Seasoning Combos That Always Work

Most of what makes weeknight food taste like somebody tried is the seasoning, and most of the seasoning is the same handful of jars in different combinations. You don't need a spice rack with sixty bottles. You need about nine, and a rough idea of which ones get along.

The nine jars

Spice	Notes
Salt	To taste, always
Black pepper	To taste, always
Garlic powder	1/4 tsp = 1 fresh clove
Onion powder	Pairs with garlic powder almost everywhere
Paprika	Sweet or smoked. Smoked is the one that tastes like a grill
Cumin	The backbone of taco seasoning
Chili powder	Heat and color
Italian seasoning	A blend, so it's a shortcut
Oregano	Mediterranean and Italian food
Thyme	Savory, good on chicken

That's ten rows if you count salt and pepper separately, which most people don't.

Tip

The garlic swap is worth memorizing. A quarter teaspoon of garlic powder equals one clove of fresh. When a recipe says three cloves and you've got no garlic, that's 3/4 teaspoon of powder and dinner goes on.

Four flavor profiles

Pick a direction and grab these:

Profile	What goes in
Savory	Salt, garlic, onion, black pepper, thyme
Spicy	Chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne
Mediterranean	Oregano, basil, garlic, olive oil
Asian	Garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil

The Mediterranean set is basically the whole flavor of the Greek Cauliflower Rice Skillet: garlic and oregano doing the heavy lifting. The Asian one is where the Shrimp Stir Fry lives, soy sauce first, with garlic or ginger if you have them.

Air fryer mixes

These are the short blends for tossing chicken, beef or vegetables before they go in the basket. Several of them overlap on purpose; they're variations on four ideas.

Style	Mix
All-purpose	Salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika
Plain savory	Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
Italian	Italian seasoning, garlic powder, olive oil
Italian, simpler	Italian seasoning, olive oil, salt
Italian with a little color	Italian seasoning, paprika, black pepper
Taco	Cumin, chili powder, paprika
Taco, garlicky	Cumin, chili powder, garlic powder

The all-purpose one is the default. It works on chicken breast, pork chops, potatoes and pretty much any vegetable, and if you're not sure what you're making yet, start there.

Try this

Toss the food with the oil first, then the spices. Dry spices on dry food mostly end up on the bottom of the basket.

The times and temperatures to go with these are on the Air Fryer Cheat Sheet. Chicken breast with the all-purpose mix at 375°F for 12 to 15 minutes is about as reliable as dinner gets.