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Fresh herbs are a great way to bring your recipes to life with amazing flavor from home grown herbs.
Unfortunately, buying fresh herbs from the grocery store can be expensive. And you might have to wait until they are in season.
Even though you can use the dried herbs that you find in the spice section, they don’t give that same flavor that fresh herbs give a dish.
But the great news is you can enjoy fresh herbs year-round without needing a bunch of space. Some of these herbs you can easily grow from scraps you have leftover in the kitchen. And they are all great herbs to grow in your kitchen so you have ingredients on hand as you cook delicious food.
In this post we go over some easy herbs you can grow indoors.
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Why Easy To Grow Herbs Are Best
Many people don’t want to get a full scale garden going when they are looking for fresh culinary herbs to grow. Or they don’t have the space needed for a wide variety of herbs.
In these situations you want to make sure you are getting the most for your time and space you have to grow some herbs.
This is why you want to select herbs that are easy to grow and that will go with a wide variety of recipe dishes.
Easy to Grow Herbs
Basil
Basil is the #1 easy-to-grow herb that is great to grow right in your kitchen. You can grow basil both indoors and outdoors.
It is one of the most versatile herbs, and it’s easy to grow from seed or from cuttings.
The only things you need to grow basil indoors are a pot and a sunny window.
With this, you can have fresh basil all year long. Another great bonus with basil is that it is a plant that helps keep bugs away.
After all, that is better than a nice Italian dish with some fresh tomatoes from the garden and some fresh basil that you have grown yourself.
Basil is one of the main ingredients for pesto recipes and it also goes well with many tomato-based sauces.
If you would like to add a unique twist you can experiment with different types of basil:
Cilantro
Cilantro is a herb that does double duty.
Fresh cilantro leaves are a staple for Mexican dishes.
It is a key ingredient for homemade salsa and it also adds a unique flavor to salad greens.
Cilantro can also be used in marinades for beef, chicken, and pork. It can also be used on vegetables. A great marinade to use cilantro in is one for fajita meats.
This is another herb that is especially easy to grow from seed.
You can pluck your cilantro plants to help extend the life of the plant. Also, be sure to keep it in cooler areas of your house.
Eventually, cilantro will bolt and get flowers that will give you seeds you can harvest to make more plants.
You can also use the seeds from your cilantro plant to make coriander by toasting them and grinding the toasted seeds down.
Coriander has a much more mellow flavor than fresh cilantro and is used in many recipes. I always use cilantro when cooking lamb chops.
Rosemary
Rosemary is often easiest to pick up a plant from your local garden center rather than trying to grow from seed yourself.
It is a hearty herb that you can grow indoors or also grow outside in a container easily during warmer weather.
If you are growing rosemary indoors, make sure to keep its soil moist and have it in a sunny window with southern exposure.
Rosemary, like cilantro, is a great herb for marinades for most meats.
It can also be great to use on potatoes or homemade bread like focaccia bread. Adding rosemary to recipes will add a nice earthy aroma and great taste.
Rosemary is a pretty plant that can also be used just to help liven up the space.
Thyme
Thyme is another versatile herb that is easy to grow indoors. You can start your thyme herb plant from thyme seeds.
Fresh thyme is another herb that is a staple in many recipes and will be a welcome addition to your indoor kitchen herb garden. It is used in many meat-based recipes and it is also used in many soups and stews.
If you would like to add more variety to your garden, growing some lemon thyme can add a hint of citrus flavor to your recipes.
Mint
Mint is an easy herb to grow inside.
It is actually better to grow mint in a pot indoors, as when it is outside it can overtake a garden bed since it grows like a weed.
Mint is used in some recipes, and it is also great to have on hand for brewing tea. Another favorite use of mine for freshly grown mint is Mojitos in the summer.
You can grow mint from seed and you can also create more mint plants by using cuttings.
There are several different kinds of mint that you can grow:
Catnip
Catnip isn’t just for you cat. Humans also use catnip in teas.
Catnip has a relaxing, sedative effect when used in tea.
You can also grow it for you cat too.
Catnip can be grown from seed or you can get a small plant from your local garden center.
It’s easy to sow from seed and doesn’t need a bunch of care.
To grow catnip indoors, you just need some good quality soil, a small pot, and a sunny window.
You don’t want to keep the soil moist with a catnip plant as that can cause root rot.
Make sure to keep trimming off the flowers. This will encourage the plant to keep growing.
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