Learn how to make your own Everything But the Bagel seasoning at home in under five minutes! I’ve amped up Trader Joe’s traditional blend for deeper flavor using different ingredients, like roasted sesame seeds. I’ll also give you a quick list of ingredients you can substitute or mix for your own custom flavor profile!
What is “Everything But The Bagel” seasoning?
The Everything But The Bagel seasoning blend comes from the well-known Everything Bagel—a breakfast staple topped and baked with garlic flakes, onion flakes, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and salt. It’s unknown where the everything bagel originated (and is a hotly debated topic amongst bakers), but many believe it was created in the 1970s-1980s in the US.
Trader Joe’s first debuted its Everything But the Bagel: Sesame Seasoning Blend in 2017 made up of the toppings you’d find on the original bagel. You can add it to literally everything beyond bagels, like avocado toast, pizza, scrambled eggs, hash browns, grilled salmon, cornbread, roasted nuts, rice, and more.
It quickly expanded from just a spice blend and became the first in a series of snacks. Now, you can find EBTB chips, nuts, cheddar cheese, sandwich crackers, smoked salmon, and, yes, even bagels. While I don’t believe Trader Joe’s was the first company to package and sell this type of seasoning blend, they popularized it enough that other brands like Kirkland and Flavor God created their own.
What’s in Trader Joe’s EBTB seasoning?
Trader Joe’s EBTB seasoning includes white sesame seeds, flakey salt, dried minced garlic, dried minced onion, black sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. The order in which the ingredients are listed on the back of the jar label signifies the weight of each ingredient from most to least. This means there is more white sesame seeds and flakey salt than the other ingredients.
Cost comparison: Trader Joe’s vs homemade
I pay about $1.99 at Trader Joe’s for one (2.3 oz) jar of EBTB seasoning blend (not including tax). Let’s be real and acknowledge that buying a jar at Trader Joe’s is super cheap, so making it at home isn’t about saving money in the short term.
Making the same amount of seasoning at home will run you about $2 (more if you use organic ingredients). But if you already have these ingredients at home, it’s easy to make whenever you crave. The reason you should make the Everything But the Bagel seasoning at home is so you can customize the ingredients based on your preferences.
Ingredients in my ETBT seasoning
After eating the Trader Joe’s version for seven years and taste-testing many variations and proportions of ingredients in this recipe, I settled on this recipe. I used Trader Joe’s ingredient list as a base to estimate how much of each ingredient is in there, but I fine-tuned the exact amounts with taste testing and comparison to fit my preferred taste.
This recipe uses white sesame seeds, flakey salt, dried minced garlic, dried minced onions, roasted black sesame seeds, and poppy seeds.
Ingredient customization
The best part about making Everything But the Bagel seasoning at home is that you can adjust the ingredients based on your preference or even replace or add different ingredients. Here are other changes I like to boost the flavor just a bit more:
- Using roasted white and black sesame seeds adds a deeper flavor and nuttier taste
- Switching dried onion to fried shallots gives you a caramelized and sweeter flavor
- Trying different types of salt changes the salinity and flavor. For example, using sea salt or kosher salt is different from using flakey salt. Or try adding a pinch of fish sauce salt for more umami flavor!
How to use EBTB seasoning
There are so many ways to use EBTB seasoning, especially if you are a garlic and onion lover like myself. Besides making homemade bagels and adding the EBTB seasoning blend on top, expand your horizons and use it on:
- broiled salmon
- salmon rice bowls
- rice toppers
- roasted potatoes
- grated egg avocado toast
- deviled eggs
How long does this stay fresh?
As long as you keep it in an airtight container, homemade EBTB seasoning can last well beyond two months if you use dried ingredients (like dried garlic or dried onion). However, if you use homemade fried ingredients (like fried garlic or fried shallots), it will last up to one month in an airtight storage container on the counter. If the blend starts to taste stale, you’ll know it’s time to make a new batch.
Everything But the Bagel Seasoning
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp roasted white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp flakey salt Maldon
- 2 tsp dried minced garlic
- 2 tsp dried minced onion
- ½ tbsp roasted black sesame seeds
- 1 tsp poppy seeds
Equipment Used
- measuring spoons or weighted scale
- Spoon
- bowl
- airtight container with a lid
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine all the ingredients: 1 tbsp roasted white sesame seeds, 1 tbsp flakey salt, 2 tsp dried minced garlic, 2 tsp dried minced onion, ½ tbsp roasted black sesame seeds, and 1 tsp poppy seeds
- Mix until incorporated.
- Transfer the ingredients into an airtight container and cover with a lid. Keep at room temperature for up to two months.
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