Caribbean Green seasoning is a  powerhouse of blended herbs that taste better than storebought green seasoning, I love DIY seasoning blends, they take your recipes to another level, whether its dry seasoning blends or fresh. Check out my other seasoning recipes, Easy Curry Powder Recipe, Italian Seasoning Recipe, and Jamaican Jerk Seasoning.

So this recipe brought me back years ago when we lived in New Jersey, we would go to lunch at my friend Kamilla, a Trinidadian, she made the best vegan pelau using her homemade green seasoning.

The memories of her delicious pelau remain with me to this day, also our fellowship, laughter, and love make her food even more amazing!

Caribbean Green Seasoning

In Jamaica, we mostly prepare our seasonings on hand even though we finely chop ours, so in order to keep close to the authentic recipe, I wanted to make Trinidadian green seasoning, I called my friend Gillian here in Florida, she is also Trinidadian, she gave me the exact herbs that she uses. She said you basically use a blend of green seasonings with culantro or cilantro, thyme, green onion. 

Green seasoning is a household seasoning blend in Trinidad, just like how Jerk sauce is synonymous to Jamaica, pesto to Italy, mole to Mexico. mirepoix to the French, ‘holy trinity’ to the Cajuns and sofrito to Puerto Rico. Bottles of green seasoning can be purchased in the Caribbean supermarkets but none of them taste as good as the homemade version.

What Is Green Seasoning?

Green seasoning is a blend of herbs from the Caribbean, traditionally it is blended and stored in the refrigerator for use as a marinade for meats, stews, curries, and rice dishes. The recipes vary from household to household and from island to island. 

Green Seasoning Ingredients

• Cilantro – I used culantro also called shado beni, recao or bandhania, a cousin of cilantro that is sold in the Caribbean, Asian or Hispanic supermarkets.
• Parsley 
• Celery
• Green Onion
• Garlic 
• Onion
• Ginger
• Thyme 
• Scotch Bonnet Pepper – You can substitute with milder and super flavorful Caribbean peppers called pimiento and aji dulce, they have the flavor of Scotch bonnet pepper without the heat. They are found in Caribbean supermarkets. If you can’t find any of these peppers then substitute with 1 bell pepper. 
• Other optional herbs to include – basil, oregano, and rosemary. Spanish thyme

How To Make Green Seasoning

• To prepare green seasoning you can use a blender or the food processor, if you use a blender then you will need to add a little water to get the blender going.
• Roughly chop up the cilantro, parsley, celery, green onions, remove stems from the pepper and add to the blender, along with the garlic, onion, ginger, thyme. 
• Process until the mixture looks pureed like baby food. If you are using a food processor then you will not need to add water, process until the seasoning looks like pureed baby food, scrape down sides and process again.
• To use your green seasoning, use about 2 tablespoons of green seasoning per recipe. 
• You can prepare in large batches and freeze them in ice cube trays, after they are frozen, remove the cubes from the trays and store in freezer bags.

Tips For Making Green Seasoning

1. If you are using a blender, chop the onion and add to the base since it has more water content than your herbs, it will help to produce liquid and you will need less added water.
2. If you have both cilantro and culantro, then you could use both for the added flavor profile.
3. When using frozen green seasoning, it is not necessary to thaw before using just add the cubes to your recipe.

Other Seasoning Blends To Try

• Creole Seasoning Recipe
• Homemade Shawarma Seasoning
• Homemade Chili Powder

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