Homemade Celery Salt

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Put your leftover celery leaves to work in this easy Homemade Celery Salt Recipe! It tastes even better when you make it yourself.

Celery salt in a small white bowl that is resting on a white plate.


 

Homemade Celery Salt is for over-achievers who enjoy reducing food waste and picking up an extra project here and there. You won’t change the world by drying out extra celery leaves and grinding them with salt, but it can scratch that itch of at least TRYING.

I do it for the love of cooking, to control what is in my food, and to use as many parts of the plant as possible. It’s the same reason why I make homemade chicken broth or vegetable stock, my own spice blends, and my own salad dressings: because it tastes better and it’s fun.

Recipe ingredients

Labeled ingredients for homemade celery salt.

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.

Ingredient notes

  • Celery leaves: Store-bought celery salt is made from ground celery seeds and salt. In this version, we reduce food waste by drying out and grinding leftover celery leaves.

Step-by-step instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange celery leaves in single layer on prepared baking sheet.
Celery leaves on a baking sheet before being baked.
  1. Bake 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. Remove from oven and cool slightly.
Celery leaves being dried out on a baking sheet.
  1. Transfer to spice grinder.
Celery leaves in a spice grinder before being ground.
  1. Add salt and process until finely ground.
Celery in a spice grinder.
  1. Cool completely and store covered in pantry.
Celery salt in a small white bowl that is resting on a white plate.

What should I use to grind celery leaves?

I like to use an electric spice grinder, but a small food processor or a high-quality blender should also be able to handle the job. The KRUPS Fast Touch Electric Grinder is my favorite one because it’s powerful and easy to clean. You can get it at Walmart for $34.96 but I recommend a few others in my best spice grinder roundup!

Recipe tips and variations

  • Yield: The amount of leaves per bunch of celery varies, but I was able to get it about 1 cup of loosely-packed celery leaves from one bunch celery. That yields about 2 tablespoons celery salt.
  • Storage: Store the celery salt in an airtight container in a dark place for up to 6 months.
  • Freezer: Store Homemade Celery Salt in the freezer indefinitely.
  • Put your celery salt to work: Use celery salt in homemade spice blends like Old Bay Seasoning and Onion Soup Mix. It also tastes great in Dill Dip, Bloody Mary Mix, Chicken Salad, and Coleslaw.
Celery salt on a small piece of parchment paper.

Recipe FAQs

What is celery salt?

Store-bought celery salt is made from ground celery seeds and salt (some brands may include dried celery leaves and stalks, too).

Can I use celery seed to make celery salt?

Yes, you can certainly grind celery seeds to make celery salt. Most recipes use 1 part seed to 2 parts salt. I like drying and grinding leaves because it puts food waste to use.

More homemade spice blends

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A small white bowl with homemade celery salt.

Homemade Celery Salt

Put your leftover celery leaves to work in this easy Homemade Celery Salt Recipe! It tastes even better when you make it yourself.
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 2 tablespoons
Course Pantry
Cuisine American
Calories 19
5 from 36 votes

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup celery leaves loosely-packed
  • 1/8 teaspoon Salt

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Arrange celery leaves in single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time.
  • Remove from oven and cool slightly. Transfer to spice grinder. Add salt and process until finely ground. Cool completely and store covered in pantry.

Notes

  1. Celery leaves: Store-bought celery salt is made from ground celery seeds and salt. In this version, we reduce food waste by drying out and grinding leftover celery leaves.
  2. Yield: The amount of leaves per bunch of celery varies, but I was able to get it about 1 cup of loosely-packed celery leaves from one bunch celery. That yields about 2 tablespoons celery salt.
  3. Storage: Store the celery salt in an airtight container in a dark place for up to 6 months.
  4. Freezer: Store Homemade Celery Salt in the freezer indefinitely.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25teaspoonCalories: 19kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 240mgPotassium: 308mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 531IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @culinaryhill on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece! #culinaryhill
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.

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Comments

  1. I’m going to try this with a mixture of oven dried celery leaves and lovage. I take my perenial lovage each year and lay it out on 4 pieces of paper towel (leaves only). Roll it semi loosely and with elastic bands on both ends place it in the fridge for 4-5 months. It dries out and maintains its’ colour. In future I will use this self designed technique to dry the celery leaves.. This technique also works for basil, parssley and corriander.

  2. You are a hero, thank you! I was born and raised in the US and now live overseas and have been craving crab cakes for the longest time but Old Bay seasoning isn’t in the stores where I live so I was looking for recipes to make it myself but every recipe calls for celery salt which is also not in any of the stores where I live.5 stars

  3. This is exactly what I was looking for! I remember my mom always had celery salt in her spice collection growing up and it’s the one thing I’ve been missing! I always forget to pick some up when I’m at the store and never thought to make it myself until I started delving into growing my own produce, foraging for herbs in my backyard, dehydrating and making my own versions of things I usually get at the store! I altered my steps a little bit by adding more salt (because the celery flavor is strong and I needed more volume). I also took it one step further and ground it up with a mortar and pestle for a finer consistency. I only had one bunch of celery and used the leaves of the inner part as well, but still only yielded a couple of table spoons. At least I can make my own now when I run out! Thanks for sharing this recipe!!5 stars

    1. Hi Jimmy, the ratio is 1 cup of celery leaves to 1/8 teaspoon salt. Thank you! – Meggan

    1. Hi Maria, celery seed is more concentrated so that may reflect in the recipe. Hope this helps! – Meggan

  4. I just bury my dried veg in the salt; it’s called a salt vat. It’s how sailors used to keep their various meats and veg; but when it ran out they ate each other in order of command.

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