Basil is one of the most popular Italian herbs, and it’s also what so many of us grow in our gardens. But inevitably every year when basil is in full swing, we find ourselves with more basil than we know what to do with.
Someone recently asked me this question via email, plus some other really great questions about this amazing herb. So, I decided to create this post (and a video – see below) that goes over some helpful tips to get the most out of your basil so nothing goes to waste.
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Video
What’s in this post, is also in video format. If you like to watch video, feel free to catch it here. Make sure to Like & Subscribe if you do!
Harvesting Basil Overview
When I think of harvesting, I tend to think mostly about end-of-season harvesting for the seeds. But in fact, the simple action of picking leaves to use for recipes or to save for later is also considered harvesting.
I think for the sake of this article, I need to provide a basic overview of the two types of harvesting.
Harvesting leaves
I recommend harvesting leaves after you have a few smaller offshoots growing. Some say you can harvest as soon as you have about 4 or 5 leaves, but that’s pretty young. I like to let my plants get a little larger and established, unless there’s a recipe emergency that requires one or two leaves – like a caprese salad.
Harvesting seeds
The reason we harvest seeds is because basil plants do NOT grow back each year from the same set of roots. They may drop seeds and “reseed”, like what happened to me this past year.
Seed harvesting is not only fun, but it’s beyond rewarding knowing that the seeds I’m gathering this year will be available to use for the next few years. This also means I don’t have to buy any more seeds!
You can start harvesting your seeds towards the end of the season after the plants have grown their flowers and the white leaves have fallen off. This is a stage called “going to seed”.
When ready to harvest, don’t try to take out the seeds. You want them to dry and turn black first before you handle the seeds. This takes time. So instead, you just cut the stem and let the flowers/buds dry out over time.
I like to leave the flower shoots on the plant for awhile just to make sure the seeds are not too young when cutting the stem off. I’ve even left them until October!
I explain how to dry the seeds further down.
Stimulating more plant growth
If it’s earlier in the season and you’re not ready to let it “go to seed”, then these three methods will help keep your plant growing for longer.
Even if I know I don’t need all my basil, I like to perform these steps throughout the season for the simple fact that I think they are beautiful to look at. As the plants age, their green leaves will lose their rich green color.
- Deadhead the stems. Funny word isn’t it? This means plucking off the entire head of the flowery part. Use your fingers or scissors.
- Use proper fertilizer during the growing season. I’ve learned the hard way that not keeping up with fertilizer will cause the plant to mature too soon and the leaves will start to go bitter.
- Cutting off the tops. Beyond deadheading, when you prune the upper growth, you are forcing the plant to produce more side branches. This will help create bushier plants.
What parts are edible?
For cooking purposes, the leaves are what you want to use only. Skip the stems or branches. Just toss those out.
There’s no fancy method to cutting or chopping them when you want to use them in a recipe. I personally roll a bunch up together like a cigar and then cut them all at once into long strips, or cross cutting them to dice them up.
What to do with too much basil?
Here are some tips for using up your basil. I’d love hear your own ideas for this too in the comments!
- Recipes! This is an obvious reason, but besides pesto, basil isn’t usually a main ingredient in recipes. So we’re often still left with lots of basil once the pesto is made. I provide some specific basil recipes at the end of this post.
- Dry the basil to use as a dried herb. You can do this using a dehydrator, or you can hang the basil in a dry, dark area like a closet or attic. My mom used to tie bundles together and hang them in our attic tied to a clothes hanger. To avoid any falling leaves or seeds, enclose them in a brown paper bag.
Once dried, place the leaves in a glass jar (I use old herb jars or jam jars) and label and date the contents. Trust me, you’ll quickly forget which year it’s from if they start to pile up! I also don’t crush them until I use them. - Freeze the leaves. I have a video on this here, but you can roll up the leaves and shove them into an ice cube tray filled with water. Make sure to keep all the leaves covered in the water. Once solid, transfer the cubes to a freezer bag.
- Make pesto. My mom gave me a great tip for storing it – instead of using up containers, put the pesto in ice cube trays, freeze it, then once it’s solid, transfer to a freezer bag or yogurt container! Thanks Mom!
Remember, pesto can be used lots of different ways, such as on garlic bread, sandwiches, or even pizza!
There are lots of types of dehydrators, so make sure to get one that fits your needs. Here’s a basic one from Elite Gourmet.
Instead of a paper bag or risking dried herbs on the floor, these herb hangers can do the trick.
Using frozen basil
I have to put a section in about using frozen basil just to avoid any misconceptions. Whether you freeze them in ice cube trays, or drop the leaves directly in a yogurt container (like my mother-in-law did), it’s not the same as fresh leaves.
Once thawed these leaves cannot be used like you would with fresh leaves. The texture is totally different.
But you can use them in soups, pastas, and sauces! You’ll still be able to smell and taste that “fresh” basil flavor that we don’t get with dried basil.
Recipes that use basil
Here’s a list of recipes that you can make that use basil.
- Cherry tomato caprese salad
- Zoodles with tomatoes and basil
- Classic basil pesto
- Pasta with zucchini and tomatoes
- Bruschetta Pomodoro
I hope you found this article helpful. If you have your tips for ways to use up basil, let me and my readers know in the comments below!
