Homemade Celery Salt (and 10+ Ways to Use It)

Do you enjoy celery salt but would prefer to just have plain celery salt without all the junky ingredients that are in many of the store-bought brands? This easy recipe for homemade celery salt is just what you need.

I love making my own homemade seasoning blends like taco seasoning, curry powder, vegetable broth, chili powder, cinnamon sugar, chat masala, and even DORITO® seasoning.

But why would one want to make homemade celery salt, you ask?  And how do you use it?

Well, before you just move on from this post thinking, “What’s so great about celery salt?”

Don’t.

I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll like.

Reasons to Make Your Own Celery Salt

1.  Control over your ingredients
2.  Save money (remember, Homemade Seasoning Blends always cost a TON less than buying them pre-blended)
3.  You just can’t get enough of “Make Your Own” stuff
4.  You are craving my Special Seasoning Popcorn (you know, the totally mouthwatering stuff) and you don’t have any celery salt in the house :-).
5.  Your resulting blend is super fresh.
6.  You buy fewer things. No need to buy the whole spice and the blend.

Now, about #1.

What?  You mean there’s more in celery salt than just celery and salt?  Well, yes and no.

Of course, unless you are buying specialty celery salt, then the salt in your celery salt could have any of the following in it:

Possible Ingredients in Store-Bought Celery Salt

Here are things that might find their way into store-bought versions of celery salt.

• sugar
• sodium silicoaluminate (ugh – aluminum??)
• dextrose (why is there sugar in salt??)
• sodium bicarbonate

Not things I really wanted in my celery salt.

So aside from all of the other reasons to have a DIY version of this spice blend (thought I do love saving money and making things myself), that’s enough for me right there.

How to Use Celery Salt

Following are some great ways to use this homemade celery salt, with the last one being the BEST of all.

Salt Alternative – Use as a seasoning anywhere you might use salt (just not in baked goods :-)!)  Think – baked potatoes, vegetables, sausage, dips, soups, etc.  It’s especially good for dishes like cold salads (egg, potato, pasta, etc.)

Hot Dog Seasoning – In some areas of the U.S. it is used as a hot dog topping. I’ve read it is a must on Chicago Hot Dogs. I recommend and use only antibiotic, no nitrate hot dogs. Azure Standard is one great place to get those.

Celery Substitute – Have a recipe that calls for celery but don’t have any?  Save a trip to the store and use celery salt.  Just make sure to cut back on the amount of salt you add to the recipe.  Substituting this way saves tons of time and money.

In Beverages  Celery Salt is typically used in Bloody Marys (I’ve never had one personally, however) and it’s a great seasoning to add to vegetable juices.

On Pork – Celery salt is used to crisp up the rind when roasting.

On Cole Slaw – Celery Salt is THE go to spice for Southern Cole Slaw

With Quail’s Eggs – Celery salt is apparently the perfect pairing for Hard Boiled Quail’s Eggs. I’ve never had them, have you?

On Salads – celery salt is particularly good on potato salad, both regular or keto potato salad.

On Stews

In Old Bay Seasoning – it’s the primary ingredient in this popular seasoning, so if you’re making a completely DIY version, you will need a lot of this.

Popcorn Topping – Celery Salt is the main ingredient in this Surprisingly Good Popcorn Seasoning | All Purpose Seasoning.  It’s loaded with celery salt.  You’ll love it. Guaranteed!

Bet you had no idea there were so many ways to use celery salt.  I sure had fun digging up these ideas and will be using it more as a result.

Oh, in case you are wondering where to buy spices, I mainly recommend Frontier Brand but Starwest Botanicals is also a great option.

What You Will Need

• Celery Seed (or fresh or dried celery leaves)
• Salt (I recommend Real Salt or Himalayan Salt)
• Grinder

More Homemade Pantry Staples:

• Pumpkin Pie Spice (a must for this time of year as fall rushes in)
• Homemade Taco Seasoning
• Mild Curry Powder
• Best Cinnamon Sugar
• Powdered Egg Replacer (compare to Ener-G)
• Herbes de Provence (this is a key ingredient for one of our favorite popcorn toppings)

What Spice Grinder is Best?

There are loads of spice grinders on the market. Many people use a coffee grinder for grinding spices. It’s really best to use a grinder that has a washable grinding cup.

This is the grinder I currently have and mostly I love it. The only thing I don’t like is that the interior of the base gets dirty and is hard to clean. But this grinder has lasted for a very long time for us and it’s still kicking.

This is the grinder I had before. It was much easier to clean than the current one, but it didn’t last long. Maybe a fluke, but it was disappointing, to say the least, when it died.

Recipe Notes and Substitutions

• Kosher Salt: You can also use kosher (coarse) salt. Just use twice as much salt and grind it together with your celery seed.
• Shelf Life: Celery Seed has a super-long shelf life – so you can go ahead and buy it in bulk. Whole spices typically have very long shelf lives, while ground ones lose their potency and freshness more quickly.
• AIP: For an AIP version (or simply another option) of this recipe, use celery leaves instead of celery seed. The proportions are up to you, but one option is about 1 tablespoon of sea salt to 6 tablespoons of celery powder.

What is your favorite way to use celery salt?