What's the Difference Between Cajun and Creole Seasoning?

Cajun seasoning and Creole seasoning share the same backbone of salt, paprika, garlic, onion, black pepper and cayenne. The difference is emphasis: Cajun blends lean on pepper and heat, and Creole blends lean on herbs like oregano, thyme and basil. Cajun comes from the country kitchens of rural Louisiana; Creole comes from the city kitchens of New Orleans. In most home recipes you can swap one for the other and nobody at the table will send it back.

That is the short answer. The rest of this page covers where the two names come from, what is actually in the jar, how blackening fits in, and how much to use on chicken, shrimp and fish.

Where the two names come from

Cajun cooking belongs to the Acadians, French settlers who were pushed out of eastern Canada in the 1700s and made a new home in the bayous and prairies of south Louisiana. It is farm and fishing-camp food: one pot, whatever was caught or raised that week, and a lot of pepper to make a humble pot of rice and sausage taste like something.

Creole cooking grew up in New Orleans, a port city with French, Spanish, African and Caribbean cooks all working the same markets. There was money for tomatoes, butter, fresh herbs and a wider spice shelf. So Creole food tends to be a little more layered and a little less fiery.

The two have borrowed from each other for two hundred years, which is why gumbo and jambalaya show up on both sides of the line.

What is in Cajun seasoning?

A classic Cajun blend is built on:

• Salt. Usually the first ingredient.
• Paprika. For color and a sweet, smoky base.
• Cayenne. This is where the heat lives, and Cajun blends are not shy with it.
• Garlic and onion. The savory floor under everything.
• Black pepper. Often white pepper too, for a sharper bite.
• A little oregano or thyme. Present, but in the background.

Taste a spoonful on its own and the order you notice things is: salt, then heat, then garlic. Herbs come last if they come at all.

What is in Creole seasoning?

Take that same list and move the herbs to the front. A Creole blend has the salt, paprika, garlic, onion and pepper, but it adds more oregano, thyme and basil, sometimes bay leaf, sometimes celery seed. Cayenne is still there, just turned down. Taste it on its own and you get salt, then herbs, then a gentle warmth that builds rather than bites.

So which one is hotter?

Cajun, as a rule. But the honest answer is that it depends entirely on who made it. Every family in Louisiana has its own ratio, and every brand on the shelf does too. The only way to know is to read the label and look at where cayenne or "chilis" sits in the ingredient list. The higher it sits, the hotter the jar.

Where does blackening seasoning fit?

Blackening is a cooking method, not a region. You coat fish or chicken in a Cajun-style spice mix, then sear it in a screaming-hot cast iron skillet so the paprika and sugar in the blend form a dark crust. It was made famous in New Orleans in the 1980s, but the seasoning under it is Cajun at heart: paprika, garlic, onion, pepper, thyme, a bit of heat. We wrote a whole page on what blackened seasoning is and how to use it if you want the technique.

What we make, and which side of the line it sits on

Boudreaux T's is our organic Cajun blackening seasoning. Say it "Boo-dr-Oh." The label is nineteen ingredients, all of them things you could name at the table: sea salt, organic brown sugar, organic paprika, organic chilis, organic garlic, organic onion, then organic sugar, cumin, ginger, celery seed, thyme, black pepper, coriander, basil, nutmeg, cayenne, cloves, cinnamon and mustard seed.

Notice where the cayenne sits: sixteenth. That is on purpose. We built Boudreaux T's so the whole table could eat it, including the people who "don't do spicy." It has the paprika-and-garlic depth of a Cajun blend and the thyme and basil you would expect from a Creole one, with the brown sugar there to help a crust form in the pan. If you want it hotter, add your own cayenne a pinch at a time. If you want it plainer, cut it with The OG, which is just sea salt, organic garlic and organic black pepper.

Boudreaux T's comes in a 5 oz resealable pouch. Both blends are USDA Certified Organic, gluten-free and kosher, with no MSG, no fillers and no anti-caking agents, mixed in small batches by our family in Charlotte, North Carolina.

How much Cajun or Creole seasoning do you use?

Because salt is the first ingredient in nearly every Cajun and Creole blend, treat it as your salt. Do not salt the food separately.

• Shrimp and fish fillets: about 1 teaspoon per pound, tossed with a little oil before they hit the pan.
• Chicken thighs, breasts or wings: 1 to 2 teaspoons per pound, rubbed on and given 20 minutes to sit.
• A pot of rice, beans, gumbo or jambalaya: start with 1 tablespoon for a big pot, taste, and add more near the end.
• Roasted potatoes, corn or cauliflower: 1 to 2 teaspoons per pound, same as any other roasted vegetable.

If you like the per-pound rule, we laid out the whole thing in how much seasoning to use per pound of meat.

Quick answers

Can I use Cajun seasoning in place of Creole seasoning?

Yes. Expect a little more heat and a little less herb. If the recipe is tomato-based, a pinch of dried oregano or thyme brings it back toward Creole.

Is Cajun seasoning the same as blackening seasoning?

Close cousins. Blackening blends are Cajun-style mixes made for a hot skillet, so they usually carry more paprika and often a little sugar to help the crust. You can blacken with a plain Cajun blend; it just will not brown quite as deeply.

What does Cajun seasoning taste good on?

Shrimp, catfish, salmon, chicken, pork chops, sausage, corn on the cob, potatoes, popcorn and a pot of red beans.

So: same bones, different emphasis. Cajun leans on the pepper; Creole leans on the herbs. One good blend covers both. And if a skillet of blackened shrimp is about to become a Friday night habit, free shipping kicks in at $25.