This Is the One Trader Joe’s Seasoning I Can’t Live Without

Hello, lazy people of the internet: It is I, your queen. Don’t worry, you can challenge me for the title if you want; I’m too busy doomscrolling and making to-do lists I’ll never complete to put up a real fight. But before you do, I just wanted to share a piece of advice with my constituents: There’s a jarred seasoning at Trader Joe’s that makes all of your food taste better with minimal, if not zero, effort. No, it’s not the Everything But The Bagel Seasoning. That stuff slaps, but it also has a time and place. 

I’m talking about Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute. Ever tried it? 

Nope. Haven’t tried it. But I can guess from the name that it’s a mix of 21 different seasonings? 

You’re smart. Here’s all 21 (count ’em!): onion, black pepper, celery seed, cayenne, parsley, basil, marjoram, bay leaf, oregano, thyme, savory, rosemary, cumin, mustard, coriander, garlic, carrot, orange peel, tomato granules, lemon juice powder, and oil of lemon.

The result is something close to herbes de Provence, but with a citrusy note rather than a bitter floral note. It’s savory and bright, without being too aggressive, which makes it pretty versatile. 

The one ingredient it doesn’t have? Salt. Gotta add your own salt.  

Wow! Whatcha doing with all that?

The better question is what am I not doing with it. Because it goes on pretty much all of my meats, pastas, and vegetables. I’ll throw it on eggs and potatoes without a second thought. Chicken breasts? Seasoning Salute. Roasted broccoli? Seasoning Salute. Random pantry pasta with butter and parmesan? You guessed it. I even put it on a tuna melt the other day and felt pretty darn satisfied with myself. 

It’s my life hack for nights when I’m in a rush, or just too overstimulated (or understimulated) to properly plan out a flavor profile. It works in pretty much every cuisine (at least as a base seasoning), but I’ll use it without fail in any Mediterranean, Italian, or Spanish dish. And by the way: it’s gluten-free—my roommate, who is Celiac, was the one who first introduced it to me!

Last thing, if I can be vulnerable with you all for a second: I pitched this idea to my editor (hi, Justine) based purely on personal experience, not research, without having any sort of validation from other lazy people on the internet. Low and behold: The lazy people agree with me! There are so many Redditors who share my single brain cell! In that vein, if you have any lazy cooking or grocery shopping tips, please leave them in the comments.