This is a sponsored post and I was compensated. However all opinions about the company and my guide to cooking with fresh herbs are mine. I have learned from my mom, fresh herbs are best when added at the end of a meal.
This is when they will still be fresh and bright when the meal is served. However, I often find myself unsure of which herb goes with which foods. You too? Awesome! Here is a short guide to cooking with fresh herbs:
Bay Leaves – You can add this herb to slow cooker recipes like soups and stews. You can also use them for seafood or cheese based sauces. This will give you an added depth of flavor. Just remember to remove the bay leaves before serving the meal.
Cilantro – This herb comes from the coriander plant and is most commonly found in Mexican foods. I use it in my guacamole, dips, tacos, and salads. You can also add it curried chicken salad.
Dill – This soft and sweet herb is perfect for mayonnaise based meals. These include tuna fish, egg salad, potato salad.
Basil – This is one of the most widely used and recognized herbs. The flavor will remind you a bit of cloves and licorice. I use it to make pesto and also add it to butter.
Parsley – This mildly bitter herb has a slightly grassy flavor. It adds a bright, fresh flavor to many dishes. Curly parsley is used as a garnish, while the flat leaf variety can be added to soups, stews, seafood, steak, and chicken. I add it to my 3 Cheese Turkey Meatball Manicotti Casserole.
Oregano – An Italian favorite, this herb pairs well with tomato based sauces and is commonly sprinkled over pizza as well as stews and kabobs.
Easily Start Your Own Herb Garden
Starting your own herb garden is super simple with the Smart Herb Garden Starter Kit from Click & Grow. Your starter kit, which retails for just $59.95, comes with three basil plants, but you can also order sage, mini tomatoes, strawberries and chili peppers.
Because this is something you can grow inside, you don’t worry about unpredictable weather patterns. With NASA-inspired technology your herb garden will grow faster and be more nutritious. Then you are on your way to cooking with fresh herbs!
With its adjustable lamp, you can allow your herbs to grow strong and tall! Once you have sturdy sprouts ready to be planted, you can grow them in my Fabric Covered Flower Pots or my Star Wars Fabric Flower Pots!
About Click & Grow
Mattias Lepp, the founder of Click & Grow, noticed that busy entrepreneurs, children and parents were super excited and joyful when they tested out the first Smartpot.
The hope is that you will learn a few things about yourself and grow as an individual during your journey of using the Smart Garden from Click & Grow.
See how easy it is to set up your Smart Herb Garden!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fQKQZ9-9Mc]
In addition to the Smart Herb Garden, Click & Grow offers customized packages for those seeking to create their own Craft Beer, Cheeky Fruit or Divine Teas. Each of the packages have the perfect herb mixture to ensure you make the best beer, tea and fruit based dishes after your herbs have fully grown. Get social with Click & Grow on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
What is your favorite herb and which dish do you use it in most often?
Click below to order what you need to start using herbs at home!
Click and Grow Smart Garden 3 Indoor Gardening Kit (Includes Basil Capsules), WhiteChefast Herb Scissors Set – Multipurpose Cutting Shears with 5 Stainless Steel Blades, Jute Pouches, and Safety Cover with Cleaning Comb – Cutter/Chopper/Mincer for Herbs – Kitchen Gadget
Chef’n LooseLeaf Kale, Chard, Collard Greens and Herb Stripper
The Cook’s Herb Garden: Grow, Harvest, Cook
I don’t use many herbs to be honest because I live with a bunch of picky eaters. We do use basil sometimes on our pizza, though 🙂
I am pinning this! I need a guide like this to help me when I cook (not the best cook LOL).
This is something I always wondered about too. I recently started using more herbs, and I didn’t really know what herbs went well with what. Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs and I made a great strawberry salsa with that and it turned out great!
I love Cilantro as well, however my newest favorite next to this herb is now Italian Basil. I make Pesto and put it on everything as a spread, or a sauce, it is so versatile. I wish I had this wonderful kit, I need something of this size for my small living quarters.
Awesome! Thanks so much for this great guide! I was actually looking some of this information up last week!
I use every herb and spice imaginable and I adore this Smart Herb Garden. Perfect for basil which I find hard to grow here!
I love herbs and especially cooking with them. This is a great guide!
omg! i’ve been looking for lessons like this. I desperatly want to take some cooking classes so i understand better how to meld flavors and stuff.
I love this! I am growing an herb garden now and have to get to using them all!
I always want to try cooking with herbs but get intimidated. This post is perfect for me – I have been thinking about growing my own.
Thanks for the great guide. I will have to pin this for future reference.
I have my first herb garden this year. I have been loving the fresh herbs to cook with.
I have a bit of a black thumb, so having a starter kit would be great for me. I could use all the help I can get. It’s so lovely to have fresh herbs to add to your meals.
This is my type of gardening. Inside and without too many issues to keep me from screwing up. I love having fresh herbs!
I lOVE cilantro. On pretty much everything. This herb garden is so cute!
I love growing herbs, and that little doodad makes it a snap! I could eat basil right off the plant. That’s how much I love it.
There is nothing tastier than foods with fresh herbs. We grow our own in raised garden beds.
We use a lot of herbs from our garden in the summer. Love this smart grow device ~ I may actually get to have fresh herbs in the winter!!!
We use fresh herbs in just about everything. I especially love using basil. This is so nice!
I am a fan of basil and I like it on my pizza.
I love fresh herbs!! If I had to the one I use the most it would probably be basil! I put it on pizza, pastas, and even in salads! 🙂
My favorite herb is basil and we have used it for pizzas and pasta recipes. My husband killed my last few basil plants so this would be great to grow herbs!
My favorite herb is cinnamon. I like to add it to oatmeal, sprinkle it on toast, or bake with it.
Basil for sauces! I love using fresh herbs, but I haven’t ever tried growing my own!
I love to make Thai Basil Chicken and I often use Parsley and Cilantro.
My favorite herb is chervil and I use it on almost anything, goes well in stirfrys and omelets.
Thank you so much for giving this away. I would love to win one.
I love growing Basil. It’s so easy to grow, and it takes off really well! When it goes to seed, I collect almost a half a quart of seed.
I like to put basil and other herbs in a dish we call dogfood. 🙂
Love,
Ashley
ashleysyarnworks.blogspot.com
I love cilantro in any Mexican recipe.
Mine would be fresh basil that I grow in my kitchen window and I use it in my spaghetti sauce and on my pizza
Love basil ,use it in sauce, tomato,mozzarella salad everything ! I’m also starting to like cilantro to
I swear by fresh herbs to cook with..
Thanks for sharing such great info..
My favorite herb is Oregano. My family live italian food so we use it in all our pastas and pizzas.
My favorite herb is cilantro and I use it in almost all my mexican cooking.
I would love to have one of these!
I think Cilantro is my favorite herb – I love to use it fresh with lime on any type of Mexican food!
My favorite herb is definitely basil and I use it on everything from classic Italian dishes to fresh sandwiches and salads.
I love Basil. I grow my own Italian Seasoning and Basil is a primary ingredient.
Thats hard to pick! I use cilantro and parsley the most though! We make a lot of mexican dishes with the cilantro and italian dishes with the parsley!
My favorite Ragu is Classic Alfredo Sauce. I love it with chicken and brocolli and pasta.
I like the smell of mint, but I prefer to use cilantro in salsas
I want to try the RAGÚ® Homestyle Thick & Hearty Traditional Sauce
We use basil the most but we use a lot of other herbs to.
Every Friday my grandma would make guacamole and pico de gallo. I have adopted the same tradition! I love to make pico de gallo with lots and lots of cilantro!
I love oregano. I love the smell. I always use it in my homemade pasta sauce. I also use it in soups, baked potatoes and roasted veggies. Plus, they are super easy to grow!
I LOVE mushrooms so i would love to try SUPER CHUNKY MUSHROOM SAUCE with linguine!
My favorite herb is cilantro, and I use it biweekly in salsa
I love cilantro and use it constantly in pho and tacos!
My favorite herb is oregano, and I use it in pasta sauces.
My favorite herb is basil and I blend it for pesto sauce, sprinkle over my favorite pizza or toss into fresh salads
RAGÚ® Homestyle Thick & Hearty Traditional Sauce
I love basil for pesto sauce. Mint is great for beverages too. Thanks
Basil and I used it in brushetta Yummy
I LOVE rosemary! It goes great with chicken or turkey, and I especially loving using it at Thanksgiving!
My favorite herb is basil and love to make fresh pesto.
Chives. I use them in most everything I can! Especially love them on baked potatoes with cheese and bacon.
My favorite herb is basil to use in sauces.
I love rosemary. I like the wild look it has and I mostly use it for potato dishes.
Rosemary is my favorite herb and I use it mostly in deserts.
I like Rosemary and I use it in anything that has tomato in it!
basil, I love being putting it in Pasta Sauce, Tomato soup, pizza sauce!
My favorite herb has got to be Thyme. I put it in most everything! From soup to even in my omelets. On chicken.. along with Rosemary, those two are my fave. I tried to grow Rosemary indoors three times now and failed. I wonder what am I doing so wrong????
My favorite herb is cilantro. I use fresh cilantro in my bacon, cheese, pepper and onion egg omelets.
I would like to try Ragu’s Homestyle Thick & Hearty Meat Sauce
My favorite herb is basil and I use it in sauces.
My favorite is fresh dill, and i absolutely love using it when searing salmon.
I love rosemary and I love putting it in roasted chicken!
I am drooling over the CLASSIC ALFREDO SAUCE!
My favorite is basil and I use it in pizza.
I love Rosemary! And my favorite way to use it is on oile oil coated gold potatoes.
I use Italian flat leaf parsley in almost everything and basil is a close second in all my tomato-based recipes.
I don’t use many fresh herbs because I’m terrible at growing things, but I do like to pick up oregano and basil for various Italian dishes!
I like basil, and I love basil pesto.
The new Ragu Sauce I want to try is Thick & Hearty Roasted Garlic.
I like to use basil in pasta sauce.
My favorite fresh herb is basil. I use it in spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, bruschetta.
Basil. Spaghetti
I like parsley. I use it in Spaghetti and Chicken Alfredo!
I would be most excited to try the HOMESTYLE THICK & HEARTY FOUR CHEESE SAUCE. Yum!
I love basil. I like to use it on english muffin pizzas! They are so easy and yummy to make and my kids love them.
Basil….I use it in all kinds of dishes and cooking!
There is nothing like fresh basil on a flatbread pizza
i love cilantro… and use it in any taco recipe
Cilantro is one of my favs and use it a lot in pestos
RAGÚ® Homestyle Thick & Hearty Roasted Garlic Sauce sounds really good!
Until recently, Basil was the fresh herb I used the most (for Italian dishes). More recently, though, I’ve been using more Cilantro – especially in Mexican cooking. I especially love throwing together fresh salsa with mango, avocado,, red onion and some fresh cilantro.
I usually make my own sauce, but there are times I just either don’t feel like spending a lot of time cooking, or need a ready-made sauce for recipes like lasagna. I really like Ragu products but have not yet tried their Homestyle sauces. I think I’d like to try their OLD WORLD STYLE® MUSHROOM SAUCE the best.
My hubby can’t have salt, so we use an unbelievable amount of fresh herbs. This would come in really handy.
I use cilantro a lot and mostly in pico del gallo!
My favorite has to be rosemary! I love using it in many of my dishes, but my favorite use is in my home made pasta sauce!
My favorite herb is basil and I use it in pesto, but also under the skin of chicken that I roast to add delicious flavor.
Oregano for tomato sauce (lasagna is my fav).
I would like to try Old World Style Marinara.
My favorite herb is thyme. I make a nice stew chicken every Sunday and always add fresh thyme.
I love oregano. I use it on roasted chicken and potatoes.
My favorite herb is mint and I love to use it in desserts like Strawberry Shortcake.
woould love to win
I love mint and I love it in tea
I love mint and infusing my water in it. I also just love how it smells.
My favorite herb is cilantro and I use it in Pho, I make it a couple of times a week.
I like cilantro and I use it in salsa
I love basil and i use it in a lot of italian dishes, which is our family’s favorite!
I want to try tomato garlic and onion ragu!!
Oregano, Pizza sauce
I cant grow plants inside this could be the thing that lets me
I really like using fresh basil to make pesto – so good!
My favorite herbs are cilantro & mint & basil leaves. We Indians use lots of herbs & spices in our cooking.
i love to make any sauce with fresh basil and oregano with goes on any pasta or pizza.
Basil – it smells great while growing and is delicious in so many recipes
I love fresh basil and use it in Italian Drunken Noodle.
My favorite herbs are rosemary and thyme although i have not experimented in regards to cooking with them.
I make a lot of Italian food so I love using basil
I would try the Ragu Thick & Hearty Roasted Garlic sauce
Oregano is a favorite especially with anything Italian
The herb is Cilantro and the recipe is Cilantro Lime Rice
My favorite herb is cilantro and I mostly use it in making my own salsa. This is so neat, I love growing my own herbs and I want one of these so bad!
I love cilantro,we make tacos,and burritos a lot and I absolutely love adding cilantro it gives it such an authentic delicious flavor like we are in a Mexican restaurant.
Basil is my favorite herb and my favorite recipe is Bruschetta
Chives are my favorite. I use them in a lot of recipes, but on top of a baked potato is my favorite.
Rosemary is one of my favorite Herbs! I love using it in baked chicken dishes. Basil is another favorite, I like using it in pasta dishes.
My favorite is lavender. I use it in lotions and oils
My favorite herb is cilantro I use it most often in soups.
Cilantro. I use it in almost everything. From Salsa to soups.
My favorite herb is cilantro, I use it in recipest from Pico de gallo to stir fry.
I’d like to try the tomato, garlic and onion sauce, it sounds delicious!.
My #1 favorite is probably fresh basil. I love to use it in a variety of dishes– it’s so versatile! I use it most often in pasta dishes. Yesterday I used it in a very simple late-night meal: Sweet potato gnocchi, really good olive oil, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil on top. It was amazing!
My favorite herb is dill. It adds a nice kick to summer salads.
Favorite herb is Oregano. I just put it in pasta dishes, mostly spaghetti.
Basil is my favorite, especially when it is fresh and you put it in mix salads.
My favorite is Rosemary, I use it on a lot of things. Mostly chicken and potatoes.
I love basil!!!! I love putting it in my pizza crust or in bread stick dough, as well as a little extra on top
I love cilantro and use it in everything mexican!
I would like to try the mushroom one…or the garlic one…or both of them together!
My favorite herb is oregano and I use it in anything Italian.
Thank you for a helpful article. I love basil and rosemary ?❤️
I love several, but I use cilantro most often. It adds great flavor to scrambled eggs!
I wish I could say that I had a favorite herb, but I am trying to learn. Thanks
I use basil and oregano on pizzas and in my homemade pasta sauce
cilantro or basil is my favorite herb.
I use cilantro in my salsa and basil in my spaghetti sauce.
I love cilantro, it adds such a fresh flavor to salads and salsas.
My fave is basil and I use it for pesto sauce.
I love sage. My husband makes a sweet potato gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce. OMG. So good!
I would love to try either the Homestyle Thick and Hearty Meat sauce or the Homestyle Thick and Hearty Four Cheese sauce. Yum!
My favorite herb is Basil.
Basil and Thyme, in many varieties. are my favorite herbs, hey are so versatile and can be used in many different cuisines. I use one or both in vegetarian cooking, Italian and Mediterranean dishes. Lemon Thyme is great with roasted potatoes with a coat of olive oil and sea salt.
It’s hard to name one, but I would say I probably use basil the most in almost all my creations.
I love using Basil in my spaghetti sauce! It just adds that extra special taste!
It’s a toss up between oregano and basil. While I like oregano and it’s superloaded with anti-oxidants, basil grows so quickly and even keeps in a cup of water on the counter. We live on the 3rd floor and this looks fantastic.
Homestyle Thick and Hearty
I’d like to try RAGÚ Homestyle Thick & Hearty Roasted Garlic Sauce.
We love basil. I like to add it to anything with tomatoes like spaghetti, tomato and mozzarella stacks, sandwiches and even put it in my salsa!
I’d love to try Ragu’s new Tomato, Garlic and Onion sauce!
I don’t really have a favorite herb. We use a lot of cilantro and basil. If it’s not one, it’s the other. Salsa and marinara are weekly events.
My favorite herb is basil! I use it most often is my homemade marinara sauce! Thanks for the chance at an AWESOME giveaway!
I want to try the Homestyle Thick & Hearty Traditional Sauce!
I like basil and use it in the spaghetti sauce.
Basil and my favorite dish is chicken pesto pasta!
Mine’s basil. I grow a bunch of different kinds in the garden and use it with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and balsamic vinegar to make salads all summer long.
I grow some herbs and I probably use parsley more than anything else but my favorite would have to be Basil! I really love roasted tomatoes with some fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and drizzle with some good olive oil or balsamic.
My favorite herb is rosemary. I use it when I roast chicken or turkey.
My favorite herb is oregano and I use it in my speghetti and pasta dishes. It’s also very healthy for you.
I love basil. I like it in pasta with diced tomatoes and olive oil.
I ameager to try the Ragu TOMATO, GARLIC & ONION SAUCE
I love basil. When its grow I cant help but sniff it every time I walk by. I love the scent it gives off.
I dont have a green thumb, but have always wanted herbs insnide.
Hard choice Ill go with Cilantro I use it in my salsas!
I like to use rosemary in chicken and corn recipes and cilantro in my Mexican dishes.
Basil on margarita pizza <3
RAGÚ® Homestyle Thick & Hearty Traditional Sauce – hopefully just like my mother makes 🙂
My favorite herb is basil. I always add basil to soup and sauces.
Mine is basil, and I use it in my mom’s spaghetti sauce!
My favorite herb is cilantro. I use it in everything including salads and eggs!
My favorite herb to use is Oregano! I use it all the time in spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, salad, bread and more! Great Giveaway! Thanks so much for the opportunity!
My favorite herb is thyme and I use it in my tomato sauce.
I’d like to try the Ragu Homestyle Roasted Garlic Sauce.
My favorite herb is probably oregano. We use it in everything, but I think pasta is probably where we use it most.
My favorite is basil and I like to add it to my pasta sauces.
Caprese salad, so basil is a must. Also salmon with fresh dill.
So many, but I think my fave is cilantro.
…and also, I use it in my fab guacamole.
Basil and I use it a lot in my pasta dishes!
I would try the Homestyle Thick & Hearty Meat Sauce
I love cilantro, I love it in guacamole.
My favorite herb is dill. I use it on roasted salmon.
I grow mint. I use it in everything like smoothies, baking and drinks.
I want to try the HOMESTYLE THICK & HEARTY MEAT SAUCE. It looks very good.
I love cilantro and use it in my chicken soup
I cook a lot of fish, so my favorite is dill.
my favorite herb is cilantro. i use it in my veggies to spice things up.
My fave herb is basil. I use it in lots of recipes, such as, omelets, soups, potato dishes and on fish and poultry. thanks
Cilantro is my favorite herb. I love to use it in a variation of pesto that is delicious on pasta and as a grilling marinade.
Basil – Simply basil, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar
I use Basil a lot when I make soup.
Mine is actually a tie between Oregano and Chives. I love both of them and to try to pick one would be a sin for me lol.
I love Basil and Mint. I like to make pesto whenever I have the chance and enough basil.
I tend to use basil a lot. I always add it to my pasta recipes. We eat a lot of pasta in this house! Lol
I would like to try the ragu wiih meat flavor.
I have bought rosemary the most often. That’s my favorite. I use it for a steak marinade.
I love Basil and it’s so good for you. I would use in my spaghetti sauce.
I would try the new Thick and Hearty Roasted Garlic. Yummy.
Cilantro. I put it in almost everything, including salads….
I don’t really use fresh herbs very often. I would love to grow my own herbs at home. Thanks!!
Basil! With two teens stuck in a pizza phase this add the most over the top taste using fresh basil! All their friends always tell me my pizza’s are the best!
We love all sorts of herbs. We love chives and put it in a lot of dips.
I love basil when I make pesto.
I want to try the Homestyle Thick & Hearty Roasted Garlic Sauce.
I love rosemary, and I use it to make rosemary baked chicken
I love chamomile the most. I make herbal teas daily.
I like basil for pasta.
My favorite herb is Italian parsley and I use it in Italian cooking most often.
I use basil most often for my pasta recipes. Love it! Love all herbs.
We use a lot of basil in cooking. I also like to add dill to several dishes.
favorite herb is parsley – I use it in salads and also in tomato sauces
Kathryn C
I would love to try the Homestyle Thick & Hearty Roasted Garlic Sauce.
WE USE BASIL IN ALOT OF DISHES 😉
My favorite herb is Cilantro. I love to put it on my deviled eggs!
I love Basil and I like to put it in a pink lemonade with basil!
I love rosemary and use it in my chicken soup and roasted chicken.
I love basil and add it to homemade pizza! It tastes wonderful!
I love fresh Basil in Spaghetti sauce.
I want to try the Ragu Homestyle Thick & Hearty Traditional Sauce to make the Quick Summer Gazpacho. I’ve always made mine from scratch and I want to see if I can make things somewhat easier and quicker with the Ragu sauce.
Basil is what I use the most often, usually in tomato sauce or pesto.
I want to try the thick and hearty traditional sauce.
I love basil for making anything Italian and cilantro for making pico de gallo
The ragu sauce I would love to try is the roasted garlic parmesan sauce
I love so many herbs like cilantro & mint for mint chutney!
I love basil. I use it mostly when cooking meats
I am not big on to many spices, but my husband loves them. He would love this!
basil and in sauces i love it it looks like im not the only one without it its just not the same
I want to try the HOMESTYLE TRADITIONAL SAUCE
My favorite herb to cook with is rosemary. I love rosemary and olive oil potatoes.
I love basil because it is one of the only herbs that we can get fresh from the backyard! The plant is super easy to take care of too.
I want to try the Thick and Hearty Four Cheese Ragu sauce! Yum yummmmm.
I love my basil I use it in my sauces and I make a great tomato appitizer with basil
I’d like to try HOMESTYLE THICK & HEARTY FOUR CHEESE SAUCE. I’m glad Ragu is trying some new recipes.
Rosemary on broiled salmon
Rosemary is my favorite herb and I always use it in my pot roast. Mainly any beef dish.
my favorite herb is thyme, and I use it most for making lemon butter sauce for fish.
I’d love to try the home style roasted garlic sauce. I love roasted garlic in spaghetti sauce, adds such a rich sweet flavor.
My favorite herb is basil. I love it in any Italian dishes. Especially pasta with tomato and basil sauce.
I would say my favorite Herb is chives and when I was a child my mother grew them in our backyard, so fresh tasting and delicious for recipes!
I love rosemary! I use it in marinades for pork or chicken!
I’d try the thick & hearty traditional
I want to try the classic alfredo sauce!
I would love to try the HOMESTYLE THICK & HEARTY MEAT SAUCE. That looks really good. I think it would go really good with the meatloaf they had posted on their page.
I love using thyme in bread recipes! Thanks for the giveaway.