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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.
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.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
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:
- 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.
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.
Recipe FAQs
Store-bought celery salt is made from ground celery seeds and salt (some brands may include dried celery leaves and stalks, too).
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.
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Homemade Celery Salt
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
- 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.
- 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.
Nutrition
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.
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.
Thanks for sharing, George! I appreciate it! – Meggan
Fun to make and much better than bought.
I’m so happy you had a great time making this, Marielen! Take care! – Meggan
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.
You’re so welcome, Allison! I’m so happy I could help! I have a recipe for Old Bay Seasoning, too, if you would like to check it out. Take care! – Meggan
https://www.culinaryhill.com/old-bay-seasoning/
(Also sorry the photos may look blurry, it’s being reshot this month!)
Fahrenheit or Celsius?
Hi Charlie, this is in Farenheit. It would be about 93 degrees Celcius. Have a great day! – Meggan
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!!
Thanks for sharing Heather, so glad you liked it! – Meggan
What kind of salt do you use?
Hi Christina, I use regular table salt. Take care! – Meggan
Am I missing something? I see no ratio of salt to celery.
Hi Jimmy, the ratio is 1 cup of celery leaves to 1/8 teaspoon salt. Thank you! – Meggan
Is there a big difference in flavor with celery leaf vs celery seed?
Hi Maria, celery seed is more concentrated so that may reflect in the recipe. Hope this helps! – Meggan
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.
Thanx! Now I look for the leaves when buying celery. Making again now.
This is sooo easy! I get very sick from MSG they put into spices, so I have been making my own. But never saw this recipe before. I am going to make this for sure. I love this thank you so much for sharing!
Any reason I can’t use the celery stalk also, to make the celery salt?
Hi George, I don’t see why not! I haven’t tried it myself, but I believe if you are able to dehydrate the stems well enough that they will grind and combine with the salt, it should work. – Meggan
I used a few bits of stalk when I made mine. It just takes longer to dehydrate the thicker, watery parts. The tough, fibrous parts don’t grind up very well unless they’re super dehydrated. You can also grind with a pestle and mortar and sift out the parts that don’t break down well. Hope this helps! 🙂
When the celery leaves are finished in the oven, about how much does that measure? I have some leaves that are already dry, so am wondering how much to use.
This recipe is a great way to use every part of the plant, thanks for sharing!
Hi Mariah! If you do 1 cup loosely packed fresh celery leaves, dry them, and add 1/8 teaspoon salt and grind it all together, you will have about 2 tablespoons of celery salt. It’s hidden in the post somewhere, I need to get that info into the recipe card so people can see it! Thank you! -Meggan
Guess what I did before reading about how to make your own celery salt? I roasted a whole bunch of celery in the oven until it dried out and crunched it up in a plastic bag,thinking that’s how you make celery salt. I never thought it’s made from seeds. Do you think it’s okay to still use it o give food that great taste? I especially like celery salt on french fries. Thanks for your post. Now I have a better understanding about Celery salt.
Thanks for the great recipe!
This recipe is a lifesaver; how did I not think to look for this sooner?!?! I am on the Autoimmune Paleo Protocol and cannot have celery seed which is typlically used to make celery salt. I love to put celery salt in my SCD chicken soup (I make a batch every other week), but since also following AIP, I had to stop using the salt. So happy to add that extra little bit of flavor back into my diet. Thank you!
Hi Crystal, I wasn’t familiar with APP but just did a quick google search. WOW, that’s one restrictive diet! I’m currently doing the Whole30, and I thought THAT was restrictive, but not even. Not compared to what you’re doing. I understand now that you can’t have seeds of any kind, hence no celery seeds, and I’m so delighted that you can have just a tiny bit more flavor in your soup with celery salt! Yay!!!! I also wanted to mention that I love to season chicken soup with fresh lemon juice and cilantro… might not be your thing, but I feel like you can use all the ideas you can get, LOL! I hope you don’t have to do this forever, but I’m sure it will help you with whatever struggles you are facing. I really think so many issues can be fixed if we just fix the food we are eating. Best of luck to you, and thanks for the sweet comment. Take care! -Meggan
I LOVE the lemon / cilantro idea…I may do lime to give it a little Mexican flavor. Yum!!! I’m a true believer in healing yourself through food. It’s restrictive, but the benefits thus far have been beyond worth it. A little creativity and you can make some incredible meals / snacks. Thanks again!
Thank you Meggan. Cheers, Michele
Hi,
Love your celery salt recipe. How long does it last for?
cheers,
Michele
Hi Michele, I would think at LEAST 6 months, same as a dried herb. I hope you love it! Thank you!
I am making this for my Thanksgiving Bloody Mary Bar! Â Love homemade anything and this is super clever!
Things I need in my life this second include a Bloody Mary Bar. Seriously, what a great idea! Thanks for your kind words, it is surprisingly easy (and yes, clever!) to make your own celery salt. Who knew? 😉 Take care and thank you so much!