Homemade Lawry’s-Style Seasoned Salt

Homemade Lawry’s-Style Seasoned Salt (Clean & Chemical-Free)

If you’ve been seasoning with the classic red-capped Lawry’s Seasoned Salt for years, you’re not alone — it’s been a pantry staple since the 1930s. But here’s the thing: while the flavor is great, the store-bought version comes with extra baggage — higher sodium, vague “natural flavors,” and additives you just don’t need in your food.

Today, I’m showing you how to make your own Lawry’s-style seasoned salt at home. You’ll get the same savory-sweet balance, the golden color, and that unmistakable aroma — but with pure ingredients you can pronounce and a sodium level you control.

Why Skip the Store-Bought?

Here’s what you’ll find on the Lawry’s label:

Salt – Refined table salt, bleached and processed with anti-caking agents.
Sugar – Not natural cane sugar, but typically from GMO sugar beets.
Spices (including paprika & turmeric)
Onion & garlic
Corn starch – A filler and anti-caking agent.
Natural flavor – A vague, catch-all term that can hide lab-derived additives.
Extractives of paprika – Concentrated color/flavor made via petroleum-based solvent extraction.
Tricalcium phosphate – Synthetic anti-caking agent.

While all of these are FDA-approved, they’re not all kitchen-friendly. The sodium is also higher because table salt is denser than kosher salt — meaning more sodium per spoonful.

The Homemade Advantage

When you make it yourself:

You choose pure Diamond Crystal kosher salt — lower sodium by volume, no bleaching, no additives.
You use whole paprika, not solvent-extracted color.
You skip anti-caking chemicals entirely (a couple of dried beans in the jar handle moisture naturally).
You can tweak the spices to fit your taste.