Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This Jamaican Jerk Seasoning blend is made right at home. Save your money and make your own with a kick from a blend of spices such as cayenne pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg to name a few.
Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
Today I have something different to share with you, a spice blend recipe. Jamaican jerk is such a versatile spice blend to have in your cupboard. It adds heat, dimension, and complexity to many a dish. This is my favorite particular little mix but it’s completely customizable!
Packed full of aromatics, sweet yet smokey notes, complex nutmeg, and spices from across the globe, this seasoning is famous for a reason. We’re thankful it made its way across the ocean because it tastes so good on just about anything! So let’s get into it shall we?
What Is Jamaican Jerk Seasoning?
Today’s spice blend is a dry Jamaican Jerk seasoning or spice blend which is amazing. It actually refers to a style of cooking that just involves rubbing a hot spice blend over your choice of meat. I decided to dial down the heat today, as a lot of jerk seasoning you’ll find in the store includes powdered habanero.
So thank me later.
Ingredients In Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
- Aromatics – Powdered onion and garlic.
- Spices – Cumin, nutmeg, allspice, smoked paprika, cinnamon.
- Heat – Red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper.
- Sugar – Just some brown sugar for a well rounded depth of flavor.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
- Herbs – Dried parsley and thyme.
How To Make Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Make the spice blend: Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Recipe will yield about 1/2 cup. Store in a spice jar in your spice cabinet.
What Can I Use Jamaican Jerk Seasoning On?
There’s so many ways you can use this delicious spice blend! Feel free to play around with it.
- Prawns
- Jerk chicken
- Jamaican Jerk Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Fish, any nice white fish or even salmon!
- Pork chops
- Toss Air Fryer Chicken Wings in this seasoning after it’s done cooking
- Cauliflower – drizzle an entire head with olive oil and rub this spice blend in. Bake it in the oven and believe me you’ll have to resist eating the entire thing!
How To Tell If Your Spices Are Still Fresh
We all know spice blends can last a while, but they do go stale eventually. If you want to ensure both the spices you add to your seasoning and your seasoning itself is fresh just keep an eye on the color. If the pigment starts to fade and the spices begin to look dull, your blend may be starting to go stale.
How Long Can I Store Jamaican Jerk Seasoning?
Jerk seasoning can be safely kept in your pantry, if stored properly for about 1 to 2 years.
More Spice Blends To Add To Your Pantry
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika ((regular paprika is fine))
- 1 teaspoon allspice (ground)
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper (ground)
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon cumin (ground)
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg (ground)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon (ground)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon thyme (dried)
- 1 tablespoon parsley (dried)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Recipe will yield about 1/2 cup. Store in a spice jar in your spice cabinet.
Notes
- You can adjust the salt to your preference, or completely omit it from this recipe.
- Keep spices and herbs away from heat and moisture. Although spices and herbs will keep for a long time if stored properly (4 years), they will lose their strength.
- To tell if your spices are still fresh, just look at their color and if the color has faded, their flavor probably has faded as well.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
When the grocery store was out of Jamaican seasoning and I needed it for a potluck the next, I found this recipe. It was a huge success and so much more cost affordable. I had all the spices in my pantry. Thank you!
My pleasure, glad you liked it!
I ran out of Jungle Jim’s Jamaican Jerk Seasoning.
Found this recipe on line. It’s the best!
Have only tried it on Chicken so far.
Ate all 4 chicken thighs in one sitting by myself, It’s that good!
So glad you enjoyed it! It’s always a win when a homemade seasoning can rival a store-bought favorite. Happy cooking with your new jerk seasoning!
I love this! I use it on pork tenderloin medallions with butter and peach jam sauce over rice…soooo good and no sodium needed!
It’s great to hear that you enjoy the Jamaican jerk seasoning! Using it on pork tenderloin medallions with a butter and peach jam sauce sounds incredibly delicious and inventive. It must impart a wonderful blend of sweet, savory, and spicy flavors to the dish, making it an exciting culinary experience. Plus, having a no-sodium-added option is certainly a healthful choice.
I left out the hot spices and the sugar but the flavors of the rest of the spices and herbs so makes up for the loss of those items that I will be using this for multiple other food items! Thank you for contributing to the variety of rubs we use.
That’s awesome to hear! It’s super cool that you’ve been able to modify the seasoning to suit your taste and still find it flavorful. It’s great when a recipe can be versatile. Can’t wait to hear about all the different dishes you jazz up with this mix. Happy cooking!
Hello thank you for sharing your recipe. I’m definitely going to use this recipe next week, serving 800 guests.
Wow, 800 guests? That’s impressive! I’m thrilled to hear you’ll be using my recipe for such a large gathering. The flavors are sure to be a hit. Just make sure to scale up the recipe accordingly and maybe do a small test batch first to get the seasoning just right. Best of luck, and I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Better than shop bought, which is way too salty. I reduced the salt and sugar for mine.
Thank you for sharing this gorgeous recipe! 🙂
My pleasure!
I made it for some jamaican oxtails it was outstanding is good on them. I posted the pictures friend saw it wanted the recipe
This is a great recipe! I made it without salt so I could control the salt later, but it enhanced the chicken and shrimp in the dish I made. Definitely will continue to use it as the flavors are very balanced. Thank you.
Better than anything shop bought, delicious!
We love this spice.! It’s our goto jerk seasoning! Did not review until our second batch but 5 stars!
Delicious!!! Great on ALL food!!! Loved you posted the nutritional info too!
I was looking for a good recipe on how to make a Jerk seasoning that I could use on most foods. This recipe is just what I was looking for. It gives food that Island taste and flavor. 😜👍
I ran out of Jerk seasoning recently, but have so many spices on hand and didn’t want to buy more. This was a perfect solution! I used half the cayenne because we are wimps. 🙂
Very good. Since we have grandchildren that don’t like the heat as much, cut the cayenne pepper in half and it’s still very good.