Creole Seasoning Calculator, Scaled to Your Batch

By , Ready Utilities

This creole seasoning calculator scales Chef Emeril Lagasse's Essence Creole Seasoning, which mixes paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne, oregano, and thyme and makes about 2/3 cup.

Common batch sizes

Tap a batch size to load it into the calculator, and the exact amounts appear below.

Creole seasoning calculator

Scale by

Weight mode needs a USDA gram weight for every ingredient; dried thyme doesn't have one.

From 0.25 to 20. Use 0.5 for half a batch.

Salt

Grind changes how much salt fits in a spoon. Amounts match by weight.

Heat

Heat changes only the cayenne pepper. It's a taste preference, not part of the recipe.

Your batch

Paprika leads at just under a quarter of the blend by volume, with salt and garlic powder close behind. This is Chef Emeril Lagasse's own published homemade recipe, sometimes called Essence, and it's a distinct formula from any retail seasoning sold under a similar name.

Salt and heat settings are preferences. Taste as you go.

The base recipe

Emeril's Essence Creole Seasoning

Adapted from Emeril's Essence Creole Seasoning, Emerils.com (Chef Emeril Lagasse)

Yield: About 2/3 cup

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme
  1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well, then store in an airtight container.

Scale this recipe

On this page

Batch size chart

IngredientHalf batchBase batchDoubleTriple
paprika1 tbsp + 3/4 tsp (8.6 g)2 tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp (17 g)1/4 cup + 1 tbsp (35 g)1/4 cup + 3 1/2 tbsp (52 g)
salt1 tbsp (18 g)2 tbsp (36 g)1/4 cup (72 g)1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (108 g)
garlic powder1 tbsp (9.3 g)2 tbsp (19 g)1/4 cup (37 g)1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (56 g)
black pepper1 1/2 tsp (3.5 g)1 tbsp (6.9 g)2 tbsp (14 g)3 tbsp (21 g)
onion powder1 1/2 tsp (3.6 g)1 tbsp (7.2 g)2 tbsp (14 g)3 tbsp (22 g)
cayenne pepper1 1/2 tsp (2.7 g)1 tbsp (5.4 g)2 tbsp (11 g)3 tbsp (16 g)
dried leaf oregano1 1/2 tsp (1.5 g)1 tbsp (3.0 g)2 tbsp (6.0 g)3 tbsp (9.0 g)
dried thyme1 1/2 tsp1 tbsp2 tbsp3 tbsp
Total volume1/4 cup + 2 tbsp1/2 cup + 3 1/2 tbsp1 1/4 cups + 3 tbsp2 cups + 2 1/2 tbsp

Emeril's Essence Creole Seasoning from Emerils.com (Chef Emeril Lagasse), scaled with the site's kitchen rounding. Weights from USDA FoodData Central where USDA lists the exact form. Salt is shown as the recipe lists it.

How the scaling works

Emeril's Essence Creole Seasoning totals 1/2 cup + 3 1/2 tbsp as published, across 8 ingredients. Every one is multiplied by the same number, so paprika stays 22% of the blend whatever size you make. Pick a multiplier directly, or enter the amount you want and the calculator works back to it from that 1/2 cup + 3 1/2 tbsp total.

The salt and heat controls change only those lines. Turning the cayenne pepper down does not make the paprika go up. Amounts under 3 teaspoons round to the nearest 1/8 teaspoon, and larger amounts round to the nearest 1/4 teaspoon in tablespoons.

Worked example: doubling the base recipe

IngredientBasex 2
paprika2 1/2 tablespoons1/4 cup + 1 tbsp
salt2 tablespoons1/4 cup
garlic powder2 tablespoons1/4 cup
black pepper1 tablespoon2 tbsp
onion powder1 tablespoon2 tbsp
cayenne pepper1 tablespoon2 tbsp
dried leaf oregano1 tablespoon2 tbsp
dried thyme1 tablespoon2 tbsp

How this was checked

This recipe is Emeril's Essence Creole Seasoning, published on Emerils.com and credited to Chef Emeril Lagasse. Cedrick Reese checked the amounts against Emerils.com's own recipe page for Ready Utilities and against the matching version on Food Network, which credits the same recipe to Lagasse's 1993 cookbook New New Orleans Cooking. Gram weights come from USDA FoodData Central; dried thyme shows no weight because the source doesn't say whether it's leaf or ground. The recipe lists plain salt without naming a type, so it's treated as table salt.

Frequently asked questions

What is in Creole seasoning?

Emeril's Essence Creole Seasoning uses 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika, 2 tablespoons each of salt and garlic powder, and 1 tablespoon each of black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, and dried thyme.

Is this the same as store-bought Essence seasoning?

This calculator scales Chef Emeril Lagasse's own published homemade recipe, which he also calls Essence. It isn't tied to the formula of any packaged retail product sold under a similar name.

Is Creole seasoning the same as Cajun seasoning?

They're related but distinct. This page's recipe is Lagasse's Creole-labeled Essence; the Cajun seasoning page on this site uses a separately sourced America's Test Kitchen recipe with different proportions.

How spicy is Creole seasoning?

Cayenne pepper makes up less than a tenth of this blend by volume, so it has a mild background heat rather than a strong kick. Use the heat control to adjust it.