Homemade Chophouse Seasoning Recipe: Bold Flavor, Simple Ingredients
This homemade chophouse seasoning is a smoky, savory blend of simple herbs and spices that adds bold flavor to everything from steak and burgers to chicken and vegetables.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Why You’ll Love This Homemade Chophouse Seasoning
This chophouse seasoning can be used on just about anything, from chicken and steak to vegetables, rice and potatoes. It’s smoky, savory and easy to adjust to be as mild or spicy as you like.
My husband bought a bottle of chophouse seasoning, and we started putting it on everything. But the premixed seasoning was quite spendy.
Naturally, I looked at the ingredients and thought, I could make that!
It turned out to be mostly basic herbs and spices I already had in the cupboard. I made my own version with smoked salt, garlic, onion, herbs and spices—and now we keep a jar of it on hand all the time.
I love finding things like this: something we enjoy buying, but don’t actually need to buy. Once you have the ingredients in your spice cabinet, it’s easy to mix up another batch whenever you run out.
What Is Chophouse Seasoning?
Chophouse seasoning is a savory, smoky seasoning blend made with salt, pepper, garlic, onion, herbs and spices. It’s especially good on grilled or pan-seared meats, but it can be used on vegetables, potatoes and plenty of other foods, too.
When I looked at the ingredients list on the bottle we had, I used the same basic ingredients in varying amounts until I landed on a combination that tasted good to us. After some trial and error, this is the blend we think tastes just right.
Feel free to adjust or substitute based on what suits you!
Ingredients for Homemade Chophouse Seasoning
- Cherrywood smoked sea salt – or any smoked sea salt
- Garlic granules – I like granules better than powder because it’s easier to contain and doesn’t get humid and cake up.
- Onion powder – since I buy spices in bulk and onion powder absorbs moisture and cakes up so quickly, I like to buy dried onion flakes and grind them myself.
- Ground black pepper – any coarseness will work as long as it flows through your shaker jar holes.
- Paprika – regular sweet paprika will balance out the smoked salt, but smoked paprika works too, especially if you use regular sea salt.
- Dried rosemary, powdered
- Dried thyme, powdered
- Dried sage, powdered
- Ground ginger
- Ground turmeric
- Ground yellow mustard seed
- Cayenne pepper (optional)
How to Make and Store Chophouse Seasoning
Some of the herbs were things I harvested from my own garden, and I wanted to powder them so they blended well with the other powdered spices and would turn into a shakeable seasoning.
If you’re using home-dried rosemary, thyme or other herbs, a small coffee grinder works beautifully for turning dried herbs into a fine powder.
Just make sure it’s a grinder you don’t mind dedicating to herbs and spices, because the flavors can linger.
Once everything is finely ground, simply mix it together and store it in an airtight container away from heat and light.
How to Use Chophouse Seasoning
- Steaks and chops: Rub generously onto beef or pork before grilling, searing or roasting.
- Burgers: Mix it directly into ground meat or sprinkle it over the outside of patties before cooking.
- Chicken: Use it as a dry rub before roasting, grilling or pan-searing.
- Vegetables and snacks: Sprinkle over roasted vegetables, baked potatoes, French fries or even popcorn (stovetop popcorn instructions here!).
Common Questions
Yes. This homemade chophouse seasoning contains no added sugar or starch, so it can fit into a keto or low-carb way of eating. But you don’t have to be eating keto to enjoy it. I make it because I like knowing exactly what’s in my seasoning blend.
Not exactly. Steak seasoning is generally designed specifically for beef, while chophouse seasoning is a broader savory blend that works well on steak, pork, chicken and vegetables. This particular blend has a smoky, herby flavor that works especially well with grilled or roasted foods.
What I like best about this recipe is that I can keep it mild. So many interesting spice blends have too much heat, even just with black pepper. So, with this blend, I can keep it mild enough for my kids. I leave the cayenne out or keep it very low. If you like things spicy, increase the cayenne to taste.
Yes. You can substitute regular sea salt, but you’ll lose some of the smoky flavor. If you do, I recommend using smoked paprika in place of sweet paprika to bring some of that smokiness back.
6-8 months.
More Easy Staple and Seasoning Recipes
I hope this homemade chophouse seasoning recipe helps you continue confidently on your DIY journey. You may also be interested in some of these basic staples:
Homemade Chophouse Seasoning Recipe
Homemade Chophouse Seasoning
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cherrywood smoked sea salt, or any smoked sea salt if cherrywood is unavailable
- 1 tablespoon garlic granules
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, can increase if desired
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika, use sweet, but can use smoked, especially if using plain sea salt
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary, powdered
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme, powdered
- ½ teaspoon dried sage, powdered
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground yellow mustard seed
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional. (Only add if you want more heat! Without it, the recipe is mild enough for my kids, who have very low spice tolerance.)
Instructions
- Grind the herbs/spices that are large (rosemary, mustard seed, etc.) in a spice/coffee grinder or mortar & pestle so the mix blends evenly.
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
- Store in an airtight jar away from heat and light. Flavor is best within 6-8 months.
Notes
Nutrition
One Less Thing to Buy
It’s amazing how many seasonings actually just use the basic herbs and spices you already have! You don’t have to pay any extra to mix them up yourself.
Keep this one mild for the kids, add more cayenne for a little heat, or change up the herbs and spices to make it your own.
Once you have a jar on hand, you’ll find plenty of things to sprinkle it on.
Pin it for Later: Homemade Chophouse Seasoning Recipe
I look forward to hearing what YOU think of it!