Cilantro Substitute

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want anything else other than some cilantro herbs to add freshness, greenness, and beauty to my recipes. However, hard times call for substitutes and here I have some of the best cilantro substitutes for you to use when you’re out of it. But first some words about the mighty cilantro.

Cilantro is one of the most important, popular, and common herbs used worldwide in numerous dishes to enhance freshness, flavor, and colors. It is mainly used in Asian, Mexican, and Indian recipes.

Cilantro is a part of the Parsley family and is famous for its fresh and strong scent. Other names of this amazing herb are Chinese Parsley or Mexican Parsley. As far as the taste is concerned, it has a slight peppery tinge and gives off a fresh lemony taste.

Cilantro Substitutes

Since Cilantro is used soo much in our kitchens, there’s always a chance that you might run out of it. In case this happens, below are some of the best cilantro substitutes for you that you can choose from to add to your dish.

Basil

Basil is one perfect Cilantro Substitute. We use it in many of our recipes at Yogitron, too, to explore new flavors and pairings of food. Of course, Basil will slightly change the taste of your dish, but it serves to be the best substitute yet.

Basil is a little sweeter as compared to Cilantro, but it does the job well. Basil is easy to find in every store, but because of Corona, times have been tough. But, of course, you can always order Basil from Amazon.

Basil is mainly used as a garnish in many Asian dishes, but you can use it the way you like.

Italian Parsley

Italian Parsley is another great Cilantro substitute. It closely resembles Cilantro, and you can add it to your dishes without any second thoughts.

The addition of Parsley may add a little bitterness to your dish, but you can always overcome it by adding a dash of honey. This will balance the flavors well.

As mentioned, Parsley and Cilantro resemble quite a lot. So, when you go to buy Parsley, make sure you know the difference between the two.

Another tip while working with Parsley in place of Cilantro is to add Oregano or Basil to give out an illusion that you have used cilantro in your dish.

Mint

Mint is another amazing cilantro substitute that you can easily find in the market. It doesn’t alter the taste of your dish at all. Rather it would add more aroma and flavor and aroma to it.

You can consider adding Mint in Cilantro in Asian dishes, and people won’t mind at all.

Papalo

Papalo can be found easily at Amazon and is a funny name for a herb indeed. However, it is the perfect Cilantro substitute out there. It’s used in Mexican foods in place of Cilantro at times. It tastes very similar to Cilantro and a Cucumber.

Papalo can be the best garnish for your dish as well. Papalo goes best with the following dishes:

1. Guacamole
2. Tacos
3. Carnitas

And many more mouth-watering dishes. Use 1/3rd tbsp of Papalo for a tbsp of Cilantro.

Rau Ram

It is Vietnamese Cilantro and is the best out of all the Cilantro mentioned above substitutes. Rau Ram is very much alike when it comes to taste with Cilantro. However, it is more peppery, aromatic, and lemony as compared to Cilantro.

Curry Powder

You might be surprised at this one, but curry powder is also a Cilantro substitute. Since curry powder is a mix of various herbs and spices such as:

1. Coriander
2. Turmeric
3. Chili
4. Ginger
5. Garlic

Etc. This makes it a good Cilantro substitute. You can use curry powder to marinate chicken and meat dishes and add in soups too.

Health Benefits

Cilantro is my personal favorite and that is mainly due to the immense health benefits it offers;

1. Helps to lower blood sugar level
2. Boosts immunity as it contains immunity-boosting antioxidants
3. Promotes good heart health, brain functioing and digestion
4. Helps in fighting many infections
5. Also helps to protect your skin

Mouth-Watering Recommendations

Following are some delicious mouth-watering recommendations:

1. Brunch Recipes: Spinach Bacon Quiche, Eggs Benedict, and Spinach, Almond crusted French toast
2. Finger lickin’ lunch recipes: Baked sweet and sour Salmon Recipe, Bahama breeze Salmon Pasta, Spinach Curry Andhra recipe, Spinach Feta Chicken recipe, Lemon Pepper smoked Salmon Recipe

We hope you try our recipes and replace Cilantro with the substitutes mentioned above and explore the taste. We’d love to hear feedback.