When a recipe calls for Dry Onion Soup Mix, most of us automatically think of those packets that we get in the store, convenient & full of flavour, they help us get dinner on the table just that much quicker. Here’s the thing…. have you ever read the package? With so many food sensitivities these days many people are trying to avoid Gluten, MSG, and well, look at the SALT in there.
I have NOTHING against store bought convenience foods.. honest, but I was surprised to see how many ingredients in the two brands of mixes I looked at might restrict people from making some pretty tasty recipes. You can of course hunt down a Gluten Free or low Sodium brand, MSG free too can be found. They are more expensive of course, and well, can be hard to find.
My solution? Make my own. Yep… that’s how I roll around here! I like homemade seasoning mixes a lot. I find they are fresher, adaptable to your personal tastes, less expensive and I waste less. Often a recipe will call for 1 Tbsp of a seasoning pack, leaving me with a half open bag that is sure to either go stale, or fall out all over my cupboard when I’m in a hurry to get dinner on the table… We ALL know what that looks like, and it ain’t pretty!
So what is Onion Soup Mix anyways? Well, it’s basically a dried form of the flavours in French Onion Soup. Beef Stock, Onions, Garlic, Thyme, Pepper and ummm lots of SALT! The ingredients after that vary quite a bit, from brand to brand and all include items I can’t spell or pronounce. So as with all recipes I want to develop, I do my research, and then I experiment until I’m happy.
I found some added sugar, some had celery seed, or celery salt, the proportions of the seasoning varied really widely. I tested them by mixing up small batches, and making French Onion Dip for the kids to taste test and then used it in meatball testing. By making your OWN Dry Onion Soup Mix, homemade from scratch you can control any/all dietary restrictions, it honestly tastes better, and is economical, I sourced some healthier beef broth options you can get on Amazon as it’s super hard to locate them in stores where I come from.
Homemade from Scratch: Dry Onion Soup Mix
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup dry onion flakes
- 2 Tbsp beef bouillon low sodium or sodium free
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp parsley flakes
- 1/8 tsp celery salt or celery seed
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Place in an small jar with an airtight lid. Label and use instead of store bought Dry Onion Soup Mix.
