If you’re looking to add a certain “je ne sais quoi” to your dishes and you like the idea of growing your own herbs, starting out with these ones is the best way to go. These summer herbs are so easy to grow you can literally start them with the herbs from your fridge and have them growing on your balcony in a matter of weeks. It’s a great way to get into some light gardening if all you have is a windowsill and a few small plant pots. Plus, your summer dishes will be bursting with yummy fresh flavours like never before. Here are some of the best summer herbs and yummy ways to use them.
1. Basil
We have to start with basil. It’s incredibly easy to grow. You can literally buy a bunch in the store, take a few stems, put them in a glass of water and they’ll start growing roots in a matter of days. You can keep growing it in water or pot it into some soil. It’s easy upkeep and now you have a never-ending supply of fresh basil. It’s great in salads, it adds freshness and a great flavor. You can cut up the leaves and add them to your pasta, and of course, have a few fresh leaves on your homemade pizza to feel like you’re dining in a real Italian restaurant.
2. Chives
Chives are super easy to grow in a pot, they will brighten up your kitchen and you can just use kitchen scissors to cut as much as you want for the garnish. They’re great with mashed potatoes, they will brighten up any sandwich, add them to your bagel with cream cheese. In fact, chives are amazing for mixing into dips to add a bit of flavor.
3. Oregano
Who doesn’t love oregano? Most of us associate the smell and flavor with pizza, but we’re used to it being dried up. You probably have a little container of dried oregano in your cupboard and generally, people just sprinkle it on pizza or add it to rubs when they cook meat. However, when fresh, the flavour is way more noticeable and while it might be a bit strong to eat in salads, you can definitely add a few fresh leaves when cooking your meat or sauteing vegetables and mushrooms and it’ll add a fun twist to your dish. Just don’t overdo it, a little goes a long way.
4. Rosemary
Fresh rosemary is such a great herb to use in the summer. You’ll be surprised how this herb can easily make a homemade cocktail or lemonade feel fancy and like something you’d pay 10 bucks for at a bar downtown. You can add a branch of it into the pot when cooking meat or making roast potatoes and it’ll add great flavor, and then you can just take it out before serving. Rosemary is actually pretty tough, so you don’t have to worry that it’ll shed all over your dish. You can also put it into your bottle of olive oil to infuse it with rosemary, and then garnish salads with it.
5. Dill
Dill is such an underrated herb. It’s super easy to grow, and it’s actually great for adding freshness to any dish. You can add it to summer soups, stews, it’s great with potatoes, you can chop it into your salad dressing and mix it into dips to provide a nice fresh flavor. It’ll also brighten up buttery dishes and cut that fatty taste.
6. Mint
And of course, no summer herb list is complete without mint. We’d go as far as to say it’s a summer staple and a must-have for everyone. You can add it to lemonades or just for flavoring water, it’s an obvious must for summer cocktails like mojitos, you can add it to salads and fruit platters, and it works great when blended into dressing or dips.