Cooking with Fresh Herbs – How to Use Herbs in the Kitchen

Cooking with fresh herbs is one of the easiest ways to add flavor to everyday meals. If you grow your own, they’re also wonderfully inexpensive—especially in late summer, when basil, parsley, dill, mint, and other herbs may be growing faster than you can use them.

Using fresh herbs doesn’t need to be complicated. Once you know how much to use and when to add them, you can work herbs into eggs, vegetables, soups, meat dishes, salads, breads, drinks, and more.

Quick Guide to Cooking with Fresh Herbs

You don’t need a special recipe to use herbs from the garden. Start by pairing them with foods you already cook.

Fresh Herb	Try It With
Basil	Tomatoes, eggs, chicken, zucchini, pasta, pizza, peaches
Parsley	Potatoes, eggs, chicken, fish, soups, beans, salads
Dill	Cucumbers, potatoes, eggs, fish, carrots, yogurt
Cilantro	Tacos, salsa, beans, rice, corn, avocado, chicken
Chives	Eggs, potatoes, soups, fish, cottage cheese, sour cream
Rosemary	Chicken, lamb, beef, potatoes, root vegetables, bread
Thyme	Chicken, pork, fish, mushrooms, tomatoes, soups
Sage	Pork, poultry, sausage, winter squash, beans, browned butter
Oregano	Tomatoes, pizza, chicken, zucchini, eggplant, beans
Mint	Peas, cucumbers, watermelon, berries, yogurt, iced tea
Lemon balm	Fruit, tea, lemonade, gelatin, salads, desserts
Lavender	Lemon, berries, honey, baked goods, tea, lemonade

If you’d like to experiment with lavender, see How to Use Lavender. We also have more information on sage benefits and uses.

When to Add Fresh Herbs

Some herbs benefit from cooking, while others taste best added at the last minute.

Sturdy herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, and savory can be added toward the beginning or middle of cooking. Their flavors hold up well in soups, stews, roasts, and other long-cooked dishes.

Whole sprigs of rosemary or thyme are especially convenient. Add them during cooking and remove the woody stems before serving.

Tender herbs such as basil, cilantro, parsley, chives, dill, mint, and lemon balm are generally best added during the last few minutes of cooking or sprinkled over the finished dish.

There are exceptions. Parsley stems are great for broth, basil can simmer in tomato sauce, and dill heads belong in the pickle jar. Think of these as guidelines, not rules.

How Much Fresh Herb Should I Use?

Most culinary herbs are forgiving. Mild herbs such as parsley, basil, cilantro, and chives can be used generously. Stronger herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano, tarragon, and mint deserve a lighter hand.

For a typical family-size dish, start with:

• Mild herbs: 2 to 4 tablespoons chopped
• Medium-strength herbs: 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped
• Strong herbs: 1 to 2 teaspoons chopped

When you’re trying a new herb, start with a small amount and add more to taste. Some of the herbs I grow in my garden are more for the pollinators than for me.

It’s easy to add another pinch. Removing finely chopped rosemary from a pot of soup is considerably more challenging.

Fresh Herbs vs. Dried Herbs

Fresh and dried herbs aren’t always interchangeable in flavor, but a good rule of thumb is:

1 tablespoon fresh herbs = 1 teaspoon dried herbs (roughly a 3 to 1 ratio)

Drying concentrates the flavor of many herbs, so you generally need a smaller amount of dried herbs. Herbs such as oregano, thyme, rosemary, and sage retain plenty of flavor after drying. Basil, cilantro, parsley, chives, and dill tend to lose more of their bright flavor.

The strength of herbs also varies by variety, growing conditions, and age, so taste as you go. Dry conditions concentrate flavors, especially bitter flavors.

How to Prepare Fresh Herbs

For the best flavor, harvest herbs shortly before using them. If you’re buying fresh herbs, look for firm, brightly colored leaves without yellowing or slimy spots. Rinse if needed and gently pat dry.

Don’t automatically discard the stems. Tender parsley and cilantro stems are edible and flavorful. Woody rosemary, thyme, and mature sage stems are better removed, or used as natural skewers.

Use a sharp knife or kitchen scissors for chopping. A dull knife tends to crush tender herbs such as basil instead of slicing cleanly through the leaves. (Dull knives are just awful in general. Keep your knives sharp.)

Many herb flowers are edible, too. Basil, chive, dill, cilantro, oregano, thyme, sage, and lavender flowers can add flavor and color to meals.

Easy Ways to Use More Fresh Herbs

One of the simplest ways to use more herbs is to add them to foods you already make. Try chives, parsley, dill, or basil in scrambled eggs. Toss rosemary or thyme with vegetables before roasting. Add parsley and chives to potatoes, cilantro to tacos and beans, or basil to fresh tomatoes.

Fresh herbs also work well in:

• Salad dressings and marinades
• Compound butter
• Yogurt and sour cream dips
• Sandwiches and wraps
• Soups and stews
• Homemade breads and biscuits
• Pasta and grain salads
• Fruit salads and drinks

You can also combine herbs. Parsley, thyme, and rosemary work well with chicken; parsley, chives, and dill complement potatoes; and basil, oregano, and parsley are naturals with tomatoes.

Don’t Forget Herbs in Drinks and Desserts

Fresh herbs aren’t limited to savory cooking. Mint, lemon balm, lavender, and basil pair nicely with fruit. Add them to lemonade, iced tea, fruit salad, popsicles, gelatin, or simple desserts. Our honey sweetened lemonade gets an extra boost of flavor from fresh lemon balm.

Herbs also pair well with homemade gelatin. Our herbal finger gelatin combines herbal tea, fruit juice, and gelatin for kid-friendly herbal tonic.

How to Store Fresh Herbs

If you aren’t using your herbs immediately, a little care helps them last longer. Place parsley and cilantro stems in a jar with a small amount of water and refrigerate them loosely covered. Wrap rosemary and thyme loosely in a slightly damp towel and refrigerate.

Basil is the oddball. It doesn’t appreciate cold temperatures, so cut basil generally keeps better with its stems in water on the counter. Avoid packing wet herbs tightly into containers, as excess moisture encourages spoilage.

Long Term Storage

Anyone who grows herbs eventually reaches the point of wondering what to do with all of them. Thankfully, most are easy to preserve.

Dry sturdy herbs. Thyme, oregano, sage, rosemary, mint, and lemon balm dry well. Store dried herbs away from heat, moisture, and direct light.

Freeze tender herbs. Chop herbs and freeze them in small containers or ice cube trays with a little water or olive oil. The texture changes, but they’re excellent for cooked dishes.

Make pesto or herb sauce. Pesto doesn’t have to be made only with basil. Try parsley, cilantro, garlic scapes, or combinations of herbs and greens.

Make herb butter. Mix chopped herbs into softened butter and freeze in small portions. Parsley and garlic, dill and lemon zest, or rosemary and thyme are easy combinations.

Make herb vinegar. Basil, dill, tarragon, chives, and chive blossoms all work well for flavored vinegars.

From Garden to Table

Growing herbs is easy (usually). Remembering to use herbs for cooking is sometimes the harder part. Keep herbs where you’ll see them, harvest regularly, and don’t feel as though you need a special recipe.

Snip chives over breakfast or add a handful of parsley to potatoes. Tuck rosemary under a roasting chicken or pile basil onto fresh tomatoes. Drop some lemon balm into a pitcher of lemonade, or make some mint tea. The more often you cook with fresh herbs, the easier it becomes to use what’s growing.

That said, even if not every herb makes it into the kitchen, they’re still a wonderful addition to the garden. Herbs make great companion plants, deterring pests and attracting pollinators. They’re also simply lovely, adding beauty to our lives, and we could all use some more of that.

This article is written by Laurie Neverman. Laurie grew up in the kitchen, learning baking and home cooking from her momma. At age 15, she and her mom and two sisters created Irene’s Custom Cakes & Catering, which was her summer job through most of high school and college.

Originally posted in 2012, last updated in 2026.