by Christine Watson
I love spicy food! Cajun spices are great with fish, poultry, and meat. This grilling season you could try cajun seasonings in your rubs and sauces.
Cajun seasoning can be used for everything from gumbo to jambalaya to sautéed vegetables and dirty rice. Cajun seasoning also makes a great rub or barbecue sauce.
Just the seasoning
For cajun seasoning you will need:
- 3 Tbsp onion powder
- 3 Tbsp garlic powder
- 3 Tbsp paprika
- 3 Tbsp black pepper
- 3 Tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1 Tbsp ground basil
- 1 Tbsp ground thyme
- 1 Tbsp ground bayleaf
- 3 Tbsp chili powder (optional)
- ½ Tbsp cumin (optional)
- 2 Tbsp coarse (Kosher) salt
Mix onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and peppers in a bowl. Add the basil, thyme, and bayleaf. If you can’t find ground bayleaf you can make it yourself by grinding dried bayleaf in a food processor. Adding chili powder and cumin will really add some heat to this seasoning! Add coarse salt last. This seasoning will last for months as long as you keep it in a sealed container.
The Rub
Make your cajun seasoning a rub by adding 3 Tablespoons brown sugar and mixing well. Some people add oregano to their rub, but I prefer to leave it out. Rub the seasoning into fish, poultry, pork, or your favorite meat then let it sit for about an hour before grilling.
Make it Saucy
Prefer a sauce?
- ½ cup cajun seasoning
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- ½ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- red pepper flakes
Add sauce to meat 10 minutes before removing from the grill and enjoy!
However you spice up your summer, spend time with your family and friends, and enjoy good food and good music. These are the best things in life.
Now I’m hungry. Good article and great organization of content!
The video is great! Makes my mouth water. The instructions are also nice and simple and well organized, I’ll be sure to try it out!
Hi Isobel! When you try out the recipe, feel free to adjust it to your own taste. Some people like it more or less spicy or don’t like the bayleaf (for example). If you’re adding the seasoning to a dish and you want to pump up the Cajun authenticity, you might try adding chopped bell pepper, onion, and celery too. After sharing the recipe with you all I found this site: http://www.realcajunrecipes.com/. I can’t wait to try out some of their recipes that are new to me like the one for Sock-it-to-me Cake.
Mmm. This recipe sounds so good. I think I might have to fire up the grill this weekend. The article has great flow to it. The lists of rubs and making it saucy is great. Nice job incorporating a video modal into the article as well. A+
Thanks Adam! I am so glad you are enjoying the flexibility of Cajun seasoning.
That sounds so delicious! Including the video was an excellent idea. It really makes me want to try the recipe.
Great job Christine, makes me want to get to cooking some ribs. I remember that video from last term. Great article! =)
I actually created this video for the article, but you are probably remembering the footage from our group project. I’m so glad it inspired you to get grilling!
I was eating while reading this, it still made me hungry! The food looks great and you really went the extra mile by making a video.
Speaking of going the extra mile, mine is going to get the sauce.
Love the video Christine, But I would have liked to see the finished product. And then eaten the finished product.
I’m sorry, we were smelling it all that time and forgot about the video by the time it was ready. We devoured it in record time.