Bright, fresh, but slightly spicy and tangy, this Chermoula Spice Blend is a great way to add a dash of North African flair to your favorite foods. Try it as a flavorful rub on tofu, meats or vegetables, sprinkle it on hummus, or stir it into yogurt to use as a dip or a sauce for wraps and sandwiches.
Chermoula is a North African marinade and condiment that's typically made from herbs like parsley, cilantro, or mint, spices like cumin and paprika, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice. Everything gets mixed together into a flavorful paste.
We took this flavor profile and turned it into a shelf-stable spice mix that's perfect for grilling, roasting veggies, or adding a dash of North African flavor wherever you see fit.
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Why We Love This Recipe
- Super versatile: We love this spice blend because it has so many uses! You can use it for grilling, as a base for flavorful vinaigrettes, as a topper for hummus, or as a well-balanced flavoring base for soups.
- North African flavor: With a flavor profile typically found in countries like Morocco, Algeria, or Tunisia, this chermoula spice blend is a great way to give your homemade dishes a delicious North African flavor.
- Easy to make and store: You probably already have most of the spices you need for this chermoula spice blend in your pantry. It's as easy as mixing them together and storing in an airtight container for as long as needed.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this Chermoula spice blend:
Ingredient Notes
- Cumin: This is the key ingredient, and it adds a smoky flavor that's hard to replicate or substitute.
- Salt: We use Diamond brand kosher salt, so if you use a finer-grain salt, your mix may end up being saltier than you'd like.
- Lemon pepper: Lemon is an essential ingredient for chermoula paste, but since we want to keep this recipe shelf-stable, we swapped in lemon pepper seasoning instead. This adds an element of brightness to the mix. If you don't have any lemon pepper on hand, you can try adding some dried out lemon zest instead. Just make sure it's thoroughly dried, otherwise your blend could go bad at room temperature.
- Cinnamon: This adds a slightly warming, spiced flavor.
- Turmeric: Not only does turmeric add a dash of dramatic color, but it has a warm and earthy taste. If you don't have any on hand, you can try using curry powder instead.
- Dried parsley: This is key to adding a dose of herbaceous flavor to the spice mix. If you don't have any dried parsley on hand, you can try dried basil, dried oregano, or dried thyme instead.
- Cayenne: If you're spice-adverse, you can leave out the cayenne.
- Coriander: This is a spice made from the dried seeds of the cilantro plant, and it has a warm, nutty flavor. It's not super common in American cooking, so you can substitute it with more cumin, or a smaller quantity of dried and ground caraway or fennel seeds.
- Allspice: If you don't have allspice on hand or don't like the flavor, you can feel free to leave it out, or you can add a bit more cinnamon to the blend. You could also use pumpkin pie spice in its place!
How to Make Chermoula Spice Blend
(1) Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and stir until combined. Store in an airtight container and shake or stir before using.
How to Use Your Chermoula Spice Mix
- Roasting or grilling vegetables: Toss your vegetables in olive oil, then sprinkle them with the Chermoula and roast or grill. Try using this recipe alongside eggplant, zucchini, peppers, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, squash, carrots and more.
- Grilled meats and seafood: This spice mix functions as a great rub. Just thoroughly coat the meat or seafood in the spice rub and then grill! You can also use it for vegan or vegetarian proteins, like tofu.
- Sprinkle atop hummus: To give your hummus a bit more flavor, try sprinkling your Chermoula atop your hummus with a drizzle of olive oil. Every time you dip your veggies or bread into the hummus, you'll get a little kick of Chermoula flavor. It would also be delicious in our roasted carrot dip!
- Salad dressing: Whisk together with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice to create a vinaigrette that's perfect for green salads or drizzled atop sliced tomatoes. Try using this base recipe, but replacing the spices with this chermoula spice blend instead.
- Yogurt sauce: Mix into yogurt to create a flavorful spread you can slather on sandwiches and wraps.
Tips and FAQs
- The fresher the spices, the better: If you haven't cleaned out your spice cabinet in a while (ahem...a few years), make sure to check the dates. If your spices are past their expiration date, they are typically still safe to use, but they will not be as flavorful or fresh tasting. It's a good reminder to check every once in a while!
- Store in an airtight container (glass is best), and label it with the date you made it, so you can know how fresh it is. As a rule of thumb, most spice blends will taste fresh and flavorful for about 6 months.
This spice blend can be stored for 6 months as long as it's in an airtight container in a cool, dark, and dry place. To check if it's still fresh, give it a quick sniff. If it has no aroma, it's not going to add much flavor to your dishes.
We added a touch of cayenne to our mix, so there's a very faint kick of spice. We think this spice mix is more smoky than spicy, and more fresh than fiery.
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Chermoula Spice Blend
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: ½ cup 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Bright, fresh, but slightly spicy and tangy, this Chermoula Spice Blend is a great way to add a dash of North African flair to your favorite foods. Try it as a flavorful rub on tofu, meats or vegetables, sprinkle it on hummus, or stir it into yogurt to use as a dip or a sauce for wraps and sandwiches.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and stir well to combine.
- Store in an airtight container. Stir or shake before using.
Notes
Storage: Store in an airtight container (glass is best), and label it with the date you made it, so you can know how fresh it is. As a rule of thumb, most spice blends will taste fresh and flavorful for about 6 months.
Uses: You can use this spice blend as a rub for meat/seafood/vegetarian proteins for grilling or roasting, as a base for flavorful vinaigrettes, as a topper for hummus, or as a well-balanced flavoring base for soups. See blog post for more ideas!
The fresher the spices, the better: If you haven't cleaned out your spice cabinet in a while (ahem...a few years), make sure to check the dates. If your spices are past their expiration date, they are typically still safe to use, but they will not be as flavorful or fresh tasting.
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It may vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Spice Blends
- Method: No cook
- Cuisine: North African
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 teaspoon
- Calories: 6
- Sugar: 0.1 g
- Sodium: 150.4 mg
- Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.2 g
- Fiber: 0.3 g
- Protein: 0.2 g
Alex says
Made grilled chicken with this + olive oil and it was amazing, so flavorful