What Does Red Robin Put In Its Signature Fry Seasoning?

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Many of us on a tight budget understand that Red Robin is known for its better-than-fast-food deals. The chain has close to 20 different fresh, never-frozen burger options, and, of course, unlimited fries with finger-lickingly good seasoning. Red Robin restaurants keep a shaker of it on each table, and you can even buy it directly from your server or online. If you're wondering what's in Red Robin's signature fry seasoning, the ingredients are listed on the label, but there might be a few things on there that may leave you scratching your head.

The first two ingredients are fairly standard: salt and cane sugar, but then also the addition of sea salt. You might wonder why there are two forms of salt, but it's more than just sodium chloride — sea salt contains extra trace minerals with subtle flavors. Then there are unspecified spices. Apparently, the FDA has no standard definition for "spice," but it identifies 37 common aromatic vegetable substances that are generally recognized as safe, which food manufacturers are not required to disclose individually.

Red Robin's seasoning also includes dehydrated onion, garlic, and tomato, along with paprika and natural smoke flavor, which is made from collecting droplets that condense after hot smoke comes in contact with cold air in an enclosed container, like a stove pipe. The seasoning also contains yeast extract, which may sound familiar if you're from the U.K. or Australia, as it's the primary ingredient in Marmite and Vegemite (which are not the same) and lends a deep umami flavor to any dish. The last ingredient on the list, silicon dioxide, says what it does right on the label, which is to prevent the seasoning from turning into a solid block of salt.

A Redditor shared this table that provides you with the proportions of each ingredient and serves as a great outline for your own copycat recipe, but there are a few other tips you may want to consider. For starters, you may not need to add both table salt and sea salt to your recipe, but if you do, I recommend using a neutral, lower-sodium salt, like kosher salt, and a very flavorful sea salt, like French grey salt. You may even want to use smoked sea salt and skip the smoke flavoring or add smoked paprika instead of regular to the same effect. If you already have liquid smoke at home, just combine a couple of drops with whatever salt you're using, and let it dry out thoroughly before mixing in your other seasonings. Instead of dehydrated onion, garlic, and tomato, you can use the dried powders of those aromatics.

As for yeast extract, you can purchase it online or get a similar effect by adding a pinch of MSG. Keep in mind that nutritional yeast powder is not the same as yeast extract, although a sprinkle of it in your seasoning will definitely add more umami with some cheesy notes. You can play around with the "spices," but if you want to stick closer to the Red Robin recipe, you could try replicating those listed on the back of a bottle that another Redditor found (black pepper, celery seed, cumin, oregano, and sage). Lastly, you will need something in your storage container to prevent caking, but you don't need a special chemical and can just do what many restaurants do: Add about a teaspoon of uncooked rice to your shaker.