Flavor your food with fresh-cut vegetables in this robust Creole Seasoning Blend Recipe. Making this homemade blend is more economical than the store-bought brands and a time saver for easy meal prep. Try it in your favorite dishes.
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What Is Creole Seasoning Blend?
Well, it's not the dried seasonings you may be thinking of that are well-populated on grocers' shelves these days. Instead, this is a blend of fresh-cut vegetables used to flavor food. It's better 'cause it's fresher!
The beauty of this Creole Seasoning Blend is that they're pre-cut and always ready to use. You may have discovered them in the grocery store's produce or frozen food section. While these products are convenient, I've decided to make my own and save about half the cost of store-bought brands, even more, when using home-grown vegetables.
Also, I've discovered there's less waste when I chop and store-produce while they're fresh. It's a practice that keeps them from spoiling in the refrigerator drawer before I get to cook with them.
The Difference Between Cajun And Creole Cuisines
You'll find the inclusion of the simple Cajun trinity plus a few more flavors tucked into this recipe. This may be the reason why it's called Creole instead of Cajun. Do you know there's a difference between the two? Some distinguish them as Cajun from the country and Creole from the city.
You see, Cajun cuisine originated in Acadiana or southwest Louisiana. These country people learned to cook with what the land offered. My Godmother says Cajun cooking isn't like Creole cooking because certain ingredients haven't always been available to the Cajuns. Foods like tomatoes and dried beans.
Creole cuisine is a little more complex. It originated in New Orleans with a strong influence from the French, Spanish, African, and Caribbean people. With the city's access to shipping ports, suppliers shipped foods from around the world to meet the demands of the diverse cultures' way of cooking. This way has become Creole cuisine.
Perhaps the name Creole in this Seasoning Blend comes from having a few vegetables the Cajuns couldn't readily get their hands on. Or maybe Creole foods require more complex flavors. Besides their differences, both styles borrow and complement each other's culinary methods beautifully. They are what makes Louisiana so exceptional.
How To Make this Recipe
A lot of savory cooking begins with the sautéing of fresh vegetables like onion, celery, and peppers, a.k.a. the Cajun Trinity. It's pretty tasty and has an added bonus of a tantalizing aroma as it cooks. You may have been cooking with it for years and didn't know it. Now you do!
Sometimes the thought of having to chop vegetables keeps me from cooking. I don't know about you, but my eyes always water when I start cutting up an onion. And I don't like crying for no good reason!
My solution is that I wear cooking goggles to protect my eyes and chop a large batch ahead of time when making this robust blend. It includes onions, red and green bell peppers, celery, garlic, and parsley. I chop them into small pieces and stir them together in a big bowl. They make a beautiful pile of fresh flavor and aroma.
"What about a food processor?" you may ask. Well, yes, that's another solution, but it tends to pulverize the vegetables too fine and make them uneven and watery. The hand-chopping gives a more unified size, which I prefer, and my younger sister says the food processor causes the food to taste different. Maybe so!
How To Store The Blend
After the chopping, I divide the combination into portions and store them for up to a week in the refrigerator or months in the freezer. It conveniently saves time and money and keeps my eyes from watering like a whale!
For storing in the freezer, I find using this vacuum sealer machine is the way to go. It removes the air and seals the bags saving them from freezer burn. These bags stack nicely in my freezer conveniently.
Now there's less hesitation when cooking with chopped vegetables. I just go into the kitchen, grab a bag and start cooking.
More Louisiana Woman Recipes!
Here are some delicious suggestions to cook with the Creole Seasoning Blend Recipe.
- Smothered Okra For Gumbo
- Chicken Gumbo, Simply Classic Cajun
- Pork Jambalaya, A Traditional Cajun Dish
- Shrimp Creole
- Fish In Red Gravy
- Crawfish Fettuccine
- Goose Gumbo
If you came here looking for a dry seasoning blend, try my Pink Cajun Seasoning Blend. It's delicious! I use pink salt here, but regular white salt can be substituted.
Print
Creole Seasoning Blend Recipe
A large batch of fresh-cut vegetables prepared ahead of time to cook with your favorite dishes.
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 10.5-cups 1x
Ingredients
- 3 onions, chopped, or 4 ½ cups
- 1 bunch of celery, chopped, or 2 ½ - 3 cups
- 2 green bell peppers, chopped, or 2 cups
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped, or 1 cup
- ½ bunch parsley, chopped, or ¾ cup
- 1 bulb garlic, chopped, or 3 ½ - 4 tablespoons
Instructions
- Mix all together in a large bowl.
- Divide into 3.5-cup servings and place into airtight plastic containers or bags.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Use 3.5 cups of the seasoning blend for 1 Chicken Gumbo recipe.
- Defrost the blend if frozen before cooking.
- Some seasoning blends call for green onion; this can be included here or added at the finish of a cooked dish for garnish and extra onion flavor.
- Using a vacuum sealer machine to store individual 3.5-cup servings is convenient for cooking and storing.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: vegetables
- Cuisine: Cajun/Creole
Keywords: Fresh-Cut Seasoning Blend Vegetables
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