion, garlic, rosemary, black pepper, thyme, parsley, marjoram, coriander, allspice, and a pinch of oregano. You might want to give it a zip in a coffee or spice grinder to mix fully and to create the fine powdered texture.

Other spice blends like Nantucket Herb & Citrus Rub and Bohemian Forest blend will also work in a pinch. They share overlapping flavors with poultry seasoning and have similar uses. 

Poultry Seasoning Recipes

Make use of your poultry seasoning and use it all year round and not just on Thanksgiving. These recipes will give you some ideas on how to utilize the spice blend on more than just stuffing and poultry. 

 Holiday Recipes

• Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms - Prep the taste buds ahead of the big Thanksgiving meal with these flavorful stuffed mushrooms. 
• Sage & Savory Croutons - Ditch the store-bought croutons and make your own that are overpowering with flavor thanks to our poultry seasoning. 
• Sage & Savory Stuffing - Our version of this essential holiday side gets a pop of color and flavor from cranberries and carrots. But omit or adjust to suit your taste.
• Cornbread Dressing - A classic cornbread stuffing, this is as good with roast ham or chicken as it is with a holiday roast turkey.

 Any Season Recipes

• Frying Pan Pork Sausage Spice Blend - This DIY version of a discontinued seasoning is perfect for making a breakfast sausage. Add 1 Tbsp. seasoning per pound of meat.
• Instant Pot Roast Chicken - Roasting an entire chicken doesn’t have to be a whole day's process when you have your Instant Pot ready to go. The shortcut doesn’t leave out any flavor from the poultry seasoning blend. 
• Sage & Roasted Squash Risotto - A creamy risotto is always a good idea. Show off your skills in the kitchen and season the risotto to perfection with the poultry seasoning. 
• Sweet Potato Cider Bisque - Poultry seasoning works alongside sweet potatoes and corn to make a soup that will instantly warm you up. 

Go Behind the Seasoning to learn about other seasonal favorites like Mulling Spices, Pumpkin Pie Spice or Chili Powder. Browse more Fall Flavors. Tag us @savoryspiceshop on Instagram if you try Poultry Seasoning this fall!