Yesterday I cooked Chicken Ratatouille for lunch…I thought I have every ingredients listed in the recipe. And when I was preparing for the ingredients, I found out that we don’t have dried basil. *huh* I actually feel bad because I really wanted to follow the recipe and see how it will taste like. I was thinking of not doing it anymore but instead do it the next day after I bought dried basil. Then I just though of checking online what are the possible herb or spice substitution. Lucky I found About.com Home Cooking the following table for possible substitution.
| Herb Substitutions | |
| Basil | Oregano or thyme |
| Chervil | Tarragon or parsley |
| Chive | Green onion; onion; or leek |
| Cilantro | Parsley |
| Italian Seasoning | Blend of any of these: basil, oregano, rosemary, and ground red pepper |
| Marjoram | Basil; thyme; or savory |
| Mint | Basil; marjoram; or rosemary |
| Oregano | Thyme or basil |
| Parsley | Chervil or cilantro |
| Poultry Seasoning | Sage plus a blend of any of these: thyme, marjoram, savory, black pepper, and rosemary |
| Red Pepper | Dash bottled hot pepper sauce or black pepper |
| Rosemary | Thyme; tarragon; or savory |
| Sage | Poultry seasoning; savory; marjoram; or rosemary |
| Savory | Thyme; marjoram; or sage |
| Tarragon | Chervil; dash fennel seed; or dash aniseed |
| Thyme | Basil; marjoram; oregano; or savory |
| Spice Substitutions | |
| Allspice | Cinnamon; cassia; dash of nutmeg or mace; or dash of cloves |
| Aniseed | Fennel seed or a few drops anise extract |
| Cardamom | Ginger |
| Chili Powder | Dash bottled hot pepper sauce plus a combination of oregano and cumin |
| Cinnamon | Nutmeg or allspice (use only 1/4 of the amount) |
| Cloves | Allspice; cinnamon; or nutmeg |
| Cumin | Chili powder |
| Ginger | Allspice; cinnamon; mace; or nutmeg |
| Mace | Allspice; cinnamon; ginger; or nutmeg |
| Nutmeg | Cinnamon; ginger; or mace |
| Saffron | Dash turmeric (for color) |
My herbs and spices…
And with basil, they listed two option…thyme or oregano. Lucky that we have oregano! I choose to put oregano since thyme is also one of the herb listed in the recipe!
But put in mind that when using substitute, the flavor may turn out to be as it should be. So, as much as possible try with half of the specified amount then adjust to what you like it to be. It could be more delicious…
Well, thanks for the substitution chart, was still able to cooked Chicken Ratatouille that I will be sharing the recipe on my next post!
And I am linking with Thursday Brownies for the first time…hope my herbs and spices’ colors will qualify for this meme.
OMG! Thank you for this table, will be helpful too! Never made Ratatouille with chicken ahihi, pwede pala. thanks for joining in sis…enjoy the weekend!
OMG! You are like the queen of all spices! The only dried herb I have in my kitchen is basil. Want to trade for something spicy? Hahaha!
This table is very useful. Makes me want to figure out which herb and spices to buy and I can easily substitute it with the help of this.
<a href=”http://www.latebloomerblog.com/i-love-kopiko-brown/”>I love Kopiko Brown</a>
wow! i agree with Gene. You are the queen of all spices. ni hindi ko kilala ang mga yan…waaaaaaaaaaaa hahaha.
Thanks anyway for the Thursday Brownies comment.
Wow! you really have all those herbs and spices at home? I like the way you arranged them. You’re so organized!
wow! galing mo sis!!
i have visited your ftf and added this blog into my blogroll! thanks for the visit sis! visiting you back via THURSDAY BROWNIES. sorry so late! 
Wow, daming spices! MUkhang ang galing na talaga magluto. =)