Cooking without packets and sachets may sound like you now have to make everything yourself. No ready-made sauce, no spice mix and preferably even make your own stock. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that complicated.

The idea is much simpler: more often decide yourself what goes into your meal and how you season it. With a good basic supply of herbs and spices you can surprisingly easily make your own spice blends, marinades, dressings and sauces. An added benefit: you have much more control over how much salt you add to your food.

Maybe you want to cook more often with fresh, simple ingredients or you've become more aware of how many processed products you use. In our blog about [unprocessed food] we explain what unprocessed and minimally processed food actually means — and why ‘processed’ does not automatically mean ‘unhealthy’.

But how do you translate that to your own kitchen? Learning to make flavor yourself is a great first step.

What does cooking without packets and sachets mean?

To us, cooking without packets and sachets does not mean you have to make every ingredient completely from scratch.

It's mainly about composing the base of your meal yourself. You choose your vegetables, meat, fish, tofu or legumes, add for example rice, pasta or potatoes and then decide for yourself which flavors suit them.

And herbs and spices are especially suitable for that.

Many flavors we immediately recognize as Mexican, Italian, Middle Eastern or Indian arise from a combination of a relatively small number of herbs and spices. Once you know which combinations work well together, you often don't need a meal packet for many dishes.

Making your own spice mixes is easier than you think

The secret of a good spice mix usually isn't one special ingredient, but the combination and proportion.

For example, paprika powder takes on a very different character when you combine it with cumin, oregano and chili than when you mix it with garlic, thyme and rosemary. With the same spice cupboard you can therefore create surprisingly many different flavor directions.

Make a mix you use often? Mix a little extra right away and store it in a clean, well-sealed jar. That way you make your own spice mix once and then have the same convenience as a ready-made packet.

From taco seasoning to shawarma spices

One of the easiest ways to start is with a spice mix you normally buy ready-made.

For example, you can make taco seasoning with, among other things, paprika powder, cumin, oregano, garlic and chili. The mix is not only tasty with minced meat, but also with chicken, beans or roasted vegetables. See our recipe for [making taco seasoning yourself]] for the right proportions.

Also [making Italian herbs yourself] is simple. With herbs like oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary you have a mix you can use in tomato sauce, over roasted vegetables, in a marinade or in a dressing.

With [making shawarma spices yourself] the flavor profile becomes a bit more complex. Here savory herbs come together with warm spices. That's precisely why it's a fun mix to make yourself and you can then use it for, for example, shawarma, chicken, mushrooms, cauliflower or chickpeas.

And if you like a bit more heat, [making Cajun spices yourself] is a nice addition to your pantry. This powerful mix goes well with chicken, shrimp, potatoes and roasted vegetables, for example.

This way you can gradually replace more ready-made packets with a few favorite blends you always have in your kitchen.

A spice mix is just the beginning

Once you start cooking with herbs yourself, you'll quickly discover that you can do much more with them than just make a dry spice mix.

With a few simple basic combinations you can turn herbs and spices into many other flavorings.

Mix your spices with olive oil and lemon juice and you have a simple marinade. Stir them into yogurt for a dip or creamy marinade. Add them to tomato for a quick sauce or combine them with oil and vinegar for a dressing.

You can also make herb butter easily yourself with soft butter, garlic and green herbs like parsley and chives.

The nice thing is that this way you become less dependent on exact recipes. You learn which flavors match and can make something with what you have at home.

Learn to think in flavor directions

A handy way to cook without packets is to think not only from a recipe, but from a flavor direction.

Suppose you have potatoes, chicken and vegetables at home. That same base can taste Mediterranean one evening and completely different the next.

For a Mexican flavor direction you can think of paprika, cumin, oregano, garlic and chili. Oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary push a dish more toward the Mediterranean cuisine. Cumin, coriander and warm spices suit many Middle Eastern dishes.

Then you can play further with other flavorers. Lemon and vinegar bring freshness, yogurt and coconut milk can make a dish creamier and tomato forms a simple base for all kinds of sauces.

This makes cooking much less a matter of following a recipe exactly and much more a matter of understanding how you build flavor.

Decide yourself how much salt you use

Another big advantage of making your own flavors is that you have more control over the amount of salt in your dish.

Salt can already be part of the composition in meal mixes, sauces and some ready-made spice mixes. If you work with separate herbs and spices, you can first ensure sufficient flavor and then decide how much salt you want to add.

You can do much more than just use salt to make a dish interesting [cooking with less salt]. Smoked paprika gives a full, smoky flavor, cumin provides warmth, chili brings heat and garlic and onion give savoriness. Lemon or vinegar can make flavors fresher and livelier.

Then taste your dish and add salt to your own preference.

That may be one of the nicest aspects of cooking yourself: you have control over the flavor AND the amount of salt.

Which herbs do you need to cook without packets?

You don't need a cupboard with dozens of different herbs for that.

Which herbs are useful mainly depends on what you like to eat. With paprika, cumin, oregano, thyme, garlic, chili and coriander you can do a lot of different things. If you like to cook Indian, Indonesian or Middle Eastern dishes, you'll naturally expand your supply with the spices associated with those cuisines.

So look mainly at the dishes that regularly appear on your table and build your herb supply from there.

A jar you use every week is ultimately much more useful than ten special spices that stay at the back of the cupboard.

Don't feel like making every spice mix yourself?

Of course, cooking yourself doesn't have to mean you take six spice jars out of the cupboard every evening.

A ready-made spice mix can be a handy shortcut. You still choose the ingredients of your meal yourself, while the combination and proportion of the spices are already made for you.

Do you want to decide for yourself how much salt to use? The world mixes from Natural Spices are composed without added salt and sugar. So you get the convenience of a ready-made spice mix while you decide if and how much salt to add to the final dish.

Handy on days when you want to cook yourself but don't want to spread out half your spice cupboard first.

Start tonight with one less packet

You don't have to turn your entire pantry upside down at once to cook more often without packets and sachets.

Just choose one dish you make regularly. Do you normally use a packet of taco seasoning? Make a jar of your own mix. Do you automatically grab a bottle of dressing? Try olive oil, lemon juice, mustard and herbs. Or make a quick sauce for roasted vegetables from yogurt, garlic and herbs.

That way you'll naturally discover which flavorings you like to make yourself and where you prefer convenience.

Because cooking without packets and sachets doesn't have to be an aim in itself. It's mainly about discovering how easy it is to make flavor yourself.

Start with one less packet. The rest will follow.

Frequently asked questions about cooking without packets and sachets

1. What does cooking without packets and sachets mean?

Cooking without packets and sachets mainly means that you compose and season a meal more often yourself, instead of using a complete meal kit. That does not mean every ingredient must be completely unprocessed or homemade.

2. What is the advantage of cooking without packets and sachets?

An important advantage is that you have more control over which ingredients and flavorings you use. For example, you can decide yourself how much salt you add to a dish and adjust the amount of herbs, spices and heat to your own taste.

3. Which herbs do I need to cook without packets?

That depends on the dishes you like to make. Paprika powder, cumin, oregano, thyme, garlic, chili and coriander are versatile flavorings with which you can create many different flavor directions. Build your herb supply mainly around the dishes you cook regularly.

4. Can I make my own spice mixes without salt?

Yes. You can mix herbs and spices perfectly well without adding salt. Then season your dish during or after cooking. That way you decide yourself if and how much salt you use.

5. How do I start cooking without packets?

Start with one dish you make regularly. For example, replace a packet of spices with a homemade spice mix or make a simple sauce, dressing or marinade yourself. This way you don't have to change your entire way of cooking at once.