Recipes ยป Ingredient ยป Basil

Fresh vs. Dried Basil

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Fresh basil is always best, but sometimes itโ€™s just easier to use dried. We explore both so you get the most out of your herb.

Fresh basil is so good. It adds a punch of flavor, smells amazing and can add another dimension to dishes. And then thereโ€™s dried basil. Itโ€™s easy and available in every grocery store on the planet. In fact, you probably have it in your spice cabinet.

Each has its merits. But itโ€™s not always interchangeable. Sometimes fresh is absolutely necessary, but other times dried will do.

Photos of dried and fresh basil with text reading When to use dry and when to use fresh basil.

When to Use Fresh vs. Dried Basil

Fresh

Fresh basil adds to almost every recipe. It also has a more mellow flavor, so you can use more. But if you have to be picky about your supply of fresh basil, save it for salads, desserts, cocktails, and anything served with raw ingredients.

For instance, a Caprese Salad with dried basil just wouldnโ€™t work. At all. Likewise, youโ€™ll need fresh basil to make Pesto Sauce.

Dried

If youโ€™re cooking with basil, then dried will do. This will allow the basil flavor to combineย with the other ingredients. Dried basil is delicious in sauces and as seasoning on chicken or other meats.

You can even dry your own basil. Use it to make homemade Italian Seasoning or to flavor your Shake and Bake Chicken.

Converting Basil Amounts

Keep this conversion handy. When using fresh basil instead of dried in a recipe, use 1 and 1/2 more than what the recipe says. Likewise, cut dried basil by the same amount when substituting it for fresh, that is, 2/3 of what is called for.

This post originally appeared in June 2016 and was revised and republished in May 2021.

Fresh vs. Dried Basil

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About Christine

Christine is the founder of TheCookful and also of her blog COOKtheSTORY. Her passion is explaining the WHY behind cooking โ€“ Why should you cook things a certain way; Will they turn out if you do it differently; What are the pros and cons of the method? Learn more about Christine, her cookbooks, and her podcast.

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3 Comments

  1. My recipe for tomato basil soup calls for 6 C of basil. I donโ€™t have any fresh but I have dried. How much dried should I use?

    1. Barb, the conversion that we have for going from fresh basil to dried basil is 2/3 of the amount. So if the recipe calls for 6 cups of fresh basil, you’d use 4 cups of dried basil.
      Having said that, if a recipe calls for a large amount of fresh basil, that often means that basil is a main component of the recipe. Substituting in the dried for the fresh in this case might not be the best idea. The texture and flavor are quite different.

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