Sprinkle some authentic Dominican sazón en polvo on your dishes with our two ways to make Dominican sazón completo. This Homemade Dominican seasoning powder shortens the preparation time of your Dominican meal and adds the sabor criollo we love so much.
By - Reviewed: . Original: Jun 1, 2012
Why we ❤️ it
Whenever I need to use seasoning powder at home, I prefer my own homemade seasoning powder. I'm a huge fan of modern conveniences, but when it comes to food, homemade is almost always better.
I like to write our recipes in a way that encourages people to live more frugally and eat more naturally. I make it from fresh herbs that are starting to wilt and spoil, so nothing is wasted. Go around sprinkling your preparations with it, like a fairy godmother of deliciousness!
What's sazón completo / en polvo?
You know I won't steer you wrong: when it comes to authentic traditional cookery, the Dominican sazón líquido is what our grandmas preferred and had access to. But in modern times, sazón completo or sazón en polvo has overtaken it.
Sazón en polvo is a supermarket-bought seasoning powder that combines the traditional flavors of Dominican cookery. It typically contains garlic, onion, oregano, cilantro, parsley, and black pepper.
Each brand, however, adds a whole bunch of ingredients that you may not care for in your food, including sugar, starch, artificial coloring and flavoring, agglutinants, anticaking agents, MSD, salt and/or extra sodium, etc. [source]. So, if you want something simpler, you can pick one of these two homemade choices.
Homemade seasoning powder and ingredients.
How to use it
You can use these sazones en polvo to add some Dominican flavor to your foods or enhance the flavors in your Dominican dishes.
Some dishes that call for seasoning powder are our Pinchos de pollo (chicken skewers), our Rikitaki sandwich recipe, Pasteles en hoja Dominican "tamales" and our Pasteles al horno casserole.
Top tips
- Herbs: Do you have other Dominican herbs (leek, chives, cilantro ancho/culantro, etc.)? Throw them in, too!
- Salt: I do not recommend adding salt to it. Salt is hydrophilic (will attract water from the air) and makes it damp making it last much less time.
- Storing: If you make a batch that is going to last more than a week, it's best to keep it refrigerated, out of an abundance of caution, and to prevent it from clumping from humidity in the air.
- Substitutions: Garlic and onion take too long to dry in the microwave, regardless of how thin it's minced/sliced, and it eventually burns a bit, so it doesn't work. In that case, make a herb-only seasoning, or add store-bought dry garlic and onion.
About this recipe
So why take the time to make homemade seasoning powder?
Because this one is made from ingredients we may already have. And because it tastes better. You have the choice of using store-bought dry ingredients or using fresh ingredients. The recipe provides the list of ingredients and instructions for both.
Another reason to make this seasoning powder is to save a bunch of herbs from ending up in the trash. I don't like wasting food.
Once you see how easy it is to make this, you, too, will be loath to pay for seasoning powder.
Video
Recipe
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Sazón Completo en Polvo [Video+Recipe] Homemade Seasoning Powder
Ingredients
Quick seasoning
- 2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons onion powder
- 1 tablespoon dry parsley
- 1 tablespoon dry cilantro, (optional)
- 1½ teaspoon oregano powder
- 1 teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)
- 1 teaspoon celery powder, (optional)
- ½ teaspoon bija (annato, achiote) powder, (optional)
Instructions
1. Mix ingredients
To make quick seasoning: Mix all the ingredients and store the mixture in an airtight jar. No further steps necessary.To make with fresh herbs: Remove the oregano sticks to leave just the leaves.Spread the parsley, thyme, cilantro, oregano, garlic, and onion on a baking sheet. Continue with the steps below.
2. Dry
- Drying in dehydrator: Place in dehydrator for 4-5 hours, or until completely dry (they will crumble when pressed). Drying in oven: Dry on metal tray in the oven at 176 ºC [80 ºC] (or as low as possible) for 4 hours, or until all ingredients are dry (they will crumble when pressed).Drying in microwave: Microwave herbs only (no garlic or onion - see notes) on a microwave-safe tray for 30 seconds. Check to see that they are completely dry (they will crumble when pressed). Microwave for another 10 seconds if they need to be dried some more.The color of the resulting powder will depend on the combination of herbs and the drying method.
3. Clean
- Remove from the oven/dehydrator/microwave and remove the remaining oregano and thyme sticks, leaving only the leaves.
4. Pulverize
- Pulverize in a food processor or coffee grinder.
5. Storage
To store, put in an airtight container in a cool, dry place (see notes).Use it to season vegetables, meats, and fish.
Cook's Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.
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More homemade seasonings
You can't miss our authentic Dominican sazón, a liquid version of this, and a spicy touch to your meals with our Agrio de naranja spicy vinegar, add color and flavor to your foods with our Aceite de bija achiote oil, or incorporate our homemade Agrio de vinagrillo vinegar in your Dominican dishes. They are all in our seasonings and condiments recipe collection.
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