Homemade Onion Soup Mix
This is a deliciously easy Homemade Onion Soup Mix recipe. Control the sodium, MSG and gluten that goes into your food!
An Easy Onion Soup Mix Recipe
This is a deliciously easy Homemade Onion Soup Mix recipe. Control the sodium, MSG and gluten that goes into your diet with this do-it-yourself recipe! I’ve had lots of successes with my other homemade seasonings: Ranch Seasoning Mix, Taco Seasoning Mix or Everything But the Bagel Seasoning.
Thank you Brandie! Made this and it was SO good! I have used it in so many recipes and as a dip. Fantastic flavor!
– Kim
Is Onion Soup Mix Gluten Free?
One of the questions I get most often is how someone can tailor a recipe to fit their dietary needs. And I’m not gonna lie y’all, I really don’t like to go there. There are just too many factors in health-specific diets that there is no possible way I can be an expert in them all, and let’s be real, I’m just a cook – not a doctor or a certified nutritionist. Many store-bought onion soup mixes are not gluten free. But this recipe is!
Homemade, Delicious and Taste Tested!
So I set out to find a recipe that tastes like the packet kind (maybe even better!) but where I could control the sodium. And for that, I had to find sodium-free beef bouillion cubes or granules. I easily found it at Walmart. So I whipped this up and then tested it in a couple of recipes. And I gotta say, not only did it taste amazing, it worked seamlessly and I couldn’t even tell the difference between the two. It might’ve actually been a tad bit better.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- dried onion flakes – see my ingredient photo below. This is different than onion powder that you will also use. These are actually dried flakes of onion.
- sodium-free beef bouillon granules – you can usually find this near where the beef and chicken broth is located in the store or the spice section. You can use the granules like I did or you can get the beef bouillon cubes and just crush them up. I like to use the sodium free since I think the one with sodium adds a lot of extra salt but that is totally up to you.
- onion powder – this is going to complement the onion flakes to provide taste and texture.
- parsley flakes – this is actually optional but it is included in the store-bought stuff so I included it here. This doesn’t add a ton of flavor, it does add some nice color though.
- celery seed – this might seem like a surprising ingredient but it is actually included in onion soup mix although it is not a strong flavor.
- paprika – you want the regular paprika not the smoked.
How To Make Homemade Onion Soup Mix:
Measure all of the ingredients into a bowl or a lidded container.
Mix together well. Keep mixture in a lidded container and store in a cool dry place.
- To make soup: Place this mix into medium saucepan. Stir in 4 cups water and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Makes about 3 1/2 cups.
- To make onion dip: Combine this mix with 1 (16 oz.) container sour cream.
- Three tablespoons of this mix will equal one packet of store-bought onion soup mix.
Use Your New Homemade Onion Soup Mix In These Recipes:
More Homemade Ingredients:
- Homemade Ranch Seasoning
- Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Homemade Everything But The Bagel Seasoning
- Homemade Apple Pie Spice
- Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
- Beau Monde Seasoning
- Taco Seasoning
- Homemade Ranch Dressing (+Video)
- Homemade Bisquick
- Homemade Velveeta
Originally published: November 2016
Updated and republished: April 2019
Homemade Dry Onion Soup Mix
Ingredients
- ¼ cup dried onion flakes
- 2 tablespoons sodium-free beef bouillon granules
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon parsley flakes
- ⅛ teaspoon celery seed
- ⅛ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Measure all of the ingredients into a bowl or a lidded container.
- Mix together well. Stir in a lidded container in a cool dry place.
- Store for up to 6 months.
Notes
- To make soup: Place this mix into medium saucepan. Stir in 4 cups water and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Makes about 3 1/2 cups.
- To make classic onion dip: Combine this mix with 1 (16 oz.) container sour cream.
- Double or triple this recipe to have it on hand when you need it.
- When using as a substitute for a packet of onion soup mix, you will use about 3 tablespoons of this homemade mixture.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Great blend of spices. Will make again.
I’ve looked at many different recipes for Lipton Onion Soup mix and each one of them seems to call for celery seed. However celery seed is not included in the original ingredients of the store-bought brand. Can you tell me why celery seed is included?
Because it used to have it in there. They changed their recipe. You can obviously leave it out if you don’t want it in there.
This mix is amazing. So much better than store bought….yes, you can tell the difference in the best way. Control that sodium intake!
That makes me so happy to read Gayle! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and comment!
i love this sodium free broth, but it has now become impossible to find at an actual grocery store. its only found online, which i do not shop online for any of my consumed food. it used to be at walmart but now they only carry the sodium version. too bad i have to use the regular type to make your yummy onion soup. onion soup is one of my favorite broths. i always eat it at benihanas but its sooooo so very salty.
Oh no! I hope it isn’t going to be discontinued!
I found it at Shop and Shop!
how much of this mixture is equall to 1 envelope of dried onion soup mix?
The cooking notes below the recipe state that 3 Tablespoons equal one package.
I’m on a quest to make more and more things from scratch, so I look forward to trying this recipe! Why is this mix supposed to be stored for only up to six months? All of the separate ingredients can be stored much longer.
Because the beef bouillon is no longer in a vacuum sealed bag. However, I am not a food scientist and haven’t tested the safety of this after a certain time period. So you are free to store this however and how long you prefer at your own discretion and risk.
Do you think it would last longer if you put all the ingredients into small individual bags and then put them all in a vacuum selaed bag and put it in the freezer and only take out a bag when you need it?
Oh thankyou very much for this recipe! Due to ill health, I am trying to cook things from scratch omitting certain fillers, and I just couldn’t find to purchase an onion mix without certain ingredients in them that I didn’t want. Your recipe is perfect! Will be making in bulk.
I used all Freeze Dried items in this recipe, and it turned out fantastic!!! (Even the beef Bouillon)
Thank you so much!
Jan
Yay! Love hearing that Jan!! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and comment!
How much does this make? I wasn’t sure if the recipe was saying it makes 1 oz or it’s just 1 oz per serving. Thanks!
Hi Victoria, I put it on the recipe card, it makes one ounce – same as a packet of the seasoning 🙂
Could I substitute beef base for the granules?
You mean the paste?
I was trying to respond to Marion but it wouldn’t let me. I measured as I opened the Herb Ox packets and discovered 1 packet is about 1 teaspoon. So 6 packets = 2 tablespoons.
Thank you Brynne!
is this recipe (as is) comparable to one packet of soup mix? (such as recipe secrets 2oz packets)
I’ve been trying to make things more from scratch than buying things ready to use and use onion soup mix to make a lot of different things.
You might’ve missed it above but you’ll need 3 Tablespoons of this mix to make one packet 🙂
I’m sorry, I am not familiar with vegeta. If you give it a try, I’d love to know how it turns out for you!
Vegeta is more like chicken but has an excellent flavor but high in sodium I use Vegeta in a lot of stuff. I don’t think it could hurt.
Hi Marion, as you’ll see in my ingredient photo above – I used the Herb Ox packets 🙂
Yes but, how many packets did you use?
Two Tablespoons worth as it calls for in the recipe. I don’t remember how much was in a packet exactly.
I don’t use the packets, I found small bottles of the same product at my grocery – makes it so much simpler to measure out what I need without worrying about packet size. It’s a different brand, but still no salt and I buy it in chicken, beef and garlic versions. Hope this helps.
Thank you Brandie! Made this and it was SO good! I have used it in so many recipes and as a dip. Fantastic flavor!
My favorite onion soup mix recipe. Thank you!!
Can I use this mix to make cream of onion soup? I’m making funeral potatoes for a large crowd and thought cream of onion would be good instead of cream of chicken
I don’t see why you couldn’t! I have a recipe on here for Cream of Chicken soup. I think you could skip the seasonings in that recipe and add some of this to it. I haven’t tested it so I would start off with a little and taste then add more as needed. https://www.thecountrycook.net/cream-of-chicken-soup/
I made the mix to go into my pork chop recipe. I did not have veggie broth so I substituted it with chicken and ham broth. I just tasted the mixture in my slow cooker and it tastes so good! I only used half the batch because I was halfing the entire recipe. my question is how many tablespoons would I use to make soup? I know on the Lipton packets it says to use 1 or 2 tablespoons for a cup of soup or do i use the entire thing?
Perfect recipe! I use this for my onion Dips. I omit the bullion until I do my final mix with Sour cream. I then use 1 Tb of better than bullion into final mix. Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks so much Michael! I appreciate you taking the time to comment!!
So glad for your comment!! I’m going to use this today in a pot roast recipe, but I don’t have any bullion. All I have is Better than Bullion, so your comment is what I needed! Thank you!
Thank you so much for the recipe. I can finally try a bunch of new recipes without the risk of me getting a migraine.
Do you know if a packet of Herb Ox equal to 2 tbsp of granules?
I believe each packet contains about a teaspoon which equals one beef bouillon cube. 🙂
So how many packets of Herb Ox did you use to equal 2 tablespoons of beef bouillon granules?
I believe there is one teaspoon of beef bouillon in a packet and there are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon so that should mean you’d need about 6 packets. Hope that helps!
Can you substitute the beef granules for chicken?
Thank you for posting! How much salt would you add to this if using Sodium-Free granules?
I made this last night and it was very flavorful. I used it as a rub on a pork loin and the family, six members, all thought it was great! As suggested, I also put it in the mashed potatoes. Again, they were a hit too. Unfortunately, in a pinch I did not have any celery seed, so next time I make it I’m sure it will be even better.
thank you for this recipe. I’m excited to try it. I make a venison roast that calls for onion soup mix and the kind you buy in the store is so salty and has additives in it that I can’t have. thank you again.
forgot to rate it!
Thank you for this recipe. I come back to it often as I never buy dry onion soup mix and seem to always pick a recipe that calls for it, so I make my own thanks to you!
The father of my daughters friend just had heart surgery and is home recuperating. He desires onion soup mix meatloaf which has a lot of sodium. I’m going to make a meatloaf using your recipe. I hope he enjoys it.
for onion flakes do you use the larger dehydrated onion flakes, or the dried minced onion?
Carmen, I would use the dried minced onion but if all you have are the larger onion flakes, just pop them in a Ziplock bag and crush them down a bit. 🙂
Bless you, my daughter and granddaughter have gluten- issues and I have been looking for a onion dry mix. Found yours and love it. And thank you for the printable labels what I need idea.
Would you have a recipe for Chili Con Carne seasoning? I am presently buying mine from Penzey’s , but would love to make a BIG batch.
Hi Barbara! No I don’t. I’ll have to work on it!
Thank you so much! This recipe comes with glowing praise from members of my nutrition group for those of us on a sodium-restricted diet due to Cirrhosis. I look forward to using it in my Shepherd’s Pie, and my favourite chicken & rice dish, Chicken Tremendous!
Hi Janet! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and let me know! It really is an easy but super tasty recipe that can be used for all kinds of recipes!
Hello my lupus sister! I am on this journey of living as naturally as possible to combat lupus. One way is making all my own seasonings with food I grow in my garden. Thank you for this recipe and many more. Hope your journey is a good one too!
I ran out of Lipton onion soup mix and I need it for a recipe now!!! I am going to make your substitute recipe . Thank you for being a life saver!!
Woo hoo!! So happy this helped you in a pinch!!
I just wanted to thank you for this great onion soup mix recipe. I am allergic to yeast extract which is in most canned and dry soup mixes. I need it for a chicken stroganoff recipe for the crockpot. This is a tremendous help!
For people that have kidney problems they must be careful as this brand add calcium products that aren’t good for them. I use to take care of a neighbor that was on dialysis and they told me not to use that product as it will do more damage to the kidneys. I can understand the salt sensitive people as I am one of them.. I too like making my own mixes because of all of the extras the company’s put in them
On the onion soup mix if I make a larger batch how much do I measure out of a recipe. I know it is one ounce packs.
Hi Pat! Just make sure you shake it up really well then measure out about 1/4 cup. Hope that helps!
You’re such a sweetie. Thank You. Thanks also for ALL the other great recipes you provide for us
Hi Brandie….how did you get the beef bouiillon grounded? Most of the times, I only see these in little cubes, never found granules…
Hi Cynthia! I found it sold that way at Wal-Mart. You can of course ground up the cubes also to make it into a powder. Hope that helps! 🙂
I don’t see any directions on how to make this into the soup. How much water do I use to make soup?
Hi Roberta! Place this mix into medium saucepan. Stir in 4 cups water and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Makes about 3 1/2 cups. Hope that helps!
Thank you sooooo much Brandie that does help.
You are welcome Roberta! 🙂
You’re such a good woman! Thanks for sharing this. No doubt I’ll be making it!!
Thanks so much Mrs. B!!
Thank you, thank you! This mix is terrific for salt-sensitive people like me. I never use a recipe calling for Onion Soup Mix. Finding the Salt-free bouiillon granules at Walmart is truly wonderful. I can use this in so many recipes as well as ones calling for Onion Soup Mix. I’m a happy cook here! Phyllis C.
Woo hoo! Absolutely LOVE hearing that Phyllis! This recipe is for you then – so happy this will be helpful 🙂