All you need is a generous sprinkle of adobo seasoning to take your food from bland to flavorful! This garlicky all-purpose mix can easily be made at home with spices you probably have in your cabinet!

What is Adobo Seasoning

Adobo is a mix of spices dominated by garlic, salt and pepper.

It’s part of the trifecta of Puerto Rican cooking, along with sofrito and sazón.

Homemade adobo is easy to make!

While it’s convenient to buy a bottle of premixed spices, sometimes it’s better to make your own.

I grew up on Goya adobo, but when living overseas I realized it wasn’t available to everyone everywhere.

Luckily the ingredients are not hard to find individually and you can make your own Goya adobo seasoning substitute.

The nice thing about mixing your own seasonings is that you can adjust the ingredients to your personal preference.

When cooking, I always add extra garlic powder to my dishes.

My mom is on a very low sodium diet and can’t even have the low sodium versions of store-bought adobo.

With my custom mix I can go heavy on the garlic and my mom can have her beloved adobo without salt.

This version also contains no MSG, which some people try to avoid.

Adobo Ingredients

The three must-have ingredients are garlic, salt, pepper and oregano. Everything else is optional and to your taste.

• Garlic – I prefer granulated, but garlic powder works as well.
• Salt – kosher or table salt is fine
• Black pepper – freshly ground is the most flavorful!
• Oregano – you can use dried oregano or ground oregano. (Goya brand uses powdered oregano). If using powdered oregano you’ll need to use half the amount or less since it’s very concentrated.
• Turmeric – brightens up the flavor of the other ingredients and gives a pretty yellow hue.
• Cumin – adds a little savory smoky flavor
• Onion powder – adds a little savory sweetness

This needs to be stored in an airtight container. You can recycle an old spice shaker, or use a glass jar.

I love the various lids you can get for mason jars like the orange one in the picture.

I also have some with little shaker holes like a store-bought spice container.

Uses for Adobo

Adobo is the basic seasoning for many Puerto Rican and other Hispanic dishes.

Use it to season Puerto Rican Chuletas Guisadas, rice and beans, and arroz con gandules.

This all-purpose seasoning is phenomenal on any kind of meat – steaks, chicken breast, hamburgers, etc.

And it’s not limited to only Puerto Rican food! We use it for anything and everything you would use seasoning salt.

Check out The Best Puerto Rican recipes for more inspiration!