Make It Yourself: Mrs. Dash Salt-Free Original Blend Seasoning
I’ve always wondered about her. Is she still alive? How did she come up with idea? I’m guessing Mr. Dash’s doctor prescribed a salt-free diet. And that’s about as far as my curiosity for Mrs. Dash ever took me, that is until Diane from Calif., showed up in my inbox a couple of weeks ago. Her message nudged me to get learn more about Mrs. Dash—a whole lot more!
Dear Mary: I was preparing to order more Mrs. Dash salt-free seasoning mix, but balked at paying $9.99 for a 2.5-ounce jar. Do you have a make-it-yourself alternative? Thank you so much. I look forward to your newsletter every day. Diane D.
Well, yes I do have that, but I couldn’t help digging in to learn all about the Mrs. Dash brand origination and history. Turns out Mrs. Dash and her culinary skills are not at all what I’d imagined.
Actually, It’s Mrs. B.
Back in the 1980s, while a marketing executive at Alberto-Culver, Carol Bermick was frustrated with the products available to flavor the meals she prepared at home for her family. She invented a salt-free blend of her own to fill the need for a convenient way to flavor food without using salt. It was so well received by the execs at Alberto-Culver, she went on to develop the entire product line. Before settling on the name Mrs. Dash, the company considered the name Mrs. Pinch.
Carol moved up the ranks, eventually serving as Executive Chairman of the company until Alberto-Culver was acquired by Unilever in 2011. In early 2020, the product was rebranded as Dash, dropping the Mrs. from its name.
Clone of Mrs. Dash
With all of that out of the way, I moved quickly to my semi-vast, priceless library to come up with the winning copycat recipe for the Mrs. Dash Original Salt-Free Seasoning Blend. Meet Todd Wilbur, of Copycat Recipes fame.
The guy is amazing—part sleuth, part scientist, the rest comedian. I’m a fan, not only for Todd’s entertainment value but because every copycat recipe of his that I have ever tried has come out spot on. And Mrs. Dash is no exception. Todd’s copycat version is a dead-ringer for the real deal. And that means for Diane D., you, and me—no more paying $4.04 per ounce for Mrs. Dash.
With this copycat recipe and a collection of spices, you’ll be all set to clone Mrs. Dash Original Salt-Free Seasoning Blend for just pennies!
While this is my favorite of Todd’s books (there are many), it does not include the Mrs. Dash copycat recipe, which you will see below.
Small Investment
Before you look at the recipe, let me warn you: This requires a lot of ingredients. You may have many or even most of them in your spice rack. Or not. Don’t hesitate to get the ones you need, even if they seem more expensive than just breaking down and buying Mrs. Dash. Hint: Check your local dollar store, Aldi or Trader Joes.
Once you have the collection of spices, you won’t be buying again for a very long time! That’s because you will be using only 1 to 1/2 teaspoon of most to make an entire batch (6.42 oz. compared to Mrs. D’s 2.5 oz). You’ll be all set to clone Mrs. Dash for months and months perhaps even longer. It’s an investment you will be grateful to have made.
Copycat Mrs. Dash Salt-Free Seasoning Blend
Ingredients
- ¼ cup dried minced onion flakes crushed (see Notes)
- 4 tspn dried vegetable flakes crushed (see Notes)
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp dried orange peel
- 2 tspn coarse ground black pepper
- 1 tspn dried parsley
- ½ tspn dried basil
- ½ tspn dried marjoram
- ½ tspn dried oregano
- ½ tspn dried savory
- ½ tspn dried thyme
- ½ tspn ground cayenne pepper
- ½ tspn ground cumin
- ½ tspn ground coriander
- ½ tspn dried mustard
- ¼ tspn celery seed
- ¼ tspn Kool-Aid unsweetened lemonade drink mix
- 1 pinch crushed dried rosemary
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and stir well, crushing the leafy spices as you go to create a finer blend
- Store this spice blend in a sealed shaker bottle or covered container.
- Yield: About 2/3 cup (6.42 oz.) or about fifty ½-tspn servings
Notes
Nutrition
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Wouldn’t little jars of homemade “Dash” make a great small Christmas gift for Sunday School teachers, neighbors, stocking stuffers for family members, etc.? As long as you have all these ingredients, why not make a big batch?
These days there are thankfully many salt-free blends available (I’ve been buying one at Dollar Tree for years). Dollar Tree also has Colonna seasonings, including salt-free garlic/herb and “everything”.
Before I got interrupted I was trying to find out IF you had a recipe for Mrs Dash Crispy Coating mix they used to sell it at the store but they don’t make it anymore.Its like Shake and Bake, but with the seasoning of Mrs Dash minus the salt. I tried to find out if the company that owns Mrs Dash knows anything about this product or not.
Tastes just like the original – kind of a pain in the neck to make but it lasts a long long time (I make a double batch and seal it in extra air tight bottles.
Fascinating!! thanks for the history, and the recipe
Where do you find the Schilling dried vegetable flakes? Link, please?
Good question, Lizabeth. You’ve sent me back into research mode. Some time while I wasn’t paying attention, the Schilling and McCormick spice companies merged. For a while, it was known as McCormick-Schilling but now seems to have dropped the Schilling brand name altogether. And since, McCormick has discontinued a boatload of products. I’m talking 1000s … take a look HERE. Dried vegetable flakes are available under different brands, and I am certain we can make a substitution there. Look for “dried vegetable flakes” or “vegetable flakes.” This Marshalls Creek Spices Vegetable Flakes would be a good choice. Just make sure you crush those flakes well as Todd suggests in the copycat recipe.
I get bulk spices in small quantities from the health food store. They’re fresh and no need for all the leftover plastic bottles to pollute the environment
I tried another copycat recipe for Mrs Dash but it wasn’t anything like the original. I will try this one because I have everything except the Kool-Aid and I’ll find a sub for that.
You might sub with citric acid …