This is a recipe for Herbes de Provence, a classic French herb blend. It can be surprisingly hard to find outside France so I’m sharing my recipe. Made with just 4 herbs – rosemary, thyme, oregano and marjoram – it brings the unmistakable flavour of southern France to chicken, roasted vegetables, stews, fish or even a quick salad dressing.
Herbes de Provence
The literal translation of “Herbes de Provence” is “herbs of Provence,” simply meaning herbs from the Provence region, a historic area in southeastern France along the Mediterranean coast. The name appears often in cooking because the cuisine of this region relies on herbs that grow abundantly in the area, like thyme, rosemary and oregano – the same herbs that make up Herbes de Provence.
It’s a blend that pops up in plenty of French recipes, including some I’ll be sharing such as the French Pork Schnitzel (escalope de porc panée) I also published today. But it can be hard to find at regular grocery stores outside of France. So I thought it would be useful to share my recipe – especially because it’s just 4 simple herbs!
The herbs that go in Herbes de Provence
There’s no single traditional recipe for Herbs de Provence. The blend I use includes herbs typically featured – rosemary, thyme, marjoram and oregano. But you’ll see other versions with a variety of other herbs (and sometimes spices) including savory, basil, parsley, bay leaves, chervil, sage or mint, and in North America, lavender is sometimes present.
The mix I use tastes like the Herbs de Provence I used in restaurant kitchens in France. I find some recipes go a bit overboard with too many herbs and end up with the wrong flavour. The classic profile should be led by thyme and rosemary, with the other herbs sitting quietly in the background. This recipes keeps the balance right so you get that clean, fragrant southern French flavour rather than a random pile of dried herbs.
As long as the herbs you used are fresh, this homemade Herbs de Provence will keep for at least 3 months in a jar, in a cool pantry. Use it to make the French Schnitzel Escalope de Porc Panée I published today – and keep the rest for more French classics I have coming up.
Bon appetit! – Chef JB
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Herbes de Provence
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp dried rosemary (Note 1)
- 2 tsp dried marjoram (or savory) (Note 2)
- 1 tsp dried organo
Instructions
- Finely chop if needed – If any of the leaves are especially large (rosemary and thyme can be), finely chop them with a knife or use a spice grinder. You will get more flavour out of them.
- Mix the dried herbs then use per recipe.
- Store in an airtight jar in a cool, dry pantry for up to 3 months (or the shelf life of the herbs you used).
I got lost when I saw the spoon! So purty, thanks for the recipe!🥰🥰
I was travelling through France with 4 children. I had 1kg of chicken wings hoping to cook them at my airbnb, but there were no cooking facilities. The lovely host cooked them for me with herbs de Provence and it was a revelation! One of my favourite meals of 9 weeks travelling.
I’ll need to celebrate with this recipe!
Does herbs de Provence sometimes have dried lavender?
Hi Anna, it does sometimes but it’s not traditional.
Thank you SO MUCH for this! I used to be able to find this here in the US, and then it just disappeared. I use Fines Herbes for some things, but it’s totally different! 😘
You are welcome Maura, I hope you like the blend 🙂
Awesome JB, cheers! I will make this up and cryovac them in little packets.
Thank you Gary!
If I use the same proportions, can I make this with fresh chopped herbs?
Hi Rita! I know I’m not JB, but I can safely say it is not the same with fresh herbs. I think it would still be a lovely combination but the flavour is not the same as the dried version. 🙂 – N x
Thank you!
Hi Rita, if using fresh herbs it wouldn’t be a traditional Herbes de Provence blend. And the fresh herbs might end up burning while cooking in oil.
Where is the marjoram Note 1 in the recipe? Thanks for sharing your recipe blend.
Thanks for adding Note 1.
You are welcome!