There are many ways you can add flavor to a dish. Adding a seasoning like celery salt is one way to do that.
If you run out of salt, what do you do? You can find the best substitutes for celery salt below!
List of 10 Ingredients to Use As A Celery Salt Substitute

Let’s find out the top celery salt alternatives in the list below!
Diy Celery Salt
If you’re looking for a substitute for the store-bought celery salt, why not make your own celery salt recipe? This recipe will show you how to make celery salt from celery seed. Although it might take a longer time to prepare ingredients, the result will be flawless without costing too much money.
Celery salt Ingredients:
- Three tablespoons of celery seed
- Six tablespoons of table salt
- Half teaspoon white rice grains.
How to make celery salt?
- Use a grinder and start grinding the celery seeds to a finely ground stage.
- Then pour in the salt in the mix and grind for 10 seconds more.
- Once you’re done with the mixture, you need to use a glass container to store the celery salt. Use the uncooked rice to remove moisture and clumps while storing celery salt by placing them at the bottom of the container.
- Then, pour the celery salt mix inside the container and close the lid tightly.
- Store it in a cool and dark place to enjoy the salt for a long time!
Dehydrate Celery
A brilliant celery salt substitution way is using dehydrated celery. You won’t be able to find a small difference in flavor with the store-bought celery salt. The dehydration method has been a great way to retain the nutrient and prolong the ingredient’s shelf life. Therefore, you can use celery salt for a longer time with the hydration version.
The dehydrated celery also has a beautiful, distinctive celery taste and has a high sodium level (20%), making it an ideal flavor enhancer for your soups and stews. So, how much celery salt equals one stalk?
Normally, we would use one stalk of celery when the recipe asks for 1/4 tablespoon of celery salt.
Celery Flakes
Another celery salt substitute that is similar to dehydrated celery is celery flakes. Unlike dehydrated celery, you can find celery flakes in most of the markets. Besides, celery flakes are basically dehydrated fresh celery.
This ingredient retains many savory and intense flavors compared to fresh celery, making it a great substitute for celery salt. Many people use this item to add an umami flavor to many simple and bland dishes such as sausage making, stews, and soups.
Dill With Salt
If you’ve run out of celery seed for your homemade recipe, you can find dill seed, a great celery salt replacement for this job. Moreover, this ingredient comes from the same family with celery, making it an effective ingredient in the list.
Because they belong to the same family, dill seeds inherit the aromatic and savory flavor, which is similar to the taste of celery. You can easily mix the ground dill seeds with some table salt with the same ratio when using celery salt.
Typically, dill salt can be used for rubbing on barbecue meat, sprinkling on potato salad, and mixing with the salad dressing.
Celery Seed
Celery salt packages are made of celery, so that you might wonder can I substitute celery seed for celery salt?
The answer is YES. But how can you substitute celery seed for celery salt then? Specifically, the difference between celery seed and celery salt mostly lies in the texture of these ingredients. One is smooth, and the other is grainy. Apart from that, their flavor is pretty similar.
It is easy to grind these celery seeds to a finely ground texture that replicates the celery powder. Hence, you only need to combine the celery seed mixture with table salt at a ratio of 1: 2 to give you a savory and celery flavor.
Nigella Seed
Another type of seed that can be a potential healthy substitute for celery salt is Nigella seed. This seed is famous for many of its health benefits, like reducing inflammation or lowering blood pressure.
This seed may be slightly nuttier than celery seed regarding the flavor. However, when you mix it with the salt, it will still be a great flavor enhancer for your stew and soups.
Fennel Seed
Fennel seed is another great substitute for the celery salt recipe, as they have a similar shape to cumin seeds with a green cover. This seed has a warm and savory flavor that perfectly fits any soup, meat, and stew dishes. Because of their versatile taste, fennel seed salt can also be used to replace; this celery salt.
Some specific recipes might not be effective to use fennel salt like Bloody Mary as they need to be spicy and salty. To be more specific, the warm taste of fennel salt might change the effect tremendously.
Onion Salt
Savory and flavored salts are no longer unfamiliar to American-style dishes. One of our most popular spices is onion salt, and this salt serves the same purpose as celery salt: enhancing the flavor of your dishes.
A combination of salt, an anti-caking agent, and onion powder makes the distinctive flavor of onion salt. They have a mix of spice, savory, and sweetness which is perfect for many celery salts required recipes.
Thus, people use this ingredient in many recipes such as soups, stews, and spreads on slices of bread and meats. You can easily find onion salt in any store at an affordable price.
Garlic Salt
Garlic salt is a flexible spice that can be used in many dishes, including celery salt-based recipes. With a good amount of savory salt and garlic, it is a great celery salt substitute.
Besides the flavor, its white color and smooth consistency make it a great spice to sprinkle on top of popcorn or rub on the barbecue meat. In addition, you can basically replace all kinds of salt with garlic salt in eggs, sandwiches, baked potatoes, or steam vegetables.
Leek Salt
Leek salt is made of dehydrated leek and table salt. The leak comes from the same onion and garlic family, making it a practical substitute for celery salt.
Fresh leeks produce a grassy and sweet flavor that is stronger than shallots or onions. Hence, this helps leek salt to add intense flavor complexity to your bland dishes. You can even use it as an onion powder replacement as well!
This versatile spice can be added in soups, stews, or other spices mix to create a unique combination. Additionally, some people even utilize its mild flavor for green smoothies.
What Is Celery Salt Made Of
Celery salt is such an amazing condiment for a wide range of dishes. Its taste is a beautiful combination that gives your dish a colorful mix of flavors. But they don’t taste completely like fresh celery or salt. So, what is in celery salt?
There are different versions of celery salt. Some celery salts are made of celery powder and salt, while some are made of celery root, stalk, leaves, or seeds, which will be grounded to give a smooth consistency. Once they are grounded, people will blend it with table salt with a ratio of 2:1 ratio to bring out the unique celery taste.
Even though people combine dehydrated celery with salt for longer shelf life, it can still retain the original flavor. When they are added together, the combination becomes a grassy, salty and peppery flavor with a mildly bitter note which is so much better than normal table salt.
FAQs
1. What Is Celery Salt Used For?
With its distinguished taste, celery salt is slightly special than normal table salt. But how to use celery salt then?
The most popular use of celery salt is in a signature cocktails like the Bloody Mary and Caesar. It is also an irreplaceable ingredient in Chicago-style hot dogs. You can use this for salad dressings, pork roast, and tomato-based soups and stew.
2. Recipes With Celery Salt?
As celery salt is a versatile spice, you can find many recipes that it can go with. You can use this salt for Caesar, Bloody Mary cocktails, Chicago-style hot dogs, coleslaw, lemon celery salted buttermilk chicken, roast potatoes with celery salt, or uncured bacon.