It’s the end of the season and I’ve already made pounds of basil salt, I have countless basil pesto prepared and now I also have frozen basil pucks. But there’s still an abundance of fresh basil in the garden, and I needed another way to preserve it.
I’ve tried drying fresh basil before, but I could never get it right. This time, I changed two things: I didn’t wash the basil first, and I dried it at a higher temperature than herbal recommendations suggest.
And it actually worked!
The basil came out completely dry and crisp, instead of still holding onto moisture. So if you’ve struggled to dry fresh basil too, here’s the method that finally worked for me
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Why My Fresh Basil Wasn’t Drying Properly
I am a firm believer in washing your herbs before drying it, and for every other herb I dry in my dehydrator – that’s what I do. But with basil, no matter how many DAYS it sat in the dehydrator for, the leaves still felt soft and held onto moisture, rather than becoming completely dry and crisp.
I used to always keep it at the recommend 95-105°F temperature for herbs, and with basil, it just never worked.
But for some reason, this time I decided to add a few leaves to my dehydrator while my hot sauce paste was drying at 140°F. What’s the harm? I didn’t wash them because it hit me – basil is very moist herb. Adding more water to it, is probably not helping it.
So with 5 CLEAN leaves and a prayer, I dried the basil for 24 hours at 140°F.
It came out dry, crisp and perfect.
The Trick That Finally Worked for Me
Two key components worked to make this possible that’s different than the recommended methods.
1. I Stopped Washing the Basil Before Dehydrating It
I wash everything out of the garden. Between bugs and soil, the leaves can get fairly dirty. So when I was experimenting, I used my cleanest, best looking basil for this, since I didn’t want to waste it.
Adding the extra water to an already very moisture holding leaf, clearly does not work well for basil and is part of the problem.
If your basil REALLY needs a wash, it needs to be dried very thoroughly before putting it into the dehydrator.
2. I Increased The Temperature and Stopped Worrying About How Long It Was Taking
In the past, I would dehydrate basil at the lowest temperature, 95–105°F. That is the recommended number.
Before I increased the temp to 140°F, I actually had the unwashed basil in with other herbs at the recommended temperature. After 24 hours, the basil was just as it always was.
Then it occurred to me, why not just increase the temp? If you were to dry basil in the oven, the temperature is at 200°F for a shorter period of time, and it’s a very common idea.
So, I put it in with my hot sauce paste and dried for 24 hours at 140°F. The basil came out perfectly crisp and beautiful.
How I Dry Fresh Basil in a Dehydrator
1. Harvest Clean, Healthy Basil Leaves
Harvest your basil using cleaned garden pruners.
2. Remove Damaged Leaves
Bring your harvest inside and go through and remove any diseased, dirty, or damaged leaves.
3. Do Not Wash Basil
Do NOT wash the basil leaves.
4. Remove Leaves from Stems
Pick off each of the leaves individually. You do not need to dry basil on the stem, their leaves are large enough that they don’t need support on the stem.
5. Arrange on Dehydrator Tray
Lay out the dried basil leaves on the dehydrator tray, being sure to leave lots of airflow and space between each leaf.
6. Dry
Turn the dehydrator to 140°F and dry for approximately 24 hours. Once that time is up, test the brittleness and decide if it needs more time.
7. Cool
Let the basil cool before storage. Break the basil into tiny pieces for easy use and then store in an air-tight container for several years. The longer the spice sits, the less potent it becomes.
How Do You Know When Basil Is Completely Dry?
This is important because, basil can be finicky when it comes to drying, but if you are drying it at this higher temperature and not washing it before hand, it will be easier for you to confirm. You should be looking for/feeling for:
- Leaves should feel crisp rather than leathery
- They should crumble easily between your fingers
- There shouldn’t be any cool, soft or flexible areas
- Stems you’ve left attached should snap rather than bend.
Please note that drying time will fluctuate depending on things like, spacing, air flow, humidity levels, your specific dehydrator, etc.
If your dried basil is NOT hitting these key differentiators, then add more drying time. It’s always better to be cautious and ensure your leaves are dry rather than spoil the entire spice jar with moisture that will lead to mold.
Should You Wash Basil Before Drying It?
Now I can’t speak for everyone, but, in my home we are using our own garden-grown basil, we know how the leaves have been treated (i.e. no chemicals), and I’m harvesting and choosing the best/cleanest leaves for drying basil.
Knowing all of this, I am comfortable not washing these leaves so we can get a good bounty of dried basil for the winter.
Do I wash everything else? You betcha!
How to Store Dried Basil
Once my dried basil is out of the dehydrator and cooled, I like to use my pestle and mortar (my favourite old apothecary witchy vibes), to grind up the leaves into small pieces for my spice jar.
Then place the spices into an air-tight container, in a cool, dark location.
What Else Can You Do With Too Much Fresh Basil?
Like I said in the introduction, I have been preserving fresh basil in many other ways. Here’s my other methods I highly recommend to everyone:
How to Freeze Basil
If you want to preserve the fresh basil flavour for sauces, I highly recommend freezing basil into easy-to-use portions in a silicone muffin pan. It’s super easy and another great way to keep that garden freshness all winter long.
Basil Salt
This is one of the easiest ways I’ve found to use a huge amount of fresh basil – homemade basil salt. It’s literally just washing, and blending up fresh basil with 2:1 or 1:1 ratio of salt, blended and baked. It’s great to gift as a homemade food gift, or to use it on pasta, sauces, tomatoes, soups, etc.
5 Ingredient Basil Pesto
Whipping up a big batch of basil pesto is another easy way to preserve and use your garden basil. I love to freeze the pesto into a silicon muffin pan and then use them as needed throughout the winter.
Is Drying Fresh Basil Worth It?
After several disappointing attempts, I would say drying fresh basil is worth it. But you have to change the tactics with basil – you can’t treat it like any other herb. It’s unique and special, that’s why we love it.
If you’re learning how to preserve more of what you grow, explore our Garden-Based & Preserving Guides, where we share the methods that actually work for us here on our Zone 5 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 drying fresh basil or would like to share some of your knowledge with us please leave a comment below. Happy Gardening!
