How to Make Basil Salt with Fresh Basil

If you have more fresh basil than you know what to do with, making homemade basil salt is one of the easiest ways to preserve some of that fresh basil flavour.

We grow a lot of basil every year. If you want to do the same, our complete guide to growing basil from seed walks through the process from planting all the way to harvest.

Usually, we preserve our larger harvests by freezing fresh basil or turning it into our 5-ingredient basil pesto. Both of which I’ve already done this year. But we still have an abundant harvest and I wanted to experiment with another way to use some of the fresh basil coming out of the garden.

My basil salt turned out to be incredibly simple and tasty! This basil salt recipe uses just two ingredients: fresh basil and salt. The basil is mixed directly into the salt and then dried in the oven at a low temperature until all of the moisture is gone. This recipe also makes a great homemade food gift from the garden.

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What Is Basil Salt?

Basil salt is exactly what it sounds like: salt flavoured with fresh basil.

Instead of using dried basil (which is so hard to dry yourself), my recipe starts with fresh basil. Blending the fresh leaves directly with the salt distributes the basil throughout the mixture and gives the salt its beautiful green colour and basil flavour.

The mixture then needs to be dried in the oven before storage because freshly washed herbs contain a lot of moisture.

This recipe is particularly useful at the end of summer when basil plants are producing faster than you can use them.

Ingredients

You only need two ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 2 cups salt (any type you like. I used a mixture of sea salt and coarse maldon salt)

You can easily scale the recipe up or down while keeping the same 1:2 ratio of fresh basil to salt. For example, if you only have 1/2 cup of basil, use 1 cup of salt.

But it’s truly up to you on how to proceed. If you want a more subtle basil flavour, increase your salt ratio.

How to Make Basil Salt

This is a very easy recipe.

1. Harvest and Prepare the Basil

Harvest fresh, healthy basil leaves and remove any damaged or discoloured leaves.

We harvest basil throughout the summer, which encourages the plants to keep producing. We also propagate basil from cuttings earlier in the season so we have plenty of plants to harvest from once preserving season arrives.

If you wash your basil, dry it thoroughly before making the salt. A salad spinner works well for removing most of the water, followed by laying the leaves out to finish drying.

Then finely chop up the basil before adding it to the food processor. It helps breakdown easier when it’s smaller rather than leaving everything for the food processor.

2. Blend the Basil and Salt

Add 1 cup of fresh basil and 2 cups of salt to a food processor.

Pulse until the basil is finely chopped and evenly distributed throughout the salt.

Don’t worry if the mixture feels slightly damp at this stage. The fresh basil releases moisture as it is chopped, which is why we’re going to dry the finished salt before storing it.

3. Spread the Basil Salt on a Baking Sheet

Spread the basil and salt mixture evenly over a baking sheet, trying to keep it in a relatively thin, even layer so the moisture can escape while it is in the oven.

4. Bake at 200°F

Place the basil salt in an oven preheated to 200°F and bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the salt feels completely dry.

Depending on how much moisture was in your basil and how thickly you spread the mixture, it may need a little additional drying time.

The important thing isn’t the exact 30-minute mark. You want the basil salt to be fully dry before you store it.

5. Cool and Break Apart

Remove the basil salt from the oven and allow it to cool completely.

Your salt has likely clumped together as it dried. Break these pieces apart with your hands, a fork or give the dried mixture a few quick pulses in the food processor if you prefer a finer texture. I used my pestle and mortar because I love grinding up food in there.

6. Store the Basil Salt

Once the basil salt is completely dry and cool, transfer it to a clean, airtight jar.

Keep it somewhere cool and dry with the rest of your herbs and seasonings.

How Do You Know When Basil Salt Is Dry?

This is probably the most important part of making basil salt with fresh basil.

Before storing it, the salt should feel dry rather than damp or soft. There shouldn’t be any obviously moist pieces of basil remaining.

If you’re unsure, give it a little more time in the oven. I always say this – it’s better to dry it for a few extra minutes than to put a damp herb mixture into a sealed jar and ruin the entire batch.

What Can You Use Basil Salt For?

Once you have a jar in the kitchen, you can use basil salt anywhere you would normally use salt and want a little extra basil flavour.

Try it on:

• Tomatoes
• Roasted vegetables
• Potatoes
• Pasta
• Pizza
• Chicken
• Eggs
• Homemade bread
• Salad dressings
• Soups and sauces

One of the most obvious combinations is fresh tomatoes with basil salt. If your basil and tomato harvests overlap in the garden, it’s an easy way to use both.

Basil Salt Makes an Easy Homemade Food Gift

Basil salt is also one of my favourite types of homemade food gifts because you can make it well ahead of Christmas and it’s a personalized gift that doesn’t add to the commercialization of the Christmas season.

Add it to a small glass spice jar, label it Basil Salt, and include a few suggestions for how to use it. (Heads up family reading this – you will be receiving some this year).

It’s an especially nice way to turn something you grew in the garden during the summer into a simple homemade Christmas gift several months later.

Interested in more homemade food gift ideas? Check out my article: Homemade Food Gifts: Easy Christmas Gifts From Our Garden & Kitchen

Can I Make Basil Salt With Other Herbs?

The same basic idea can be used with other culinary herbs, although different herbs contain different amounts of moisture and may require adjustments to drying time.

If you’re experimenting with another fresh herb, the most important thing is making sure the finished salt is completely dry before putting it into an airtight container.

A Simple Way to Preserve Extra Basil

Every summer there seems to be a point when we’re trying to figure out what to do with all of our basil.

For the biggest harvests, freezing basil is still one of my favourite preservation methods because we can pull individual portions from the freezer all winter. Basil salt gives us another option that is incredibly easy and doesn’t take up any freezer space.

Then, as the growing season comes to an end, we let some of our remaining plants flower so we can collect and save basil seeds for next year’s garden.

Between freezing it, making pesto, turning some into basil salt and saving our own seeds, very little of our basil crop needs to go to waste.

If you’re learning to harvest and preserve more of what you grow at home, you can explore all of our hands-on advice in our Harvesting & Preserving, based on what actually works here on our homestead.

We are growing our website with more articles all the time, and we invite you to grow with us. If you have any questions about how to make a homemade basil salt recipe or would like to share some of your knowledge with us please leave a comment below. Happy Gardening!