Help & FAQs

Yogurt marinades are a centuries-old technique for cooking meat. Plain yogurt is mixed with spice blends, then rubbed onto the meat and refrigerated for a few hours before cooking. The yogurt's lactic acid gently tenderizes the meat while its fat carries the flavors deep into the protein. It's the method behind tandoori chicken in India, shish tavuk in Turkey, souvlaki in Greece, shawarma in Lebanon, and dozens of dishes across South Asia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean.

Compared to the alternatives: dry rubs sit on the surface and don't penetrate. Bottled marinades penetrate slightly but usually contain sugar, preservatives, and seed oils. Yogurt marinades do both — they tenderize and deliver deep flavor — with none of the junk.

Unboring Your Meat makes spice blends designed specifically for this technique. Each packet contains 8-13 whole spices in the exact proportions traditional cooks have refined over centuries — pre-measured for two pounds of meat, so you just tear open a packet, stir it into plain yogurt, and coat your meat. Ten globally-inspired blends. Sixty seconds of prep. No measuring, no guesswork, no spice cabinet full of half-empty jars.

None of our blends are too spicy. They're flavorful, not fiery — built around aromatic whole spices, herbs, and roots, not heat. Here's how the ten blends break down by flavor character and heat level:

Bottom Line: if you can handle black pepper on your dinner, you can handle any blend we make.

Sure! Every single ingredient is listed on our website.

Here's the thing — buying individual spices gets very expensive very fast. And you're stuck with a cabinet full of half-empty spice jars you'll never need again. We send you the perfect amount of spice blend in compostable packaging so you get all the flavor without the waste (or the spice jar graveyard in your pantry). Plus, each packet combines 8-13 whole ingredients that work together — you'd need a pretty serious spice collection to replicate that at home.

We formulate, mix, package, and ship everything from our facility in New York.

Store them in a cool, dry place and they'll stay fresh for 24 months. Plenty of time to unboring many, many meals!

One packet makes yogurt marinade for 2 lbs of meat — just mix with yogurt and you're ready.

Mix 1 packet with yogurt. Coat your meat thoroughly. Toss it in the fridge for at least 3 hours (overnight is ideal). Cook it however you want and dig in. You can't go wrong! For more details, visit our One Minute Recipe guide.

Yogurt is the marinade VIP! It naturally tenderizes meat (especially chicken) while forcing those flavors deep inside and keeping everything juicy during cooking.

It's also the technique behind the meals you already love. Tikkas, shawarmas, souvlakis, kebabs — yogurt marinade is the method, you just may not have known the name. Cuisines from India to Turkey to Greece have used it for centuries because it works.

Plain, whole-milk yogurt works best. The fat carries the spice flavors deep into the meat and the smooth consistency coats evenly.

Widely available: Stonyfield Organic, Brown Cow Cream Top, Wallaby Organic Aussie Smooth, Maple Hill Creamery Cream on Top, and store brands like Nature's Promise. Any plain whole-milk yogurt will do.

Regional gems worth seeking out: Kalona SuperNatural (Iowa, sold nationally at Whole Foods and Sprouts), Nancy's Organic (Oregon, at Sprouts and natural grocers), Straus Family Creamery (California and the West Coast), Seven Stars Farm (biodynamic, East Coast), Pequea Valley Farm (Amish, Mid-Atlantic), and Desi Fresh Foods (Indian-style dahi — perfect for tikka and tandoori marinades).

Greek and strained styles work too — Fage, Chobani Plain Whole Milk Greek, Stonyfield Organic Greek, Wallaby Aussie Greek, Maple Hill Greek, and Siggi's Icelandic Skyr — but their thickness makes them harder to spread evenly on meat.

Non-fat yogurt is fine as well, though your marinade will come out on the watery side.

No problem! Use olive oil in place of yogurt. You'll get the same great flavor and convenience, though you'll miss the tenderization yogurt brings. It'll still taste delicious. Learn more about our dairy-free method →

Any meat you've got! Chicken, beef, pork, lamb, fish — they all explode with flavor when you marinate them with our spice blends and yogurt.

Get in there! Coat the meat evenly and thoroughly — every nook and cranny. The more coverage, the better the flavor.

At least 3 hours, but overnight in the fridge is where the magic happens. The longer it marinates, the better it tastes.

Nope! Leave it on. The marinade keeps your meat moist and locks in all that flavor while it cooks.

Absolutely. Freeze it for up to 1 month. Just thaw it in the fridge before cooking, and never re-freeze once it's thawed.

If it's touched raw meat, don't reuse it. Safety first!

Sodium ranges from 405mg (French) to 710mg per tablespoon across most blends. Our Turkish blend is higher at 1,770mg — we're exploring ways to bring that number down without losing the flavor.

Sugar: seven of our ten blends contain zero sugar. The three exceptions use small amounts of traditional sugars authentic to their cuisines: Korean (1.56g raw sugar), Jamaican (1.8g brown sugar), and Turkish (3g jaggery powder). For reference, a tablespoon of ketchup contains about 4g of sugar.

Full per-tablespoon details for all ten blends are on our Nutrition Information page.

Try the Filter The Flavors tool — selecting "Higher Sodium" or "Added Sugar" filters down to the lowest-sodium or sugar-free options instantly.

Some of our ingredients are organic, but not all — and we want to be upfront about why. Many of the whole spices we use, especially specialty ingredients like galangal, gochugaru, sumac, aji amarillo, and scotch bonnet, simply aren't available in certified organic supply at the quality and consistency we require. We'd rather use the highest-quality version of a spice than a lower-quality version with an organic label.

Where organic is available without compromising quality, we use it. But we'll never slap "organic" on our packaging unless every ingredient qualifies — and we won't reformulate our blends with inferior ingredients just to get the certification.

What we can promise: every ingredient is whole, natural, and recognizable. No preservatives, no artificial flavors, no anti-caking agents, no fillers. You can read every ingredient on the label and know exactly what it is.

All blends are vegan, dairy-free, and contain no preservatives or artificial anything. Nine of the ten are gluten-free — the exception is our Lebanese blend, which contains za'atar that may have traces of wheat. Seven blends are completely sugar-free and keto/Whole30 compatible. Korean (raw sugar), Turkish (jaggery powder), and Jamaican (brown sugar) contain small amounts of traditional sugar. The yogurt marinade method adds dairy, so if you're dairy-free, use olive oil instead. See full details on our Nutrition Information page.

Use our Filter The Flavors tool to filter by ingredients like garlic, onion, sugar, and more to instantly find blends that match your diet.

Nine of our ten blends are gluten-free and made with all-natural, high-quality ingredients. The exception is our Lebanese blend, which contains za'atar that may have traces of wheat, nuts, and sesame seeds. All blends are made in a facility that processes some allergens. See full details on our Nutrition Information page.

You can also use our Filter The Flavors tool to instantly see which blends are safe based on your sensitivities — sesame, mustard, tree nuts, and more.

Once your order ships, you'll receive an email with a tracking link. That tracking link shows the same delivery information we have on our end — we don't have access to any additional details beyond what's in the tracker. If your package appears delayed or hasn't moved in a few days, please contact the courier directly (usually USPS). Your local post office can look into delivery issues faster than we can, since they have access to local routing and carrier details. If the package is confirmed lost, email us at hello@unboringyourmeat.com and we'll make it right.

Our smallest bundle is the 5-packet Sampler at $39 with free shipping. It's the shipping costs that make it impossible to offer fewer than 5 packets at a price that would be fair to both you and our business.

Five packets is a low commitment — it's five different cuisines and five different dinners. The spice blends stay fresh for 24 months when stored in a cool, dry place, so there's plenty of time to enjoy them at your own pace.

We offer free shipping on every order within the continental USA. Orders in Hawaii and Alaska incur a $25 shipping fee. All orders are shipped within 48 hours from New York to keep things fresh. Food items are not returnable but please contact us if something isn't right.

Yes! Our spice packets are made from 100% compostable kraft paper and plant-based PLA — commercially compostable and safe in landfills. Our labels are 100% post-consumer waste kraft paper. Our mailer envelopes use recycled macerated padding and are fully recyclable. No plastic anywhere in your order — even the packet windows are plant-based. Learn more about our packaging →