My Top 10 Spices

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The$5 Dinners website posed an interesting question today. What are your top 10 spices?

Gosh, I don’t think I can narrow it down to just 10 but I’m going to give it a shot! Spices are a big part of the Make Your Own lifestyle and my spice collection keeps growing as I keep trying and collecting more recipes for making foods from scratch.

I decided the best way to answer that question was to look at which spices have earned the front row in my spice container. Now, I’ve always been just a little jealous of those folks who have the lovely spice drawers in their kitchens. They pull out the drawer and there are all their spice bottles lined up in beautiful rows. *sigh*

My frugal solution was to use a wire silverware container. I don’t have any spare drawers so the silverware container filled with the spices sits on the top shelf of one of my cupboards. What I really like about this system is I can pull the whole thing off the shelf and and set it on the counter. And the sections intended for the spoons, forks, etc. are the perfect width for spice bottles.

Not all my spices fit in the container and I do have another small “overflow” container too.

spice organizer

You can also see that I’m not opposed to buying the frugal “Valu Time” spices. 🙂

So – back to the main question. Which spices have earned the honor of being the most used spices in the front row? (plus a few in the side row)

  1. Garlic Powder (here’s how I make a quick DIY Garlic Salt)
  2. Garlic Salt
  3. Onion Powder
  4. White Pepper
  5. Dill
  6. Chili Powder
  7. Cumin
  8. Parsley
  9. Paprika
  10. Oregano

All the sweet baking spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves are farther back in my container I guess because baking doesn’t happen as often as meal preparation.

Here are a few of my favorite recipes that use many of these spices:

3 Ways to Jazz Up Plain Rice
Easy Taco Meat Seasoning
Quick BBQ Sauce for Meatballs

Need a few more bright ideas?
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3 Comments

  1. I am with you. I don't think I could narrow it down to 10. I often use thyme, herbes de provence, basil, cinnamon, allspice, sage, plus all of the ones you mentioned.

  2. The more I cook and learn about food, the more creative I am getting with different spices. Beyond my 'standard' favorites, currently I really love tandoori spice.