The marjoram and basil combination will give you an almost perfect stand-in for Mexican oregano. And of course, dried oregano is a must in any home cook’s spice cabinet! Copyright ©2000-2020 The omission or addition of one herb rarely will make or break a dish. Gram Conversions - Ingredients By Category. * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Quick tip: Don’t have any fresh or dried oregano on hand while you’re making a recipe? Or what about this slow cooker Tex-Mex chicken, which sounds delicious with whichever type of “oregano” you decide to use, also on Foodal . Suggested reading: This alternative seemed like a no-brainer. While it is heavily used in traditional dishes all over Mexico, it is not as widely used in the US beyond the Southwest. Then in the 70s and 80s, Mexican Oregano became increasingly popular as Americans began to embrace more Mexican dishes. Although best known for partnering with rosemary,... Cuisinevault is your online cooking companion offering loads of recipes, tips, hacks and much more. Or want to substitute dried oregano for fresh? What does fennel taste like? It is also a member of the mint family and is an excellent oregano substitute for most recipes. Substitute for Mexican oregano Greek oregano, which is much more pungeant so use less (start with 1/3 less) to taste See Substitute for marjoram - which says you can substitute oregano. Papalo is also called Papaloquelite porophyllum ruderale or macrocephalum. Here are some of our favorite recipes featuring fresh or dried oregano: Sonja Overhiser is author of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best healthy cookbooks of 2018. Soon, you're scanning your grocery store's aisles for the elusive herb. Your best option is to swap dried for fresh, or the other way round. Parsley vs cilantro – what’s the difference? Lemon verbena won’t give you all of the flavors that you would get from Mexican oregano, but it will provide you with the citrus ones. Oregano can work as a substitute for Mexican oregano especially since people outside of Mexico are most likely to have it in their spice cabinets, though it is not the best possible substitute. Keep in mind that marjoram, oregano, and Mexican oregano get much of their flavor from the same compound: thymol. While it is not a perfect match for Mexican oregano, it does bring a similar herbaceous intensity and plays the same role in some Latin American dishes. Italian seasoning is a mix of rosemary, thyme, oregano, and basil, which is popular in many Italian dishes. The typical grocery-store variety is Greek Oregano which is stronger than Mexican Oregano. be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. It offers a slightly peppery, zesty bite to food that is unique and hard to replace. Marjoram has the oregano flavor profile but with added minty sweetness. If you are planning to make a recipe that requires this seasoning, avoid alternatives if you can. You can always add more if required, but removing too much flavor isn’t as easy. Since 1995, Epicurious has been the ultimate food resource for the home cook, with daily kitchen tips, fun cooking videos, and, oh yeah, over 33,000 recipes. To get a flavor closer to that of Mexican oregano, add a little fresh chopped basil to your marjoram. We used beautiful New Mexico dried chiles, chuck roast, onions, garlic and seasonings. You can use dried verbena or Mediterranean oregano as a backup if necessary. Here’s the best oregano substitute to use in cooking. Typically we’d avoid substituting dried thyme for dried oregano: it has a much stronger flavor. Cilantro brings a bright, grassy flavor accompanied by lemony notes. Epicurious may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Shop fiery spices at the PepperScale Spicery. Even though it belongs to a different family from Mexican oregano (which isn’t true oregano), Mediterranean oregano does have some of the same flavor notes. Available in Mexican markets and some specialty stores. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. They both share a spicy, bitter taste that has great cut-through in pizza, pasta sauce, and also in taco seasoning. Poultry, meat, vegetables, and soup all combine well with sage. A Couple Cooks has been featured on the TODAY Show, and in numerous national print and online publications, including Washington Post, Huffington Post, Food & Wine, and Bon Appetit. They are likely to be in your kitchen cupboard, so keep reading to discover your best backup options. GourmetSleuth.com® All rights reserved. Do you ditch the recipe? Let us know in the comments below. When it’s the season, we highly recommend growing oregano in your garden (here’s How to Grow Herbs). Fresh thyme. Where Mediterranean oregano is sweet, with anise notes, Mexican oregano is grassy, with citrus notes. If you grow your own thyme, sometimes the plant can produce more than you can use. For slow cooking, add the marjoram towards the end of the cook as it is a delicate herb that doesn’t hold up well over prolonged heat. We recommend reducing the ratio of basil as it packs a lot of flavor. If you’re in a pinch, sage is a useful seasoning that’s bitter with the flavor and aroma of pine. Oregano Substitute – 4 Recommended Options. Try dried marjoram (also from the origanum family, but similar to Mexican oregano in its citrusy, floral ways) or dried verbena. Or go ahead and use dried Mediterranean oregano—just use a little less. Fennel Vegetable. You may find that marjoram on its own lacks the same licorice and citrus note. All rights reserved. Subscribe for free weekly recipes & more! Im trying this recipe: Im finding mixed replies on google. When you pulverize seeds and spices they tend to release additional flavors that lie dormant otherwise. Because of that, many people are unfamiliar with Mexican oregano. Pizza, pasta sauce, and vinaigrette all taste delicious with the addition of this ingredient. In fact, it is sometimes called Mexican marjoram or Mexican wild sage. Oregano is included in Italian seasoning, so in a pinch you could use it as a substitute for oregano. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Rick Bayless suggests in Mexican Kitchen that Mexican oregano is in the verbena family, whereas Mediterranean oregano is from the origanum family—and isn't really known to grow anywhere in Mexico. Ratio: For 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, substitute 1 teaspoon dried oregano. It offers a slightly peppery, zesty bite to food that is unique and hard to replace. Some yes absolutely not. 4. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. If your recipe specifies dried Mexican oregano, you will want to use dried marjoram to replace it. Quantity of Oregano Required: 2 teaspoons. Recipe for Huevos Rancheros includes fresh eggs and tomatoes, garlic, arbol chile, onion and corn tortillas. A Couple Cooks was awarded the IACP Best Individual Blog award in 2019 by the International Association of Culinary Professional, © 2020 - A Couple Cooks®| Privacy Policy and Disclosure. The best oregano substitute for the fresh herb? Featured on the Today Show and Washington Post. They are a simple plant to grow inside. Visit our sister site PepperScale. The traditional herb isn't really oregano. The recipes have been well tested and will work for you and your family every time! A simple recipe uses fresh pork roast, garlic cloves, salt, pepper, olive oil, and your choice of fresh herbs. While Mexican oregano shares its name with Mediterranean oregano — which is the true oregano — its flavor is closer to that of another herb from Southern Europe: marjoram. Sonja and Alex Overhiser are writer and photographer behind A Couple Cooks and authors of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best vegetarian cookbooks and best healthy cookbooks. Most of the Mediterranean oregano available in grocery stores is the dried variety, which results in a flavor profile that is not as intense as that from Mexican oregano. Making a recipe that calls for oregano and don’t have it? Mexican oregano is not true oregano but a small bushy shrub with a more delicate flavor than the more common Greek oregano. GourmetSleuth.com® All rights reserved. Oregano is an everyday herb that is commonly associated with Italian and Greek cooking. Your daily values may Mexican oregano is often overlooked. If you’re looking for an oregano substitute, then we have a range of replacements. Pronounced [sih-LAHN-troh] this member of the carrot family is also referred to as Chinese Parsley and Coriander.