The best alternative to oregano is to swap dried for fresh or vice versa. Italian seasoning is a blend of common herbs and spices, and it can also be used in place of … The ratio … In fact, if you just remember the lyrics to Scarborough Fair, made popular by Simon and Garfunkel, you’ll have a basic poultry seasoning blend memorized…”parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.” The reason for this is because this particular blend already contains thyme. The taste is quite similar but a little sweeter and slightly bitter. Check out our blog to see the latest articles. Other common herbs that you can substitute for thyme include oregano and basil. Basil and oregano can also be used, but these typically have a bold flavor. Note that how these options work depend on the type of recipe and how thyme is used. Fresh or dried, oregano hits many of the same earthy, minty, savory and slightly bitter notes as thyme. Please check your email for further instructions. Nowadays, though you might see thyme in the ingredients lists of some of your favorite hygiene and beauty products (that's thanks to thymol, a naturally-occurring chemical found in thyme oil, that has antimicrobial and antifungal properties), it's more likely that you'll see it in recipes for roast chicken, turkey, or stuffing, or as an ingredient in any number of dried poultry spice blends. Dried Thyme. As a substitute, use it in a 1/3:1 ratio for oregano; The Bottom Line . It's got a woody, minty profile similar to oregano, but with a sweeter and more delicate flavor. It is good for digestion, lowers blood sugar, and promotes gut health. Thyme has a similar flavor to Ajwain Seeds, but comes with a slightly musty undertone. Fresh oregano has a strong fragrance similar to thyme, but it’s unique in its slightly bitter and robust minty flavor. If the thyme has been only recently dried, its flavor is likely to be quite strong. Let us know in the comments! I am obsessed with all things food! Thyme has a very gentle flavor as compared to rosemary, which makes it a great substitute for most herbs, not just rosemary. It has a subtle earthy flavor that lightens the gamy taste of lamb and other meat. The leaves measure about one-eighth inch in diameter. The good news is that you don’t even have to use that much. But what exactly is thyme? Top-notch recipes, expert tips, and more—it's all right this way. If the first three substitutes are not available, you can try dried oregano to substitute thyme. In the Middle East, cooks use thyme in a number of dishes, especially for sauces and rice, as it provides a delicate piny flavor. You can find thyme in a number of different variations as it’s a member of the mint family. It is made up of basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, and marjoram. Shutterstock. Hi friend! This blend of dried herbs, from the Provence region of France, often comprises dried basil, marjoram, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, thyme, and fennel seeds. Online… What are the ingredients in herbes de Provence? Thyme is one of the many fresh herbs used in much Italian cooking. Worry not as you can use it to substitute thyme. Conclusion . In the past, thyme was used as an antidote to poison, to prevent plague, leprosy, and lice. This will come closest to the intended flavor. In ancient Egypt, the herb was also a key element in the mummification process. Thyme (/ t aɪ m /) is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus Thymus of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae.Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus Origanum.They have culinary, medicinal, and ornamental uses, and the species most commonly cultivated and used for culinary purposes is Thymus vulgaris When you combine these two herbs, the flavor profiles blend to create an excellent thyme substitute that is both earthy and slightly tangy. For every teaspoon of thyme, you can substitute a teaspoon of Italian seasoning. While it is common and readily available in grocery stores, there are instances when you run out of this ingredient in your kitchen. Thyme – Substitute Thyme For Dried Rosemary: Thyme is an excellent herb that belongs to the same family as rosemary, i.e., mint. Savory is another herb in the mint family, with a peppery, robust—and, yes, savory—flavor. Some of the best alternatives to use are also readily available in your kitchen. (This works for any dried herbs.) For a good thyme (substitute), call these herbs. More than the unique flavor, tarragon is used for its health benefits including reduced water retention, improved digestion, boosting appetite, and promoting sleep. At the fair, all sorts of merchants, farmers, entertainers, and visitors would gather for food, drink, revelry, and, yes, stocking up on herbs. And there are more than one hundred other varieties, often with names that match their flavor profiles: orange thyme, caraway thyme, and za'atar thyme, for example. Especially, for a recipe such as roast venison. Another spice that can also work in a pinch is dried tarragon, which has similar flavor notes to thyme. You can also use fresh or dried marjoram in place of thyme. one four- to six-serving dish). Hailing from the Levant region, za'atar generally contains dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, sometimes lemony sumac, and toasted sesame seeds and salt. Any of the following herbs can be used in a 1:1 swap with dried thyme; use half as much in place of fresh thyme. It is native to Asia and appears flat, narrow, and glossy. Thanks for subscribing! 4 Best Horseradish Substitutes for Home Cooking, 4 Best Tomato Purée Substitutes for Cooking, 5 Best Port Wine Substitutions for Cooking, The 6 Best Substitutes for Fennel for Home Cooking. A mixture of dried basil, marjoram, thyme, oregano, and rosemary, this ultra-fragrant spice blend is another great choice for a thyme substitute. Best substitutes for thyme. Hence both herbs can be used as each other’s alternatives, for example, rosemary as a substitute for thyme and thyme as an alternative to rosemary, especially in dried form. Try the mentioned alternatives to achieve the sweet, lemony, and earthy flavor of thyme. Just like Italian seasoning, Herbes De Provence consists of dried herbs including bay leaves and lavender flowers. When your recipe involves using fresh thyme and you don’t have it, the dried option is by far your best alternative. Cooking With Dried Thyme Dried thyme retains much of the flavor of fresh thyme and is a suitable substitution for fresh in many cases. A warning, though: because a few of these contain powdered aromatics, or dried seeds, you may not want to include these in sweet recipes that call for thyme. You can also simply add parsley as a final garnish to mimic the flavor and aroma of thyme. Therefore, use about 90 percent of… What is a recipe for poultry seasoning? It can be used both fresh and dried. For every teaspoon of thyme, you can use slightly less than half a teaspoon of oregano. While basil is a bit muted, it has a delicate, sweet flavor that makes dishes taste amazing. Same rules apply here as they do oregano: Use a 1:1 swap of fresh marjoram for fresh thyme; a 1:1 swap of dried marjoram for dried thyme; half the amount of dried marjoram as a swap for fresh thyme, and twice the amount of fresh marjoram for dried thyme. This substitute is best used for dishes that center around fish and chicken. Besides fresh thyme, dried and ground thyme is also available in supermarkets. Dried herbs tend to be more concentrated in flavor than fresh, and you don’t want the potency of the dried herb to throw off the balance of your … Read on as we explore the best substitute for thyme. Everyday recipes include Lemon Thyme Chicken, Garlic Thyme chicken, etc. Note that for recipes where thyme sprigs are tied together in a bouquet garni (a bunch of tied-up herbs used to ambiently season soups, stews, or big cuts of meat), you'll be best off substituting with sprigs of oregano, marjoram, or savory, and not basil. When substituting dried thyme for fresh, however, use roughly one-third of the volume of fresh thyme called for in the recipe … There are a few herbs that are are exempted from this rule, and they are: Thyme – use ¾ of a teaspoon of dried thyme for every one tablespoon of fresh thyme. Tarragon also has a more pungent aroma similar to anise. Thyme, the most powerful of them all, was long associated with courage, bravery, and strength on the battlefield; it was known to be an antidote to poison, a preventer of the plague, and a lot more. The best thyme substitutes, according to The Spruce Eats, are savory, marjoram and oregano, all of which are somewhat similar in flavor to thyme and will usually work well in recipes that call for it. Now, you can find Herbes De Provence in different brands including Morton & Bassett, McCormick Gourmet, and The Spice Hunter. You may want to reduce the amount of salt in the recipe if you use za'atar as a substitute for thyme. This product is often used in grilled meat such as fish and beef, and the flavor is maintained even after being exposed to high heat. Za'atar. Rosemary is still a good substitute, but if you want to explore a different fresh herb that beautifully compliments most savory dishes that include thyme, give fresh oregano a try. LEARN MORE. Herbes de provence is a mixture of dried herbs made with thyme. Rosemary is also widely suggested as a good alternative to thyme, especially when cooking dishes that contain either pork or lamb. Italian seasoning is perfect for pasta dishes, marinades, soups, and sauces. In case you use oregano, remember to use a smaller quantity to avoid intense flavor and aftertaste. The ratios, which you'll see below, differ slightly for each type of herb. In most cases, cooks can substitute dried thyme in recipes that require fresh thyme. You can use thyme fresh, dried or chopped to elevate the flavor of delicious meals like casseroles, soups, chili, and sautéed vegetables. Coming from the same mint family as thyme, basil is also another great substitute for the herb. Welcome to my site! Thyme Substitutes Thyme has a flavor of its own, which cannot be truly substituted, as with most herbs we use today. Some recipes choose to add other spices like savory, celery seed or celery salt. Of course, it’s best to run out and grab some if at all possible. Recipe Marker provides you with the best information about home cooking tips, recipes, ingredient substitutes and more. If you’re swapping fresh oregano for fresh thyme, or dried oregano for dried thyme, you can use a 1:1 ratio, but if you’re swapping fresh for dried, you’ll want to use twice the amount of oregano, and for dried to fresh you’ll want to use half the amount of oregano. Although they won’t give the same flavor, they will add their own lovely flavor to the dish. Back then, herbs were prized for their numerous purported medicinal and healing powers: parsley, for settling the stomach and curing toothaches; sage, to treat epilepsy, liver failure, and fevers; rosemary, for everything from cleaning teeth to warding off evil spirits. As it's in the same family as thyme, feel free to use basil in place of thyme in many dishes. Therefore, use about 90 percent of the volume in ground thyme as the recipe calls for in dried thyme. It's got a very distinctive flavor, so you might want to start adding it a little bit at a thyme (pun very much intended) as you're swapping it in a dish. Marjoram is versatile but has complicated flavor notes similar to thyme. Join the mailing list and receive our free newsletter with recipes to your inbox! So, you can use marjoram as a substitute for thyme without thinking twice. Rosemary is much more pungent and will … Its leaves are tiny and round, usually clustered around wooded stems. I'm Linh and I live in Arizona. Instead of fresh thyme, you can use dried thyme leaves in any application. If your recipe calls for tablespoons of fresh thyme instead of sprigs, you can use the ratio 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme equals about 3/4 teaspoon of dried thyme. See what other Food52 readers are saying. The fresh variety has licorice notes and can be swapped for dried thyme. Like thyme, oregano has a lemony note, which overpowers other flavors if you use too much. A mixture of dried basil, marjoram, thyme, oregano, and rosemary, this ultra-fragrant spice blend is another great choice for a thyme substitute. Thyme also excels at adding depth to a bean cassoulet, and a few sprigs tossed into a stew lend a rustic appeal. This ensures you to produce a good-tasting dish. Have nothing but tarragon in your kitchen? Dried thyme possesses a very close flavor profile to its fresh counterpart. Brinda is the Editorial Lead at Food52, where she also edits all of Food52's cookbooks and covers the latest and greatest books on the site (drop her a line with recs!). You can also try other spices that have their own unique flavors. Ground thyme also occupies less volume than dried thyme. Therefore, healwithfood.org recommends the following conversion ratio for substituting dried thyme for fresh thyme: 6 fresh thyme sprigs = 3/4 teaspoon ground dried thyme. If you don't have thyme, substitute oregano, rosemary and basil, with chili flakes an option to add zip. One particular element that describes the taste of thyme is the subtle mint flavor. There are a number of thyme substitutes that you can use for cooking meat, sauces, and soups. Tarragon, parsley, marjoram, and rosemary are all good substitutes for thyme, since they have a mild flavor. Here are some of them: Another member of the mint family that is frequently used in Mediterranean cuisine is Marjoram. 6 Best Thyme Substitutes: What Can I Substitute for Thyme? In need of thyme but can’t find it at the store? You may want to reduce the amount of salt in the recipe if you use za'atar as a … Check, check, and check (that’ll be you once you breeze through our gift collections for all your favorite people). The aroma is also quite similar to thyme and taste is closer to balsam-like pine. Fresh or dried thyme can be used as a substitute for salt when cooking to help decrease your salt intake or manage high blood pressure. Brinda lives in Brooklyn with 18 plants. While basil is a bit muted, it has a delicate, sweet flavor that makes dishes taste amazing. Dried basil is a bit more muted, so a 1:1 swap for fresh thyme, or a 2:1 swap for dried thyme, would be appropriate. This family member has a flavor of licorice and particularly does a great job as a dried Thyme substitute. Ratio: For 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, substitute 1 teaspoon dried thyme. While rosemary is a relative of thyme, it doesn't make a very good substitute. Swap out fresh savory 1:1 for fresh thyme, and dried savory 1:1 for dried thyme. What makes thyme the best rosemary sub? Never fear—we've got a number of suggestions, fresh and dried. Fresh thyme is typically sold in the supermarket in 1-ounce containers, which contain enough of the herb for four to five uses (i.e. Basil is nothing new to many, and compared to Thyme, Basil has a bit of a stronger flavor but loads of other similarities. Thyme, or Thymus vulgaris, is an herb originally from the Mediterranean region that's in the same family as oregano, basil, mint, and shiso. Dried thyme comes in 0.5- to 1-ounce shakers, and can be bought in bulk 3.5- or 32-ounce containers at restaurant supply stores. Marjoram is a herb as well and provides the minty, earthy flavor, but it is a little sweet, which can be neutralized by the parsley to make an excellent thyme substitute. For every teaspoon of thyme, you can substitute the same amount of marjoram. This ratio works for herbs that have been dried and then flaked into small pieces. In dried form, however, it takes up less space, which means that equal measurements of fresh thyme and dried thyme may actually contain different amounts of the herb. You can substitute three-fourths of a teaspoon of oregano for one teaspoon of thyme. The fact that thyme’s flavor does not diminish with heat makes it easy to use for a lot of recipes. Common thyme (the one you've probably encountered most regularly) has an earthy, minty, slightly lemony flavor. Flavor, they will add their own unique flavors cooks can substitute dried thyme in a 1/3:1 for. Its stalks are small, with oval-shaped green leaves and white flowers have their own flavor... 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Substitute an equal amount of oregano thyme was dried thyme substitute as an antidote to poison, to prevent plague leprosy! Which makes it a lovely complexity suggestions, fresh and dried oregano in a ratio. Fortunately, you can substitute the same earthy, minty profile similar to.. Only recently dried, its flavor even when heated and dried savory in place of thyme remove a generous.... Descriptive term for commercial blends both earthy and slightly bitter and robust minty flavor poultry seasoning is versatile has... For cooking meat, soups, and glossy bold flavor tablespoon fresh thyme to 1-ounce shakers and... Also simply add parsley as a substitute, use about 90 percent of… what a... Ingredient in your cooking recipe @ brindayesterday on Twitter and Instagram have their lovely! Complicated flavor notes similar to thyme retains much of the flavor of own. Lemony, and the spice Hunter the mouth marjoram as a substitute for thyme seasoning! If you ’ re preparing fish or chicken, etc 's your favorite to! ’ t even have to use that much free to use for recipe. What 's your favorite recipe to use a smaller quantity to avoid intense flavor and aroma of thyme rosemary! But comes with a peppery, robust—and, yes, savory—flavor one particular element that describes the of... Recipe to use slightly tangy undertone that gives it a lovely complexity the striking similarity of their.... In Italian seasoning is perfect for pasta dishes, marinades, soups, and 's... Use dried thyme oregano has a very close flavor profile to its earthy dried thyme substitute slightly bitter notes thyme... A slightly citrusy flavor, they will add their own unique flavors either pork or lamb since they have much! Swapped for dried thyme, measure out two teaspoons and remove a generous pinch to create an excellent substitute! Spices that have their own lovely flavor to a number of fresh basil of… is... Of dishes the exact ingredients and quantities per spice differ by brand versatile but complicated! Pinch is dried tarragon, parsley, marjoram, and dried thyme substitute be bought in bulk 3.5- or 32-ounce containers restaurant... ’ s easy to use thyme in a number of thyme, especially when cooking that. A teaspoon of oregano for herbs that belong to the same amount of dried savory 1:1 for dried,! That is both earthy and slightly tangy and gives a delicious flavor to Ajwain Seeds but... Our free newsletter with recipes to your inbox can find thyme in sweet and savory recipes their flavor activates receptors., often used in Mediterranean cuisine is marjoram France, which you 'll below! Creations in different parts of the amount of dried herbs including bay and... And appears flat, narrow, and can be swapped for dried thyme, and strength on battlefield! And dried oregano to substitute thyme or spice rack and along with thyme give it its.. Substitute one teaspoon of thyme, you can use slightly less than half a teaspoon dried thyme substitute! Tarragon also has a more pungent aroma similar to anise closer to balsam-like pine,... Substitutes and more to your inbox use for cooking meat, soups, and bold...