Is it Cheaper to make your own Italian Seasoning?
Italian Seasoning blends are very popular and also versatile. I use them to spice up plain tomato sauce for pastas and to roast or bake chicken in the oven. There are actually tons of ways to use Italian Seasonings like on pizzas, vegetables, and potatoes.
After the last time I bought an Italian Seasoning jar at the grocery store, it made me wonder if making my own blend would be cheaper. Let’s find out!
How much does homemade Italian Seasoning cost?
For our homemade version, I am using a recipe from SpendwithPennies minus the red chili flakes. If you want the full recipe, click here to see their instructions.
| Homemade Italian Seasoning Ingredients | Cost of Ingredient | Cost for this Recipe |
| 2 tbsp dried basil | Great Value 0.8oz jar= $1.12 | $0.35 |
| 2 tbsp dried oregano | Great Value 0.87oz jar= $1.12 | $0.28 |
| 1 tbsp dried rosemary | Great Value 0.8oz jar= $2.42 | $0.42 |
| 2 tbsp dried parsley | Great Value 0.4oz jar= $1.12 | $0.35 |
| 1 tbsp dried thyme | Great Value 0.75oz jar= $1.94 | $0.36 |
| 1 tsp garlic powder | Great Value 3.4oz jar= $1.12 | $0.03 |
| Total Cost of Ingredients: $8.84 | Total Cost for the recipe: $1.79 | Cost per Ounce: $1.81 |
I already have most of these dried herbs at home, but I wanted to cost it out as if I had none, so I priced everything out at my local Walmart. If you start with nothing, your total out of pocket cost would be $8.84.
The amount that we actually use for the homemade Italian Seasoning recipe totaled out to about $1.79. This recipe makes approximately 0.985 oz total, so the cost per ounce is about $1.81.
This is the measurement that we will use to compare prices to those at the grocery store!
How much is Italian Seasoning at the grocery store?
Now let’s head to a couple of different grocery stores to check out some prices for a couple different brands.
| Italian Seasoning Blend & Ounces | Store & Price | Cost per Ounce |
| Great Value Italian Seasoning Blend, 0.95oz | Walmart, $1.12 | $1.17 |
| Publix Italian Seasoning, 1.43oz | Publix, $2.65 | $1.85 |
| Food Lion Italian Seasoning, 0.75oz | Food Lion, $1.49 | $1.98 |
| Stonemill Italian Seasoning, 0.75oz | Aldi, $1.09 | $1.45 |
| Supreme Italian Seasoning, 1.23oz | Dollar Tree, $1.25 | $1.01 |
| Tone’s Italian Seasoning, 6oz | Sam’s Club, $8.57 | $1.42 |
| Smart Way Italian Seasoning, 0.6oz | Ralph’s, $1.59 | $2.65 |
| Spice Classics Italian Seasoning, 0.87oz | Stater Bros, $1.29 | $1.48 |
| Signature Selects Italian Seasoning, 0.75oz | Albertson, $2.89 | $3.85 |
| Kroger Italian Seasoning, 3oz | Food4Less, $6.39 | $2.13 |
| Average Cost per Ounce: $1.90 |
In order to properly compare homemade Italian seasoning to the store-bought kind, we had to work by weight. Not every manufacturer puts the same amount of seasoning in each jar, so comparing regular price alone will be misleading.
We used the total price and the weight to determine how much it would cost per ounce so we could make a more accurate comparison. (This is known as Wise Buying.)
We found that the cheapest option to buy Italian Seasoning was actually at the Dollar Tree where the cost per ounce was about $1.01.
The most expensive option to buy Italian Seasoning was found at Albertsons for about $3.85 an ounce.
This means depending on where you typically buy your Italian seasoning blend and where you typically shop for your dried herbs can really affect your pricing.
Is it worth making your own Italian Seasoning?
Since I am an avid Walmart shopper for a lot of staple ingredients, making my own Italian Seasoning is not going to save me any money.
The cost to make my own blend was about $1.81 per ounce or I could just buy it at Walmart where it is about $1.17 per ounce.
Thankfully, I typically have most of these ingredients on hand in my spice rack, but I will probably only make my own blend if I run out of the Great Value jar.
Now as far as is it worth making your own Italian Seasoning blend as regards to taste, that will really be up to each person.
I have tried the Dollar Tree brand, the Walmart brand, and the Kroger brand…and they all pretty much taste the same. There was not enough of a difference for me to really care.
So, for this money saving experiment, I am going to have to say that making your own Italian Seasoning may be cool to do, it is not going to save you enough money to be worth it!
For more price breakdowns on buying versus making, check out making your own Breakfast Burritos and Dinner Rolls.
