Learn how to make infused salt with just a little bit of sea salt and any herbs or flavors you desire!
Since I love cooking so much, I often find myself experimenting with flavors when it comes to herbs and spices. If you frequently visit my recipes then you know that I’m a big proponent of using fresh herbs and sea salt. I view these things as the secret weapons in any recipe. The herbs and salt you use will truly make the dish.
Since I’m over here making a bunch of handmade gifts for the holidays – food gifts included – I’ve wanted show you how to make infused salt for yourself and any other food lovers in your life. I’m going to do it showcasing my Lemon & Thyme Sea Salt recipe. It’s easily one of my favorite flavor combinations and something you can use on chicken, fish, beef and even something that I use in pasta dishes sometimes.
What you need for making infused salt
Before we begin, there’s a few important things you need when learning how to make infused salt.
The first thing you need is the correct salt. You want a flakey sea salt when making infused salts because they allow you to easily grind any herbs or flavors into the salt. I can never find flakey sea salt near us so I order this one {HERE}.
The next thing you will want is a zester. If you’re going to add anything like lemon, lime, garlic or even chilis to infused salts then a zester will be important. I have one just like this one {HERE}.
Then, you need a motor and pestle. This will be used when you learn how to infuse salt with other flavors that need to be ground up. Think about dried herbs – especially things like rosemary, sage and some of the bulkier dried herbs. This helps with combining the salt itself and all those other delicious flavors. I can’t find the one I’m using here to link it for you. It is several years old, but if you don’t have one I would purchase this one {HERE} based on reviews.
The final thing you need is a container for the salt. I use these ones {HERE} from World Market. I like that they are small enough to fit into a normal spice rack but still provide a nice helping of the salt for having as a part of your collection or for storing.
Measurements when making infused salt
I’ve found that when learning how to make infused salt, the measurements recommended don’t really work for me. Generally, it’s recommended that you add 1-2 tsp of your other herbs and spices per ¼ cup of salt.
However, I generally add 1 Tablespoon or more per ¼ cup of salt depending on what I’m using.
Here’s a few flavor combinations to try:
- Cilantro Lime Salt – 1/2 cup of flaky sea salt, 2 Tablespoon of lime zest and 1 Tablespoon of cilantro
- Chipotle Lime Salt – 1/2 cup of flaky sea salt, 2 Tablespoons of lime zest, 2 tsp. of red chili flakes
- Rosemary Garlic Salt – 1/2 cup sea salt, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 Tablespoon of fresh rosemary
How to make infused salt flavors
Once you know which flavors you want to use when making infused salt you need to combine them. Here’s how to make infused salt flavors.
Combine the salt and herbs in a motor and then grind them together. This is the step you need to take whether you’re making salt with fresh ingredients or bulky dried ingredients.
Once this is complete, you want to bake the herbs and salt. You don’t want to brown them, but you need to make sure that everything is properly dried out to prevent mold. This step isn’t specifically necessary if you’re using all bulk dried herbs, but you need to do this if using any citrus zest or fresh herbs. Generally, you can dry the salt in the oven at 220 for 1 hour.
If you prefer a finer salt, grind the salt mix again with the motor and pestle once it comes out of the oven and everything is dry. Then add it to a container and enjoy!
My Lemon & Thyme Salt
Below I’ll share my full recipe for my Lemon & Thyme Salt. It’s a simple salt and it perfect for adding to your personal spice collection or giving as a gift.
When working with the lemon, you want only the lemon zest. Make sure to avoid the white pith. When working with the thyme, use only the leaves. It will make it a bit of a pain to strip the stalks but the stalks don’t grind as well and they can be a bit stab-y when dried.
The Lemon & Thyme Salt is perfect for chicken, fish and even a light pork meal. I also love using it to top off pasta like my Lemon Carbonara Pasta or this Creamy Lemon & Butter Pasta.
Labels and packaging for the salt
I’ve made a FREE label for the Lemon & Thyme Salt if you’re interested in making that one. You can get it here: Lemon and Thyme sea salt
I use the Avery Sticker paper to make these labels. I like it because I can cut them to any size and it’s removable so if I put the sticker on incorrectly, I can fix it. You can find the labels {HERE}.
When it comes to the packaging, I had ordered this brown kraft paper {HERE} and this twine {HERE}. I use these on a variety of handmade home items.
Thank you so much for visiting today, friends! You can find the full recipe for the Lemon & Thyme Infused Salt below! I hope you enjoy it! For more recipes, click {HERE}. For more handcrafted home items, click {HERE}.

Lemon & Thyme Infused Salt
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup flaky sea salt
- Zest from two lemons
- 2 Tbsp. thyme leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220 degrees.
- Combine salt, lemon zest and thyme in the mortar and then grind with the pestle. Really get in there so you can make sure that everything is well ground.
- Add the salt to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for one hour.
- When done, grind the salt again with the mortar and pestle if you prefer to have a finer salt.
- Store and enjoy! Use on chicken, fish or pork.
I bet this is amazing! I will have to make this. I know I’d love the flavor.
I love the taste of lemon and salt. I will have to make this for my veggies.
This looks like a great recipe. I’m sure I would use this a lot too. I’ll have to give this a try.
Interesting. I would never have thought of infusing salt like that. Sounds delicious.
This looks great. Infused salt is for fun and perfects to give as gifts.
I love the flavor combination. Thank you for the free label too. I loved it
I could use this on my chicken for quick recipe ideas throughout the week. I bet it smells amazing, too!
Wow! That looks absolutely perfect! I would really love to try this really amazing recipe!
This is really interesting! I love my sea salt already and have never thought of infusing. Trying now….
I bet this would smell amazing!
What a great idea. I can see a cute gift basket with some homemade products including this infused salt with lemon and thyme seasoning.
These are such a great idea. I love making stuff! such a great DIY
We make rosemary salt and now I have to try this one! I was needing a gift for the stocking stuffers at my niece’s. This will be perfect.
Oh neat! I’m so gonna try that on my spare time
This sounds like such a lovely salt recipe – I can imagine it would go beautiful with some salmon for some reason.
I bet this is so amazing! I need to make it for sure! Saving for later.
That would be a lovely flavor combination for chicken! I’ll have to try this out.
I will be definitely try this…so simple…thanks for the directions! 👓🏨😊🍕
This would be great for my Lemon Potatoes I make
That sounds great. It must taste really yummy when used to season dishes. It would make a gorgeous gift.
I have never made my own seasoning before, but this one sounds good!
What a great idea to add some flavor to your salt. I love to try new things in my kitchen!
That looks and sounds good. I will have to give it a try. Thanks!
I’m sure this is really yummy, looking forward to giving this recipe a try.
i have never tried making infused salts at home but this looks and sounds so perfect for so many recipes
This is cool. I haven’t really thought about DIY Infused Salt but it is actually a great idea since this is something I regularly buy. Thank you for sharing this. Can’t wait to try it.
This would be so fun! We’ve never made infused salt before, and it sounds delicious.
Thanks for sharing this Lemon & Thyme Sea Salt recipe with us 🙂 I’ll surely try it!