If herbes de provence has turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use it with confidence and how to choose it, cook it, store it, what to substitute, and 9 recipes to try it in.

What is herbes de provence?

Herbes de Provence is a dried herb blend named for the south of France, built around the herbs that grow wild on its hillsides. A typical mix leans on thyme, rosemary, savory, marjoram, and oregano, with some blends adding a little lavender or fennel.

The flavor is woodsy and savory with a slight floral edge from the lavender, if your blend includes it. North American versions almost always do, while many traditional French ones leave it out.

It is a workhorse for roasted meats and vegetables, and for anything off the grill.

Cooking With Herbes de Provence

Because these are sturdy, resinous herbs, the blend holds up to long, dry heat. That makes it a natural rub for roasting and grilling, where it has time to bloom rather than scorch.

Rub it onto chicken, pork, lamb, or fish before they go in the oven, the way Roasted Garlic-Stuffed Chicken Breasts uses it.

It is just as good on vegetables. Toss it with olive oil over potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, or tomatoes before roasting, then let the high heat crisp the edges.

The blend also seasons more than roasts. It rounds out a tomato sauce, flavors a loaf like Italian Herbed Bread, and ties together a pasta salad such as Summer Tortellini Salad or the Roasted Asparagus, Cherry Tomatoes with Arugula, Penne & Goat Cheese Salad.

For the deepest flavor, crush the herbs between your fingers as you add them. That cracks the leaves and releases their oils.

Pairing and What to Avoid

Herbes de Provence belongs with olive oil, garlic, lemon, tomato, and roasted vegetables, the building blocks of Mediterranean cooking. It loves fatty meats like lamb and pork, which stand up to its piney intensity.

The mistake to watch for is the lavender. A blend heavy on it can turn a savory dish soapy and perfumed, so taste before you commit and start with less than a recipe suggests. If you want a cleaner savory profile, pick a blend without lavender.

Add the herbs early in cooking, not at the end. Unlike tender herbs, these dried, woody leaves need heat and time to soften and give up their flavor.

Substitutes

Out of the blend? Italian seasoning is the closest jarred swap, since it shares thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and oregano, though it skips the lavender and fennel. Use it one for one.

To build your own, combine equal parts dried thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and savory or oregano. Add a small pinch of dried lavender only if you want the Provençal floral note.

In a pinch, a mix of just dried thyme and rosemary covers most of what the blend brings to a roast.

Buying and Storing Herbes de Provence

Blends vary a lot, so check the label. A traditional French mix skips lavender, while many supermarket versions add it, and that one ingredient changes the character of the whole jar.

Like all dried herbs, the blend fades with time. Buy it in small amounts, store it in an airtight jar away from heat and light, and expect the best flavor within about a year. After that it loses its punch rather than spoiling.

A quick freshness test: rub a pinch between your fingers and smell. If it barely registers, it is past its prime and you will need to use more to get the same effect.

Quick facts

In Chinese

埃尔韦斯普罗旺斯

British (UK) term

Herbes de provence

en français

herbes de provence

en español

hierbas provenzales

Recipes using herbes de provence

There are 9 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 9 recipes