5 Minute DIY Sazon Seasoning
Learn how to make this 5 minute DIY Sazon Seasoning with a mix of achiote, garlic, coriander, cumin, and oregano. It’s perfect for using with red meat, rice, beans and many of my favorite Puerto Rican recipes.
If you’ve had any traditional Puerto Rican recipes, you’ve probably tried sazon. It’s the most popular spice blend on the island, and for good reason.
The blend of achiote powder with garlic, oregano, cumin, and coriander works well in a variety of savory recipes and cuisines.
While it’s pretty easy to find at the grocery store, making it yourself results in a much better blend and takes only 5 minutes to do. Plus, when you make it at home with only 5 ingredients, you get to skip the list of weird ingredients we can barely pronounce, much less understand.
We use it weekly in my kitchen whether it’s as a simple dry rub on chicken skewers, as a seasoning for arroz con gandules, or in the picadillo for my empanadillas.
This spice is a pantry staple in many households because of the warm color and smoky savory flavor it provides.
Ingredients
Some homemade recipes will call for turmeric to enhance that bright red color, but I find that using fresh achiote powder (or ground annatto seeds) does a great job at this.
Instructions
Tip: If you can’t find annatto seeds or achiote powder at your grocery store or online, the best substitute is ½ tbsp of ground turmeric.
Where to Use Sazon Seasoning
Here are some of my favorite Puerto Rican recipes that use sazon:
More Puerto Rican Staples
Buen Provecho!
5 Minute DIY Sazon Seasoning Spice Blend
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1/2 cup
- Category: Spice Blend
- Method: Toasted
- Cuisine: Puerto Rican, Latin
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Learn how to make this 5 minute DIY Sazon Seasoning with a mix of achiote, garlic, coriander, cumin, and oregano. It’s perfect for using with red meat, rice, beans and many of my favorite Puerto Rican recipes.
Ingredients
- 6 tsp achiote powder
- 3 tsp ground coriander
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tsp dried oregano
Instructions
- Grind any whole spices. Start by grinding any whole spices you have. I recommend using achiote powder but if you have whole annatto seeds and need to grind them up, using a coffee grinder is the best method I’ve found.
- Combine & mix. Combine all ground spices and mix until evenly combined. Store in an airtight container in your spice cabinet for up to 6 months (depending on the freshness of your spices).
Notes
You can also add a teaspoon of salt and pepper to the blend, if you’d like. I prefer leaving these out so that I have control over how much I use in the dish I’m making.
Gracias por todo, con cariño
I am so psyched to try this recipe! I surely do not want a list of ingredients I can’t pronounce. I love Turmeric for its anti-inflammatory properties. Can I use both? If I do how should I measure it?
Hi Cher, I’m so happy you’re going to make your own sazon! You can definitely use both; I’d try adding two to three teaspoons of the turmeric in addition to the 6 teaspoons of achiote powder. Happy cooking 🙂
Thank You so much!