17 Best Herbs to Grow at Home

There is so much satisfaction in cooking with spices you grew yourself! I’ve found myself gravitating more and more towards recipes that use spices I can grow. Spice up your cooking with this list of 17 best herbs to grow at home!

 

17 Best Herbs to Grow at Home

1. Paprika
2. Chives
3. Garlic Powder
4. Rosemary
5. Basil
6. Cayenne
7. Ginger
8. Oregano
9. Parsley
10. Turmeric
11. Chili Powder
12. Dill
13. Cilantro
14. Coriander
15. Sage
16. Onion Powder
17. Thyme

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While almost any herb or kitchen spice can be grown at home if you live in the right climate, these 17 are the easiest to grow in a wide range of climates!

 

#1 Paprika

 

If you can grow peppers, you can grow your own paprika!

Paprika peppers are somewhere between bell peppers and chili peppers on the heat scale. They make a wonderful fresh eating pepper with more flavor than a bell pepper. This is one of the best herbs to grow at home!

To make paprika powder, simply dry the peppers until they are hard and grind to a powder in a blender or coffee grinder.

Some paprika pepper varieties to try growing:

• Alma 
• Ferherozon
• Leutschauer 

 

#2 Chives

Chives are an easy to grow perennial that comes back year after year! When it comes to low maintenance, chives are one of the best herbs to grow!

Simply cut off some chives with scissors as needed. You can also cut them in small pieces and dry them.

Chive plants are readily available at garden centers, or you can find seeds here!

 

#3 Garlic Powder

Expensive to buy in the supermarket, garlic is one of the most worthwhile crops to grow in your garden. It is easy to grow and doesn’t take much space.

Dehydrate peeled garlic cloves and grind into powder, or get complete instructions here for making your own roasted garlic powder. This might be the best when it comes to herbs to grow at home!

To grow your own garlic, plant organic supermarket garlic cloves in the fall (conventional garlic may be treated with chemicals to keep it from sprouting), or pick a variety of seed garlic.

You can find inexpensive seed garlic here!

 

#4 Rosemary

A tender perennial, rosemary can be grown in a pot and brought indoors in the winter in cooler climates.

Pick up a plant at your local garden center, or start plants from seeds. We love to put fresh rosemary on roasts! Since dried rosemary is prickly and not so great for the palate, rosemary is one of the best herbs to grow yourself!

You can buy inexpensive rosemary seeds here!

 

#5 Basil

Popular in red sauce and Italian dishes, basil is an easy annual to grow at home.

By growing your own basil, you’ll have the choice of dozens of unique basil flavors not found on the typical spice rack!

For classic Italian flavor, try Genovese basil. For a hint of lemon, try lemon basil. For a delicious anise or licorice type flavor, try Aromatto (my favorite!). You can also grow the ultra productive lettuce basil with leaves large enough for a basil “lettuce wrap”.

You can find basil plants at garden centers, or start your own plants from seeds. It’s a classic when it comes to herbs to grow at home!

• Aromatto Basil
• Lettuce Basil
• Genovese Basil
• Lemon Basil
• Lime Basil
• Cinnamon Basil
• Purple Ruffled Basil

 

#6 Cayenne Pepper

 

Cayenne is one of the best herbs to grow at home. It’s also one of the easiest pepper varieties to grow, even in colder climates.

To make cayenne pepper, simply dry the ripe peppers and grind into powder in a coffee grinder or blender!

We keep a plate on the counter where we put whole cayenne peppers as they ripen in the garden. They dry naturally without any special care.

You can find cayenne seeds here!

 

#7 Ginger

This heat loving plant can be grown outdoors in warmer climates. In the north it can be grown in a pot in a sunny window. Here in Montana, we grow ginger indoors years year round. It looks like pretty tall grass. Ginger’s attractive looks as a houseplant make it one of the best herbs to grow indoors.

You can harvest the fresh ginger as needed, or dry and grind it into powder.

To get started growing ginger, simply plant a piece of organic supermarket ginger (conventional ginger is sometimes sprayed with chemicals to keep it from sprouting and won’t grow, so for a successful ginger patch go with organic!).

 

#8 Oregano

This cold hardy perennial is very easy to grow, springing back to life year after year! It’s one of the best herbs to grow at home, due to its low maintenance!

Oregano can be harvested fresh, or chopped and dried.

Find oregano seeds for 99 cents here, or pick up a plant from your local garden center.

 

#9 Parsley

This popular herb is a biennial, meaning it lives for two seasons, produces seed and then dies. Harvest the leaves as needed, or dry some to always have it on hand in your kitchen! One plant can produce many bunches of parsley throughout the season!

You can find parsley anywhere plant starts are sold, or find inexpensive seeds here:

• Flat Leaved Parsley
• Curly Parsley

 

#10 Turmeric

One of the most expensive kitchen spices to buy, turmeric can be grown in the garden in warmer climates. It the north, it is easy to grow indoors in a pot! If you use turmeric, the cost savings make it one of the best herbs to grow yourself!

To grow turmeric, simply plant a small piece of organic fresh turmeric from your local health food store (you can try planting conventional turmeric too, but it could be sprayed with chemicals to keep it from sprouting in the grocery store).

Harvest fresh as needed, or dry and grind your homegrown turmeric into powder.

 

#11 Chili Powder

 

The fun part of growing your own chili powder is that you can mix any peppers you choose to come up with a flavor and spice level you like!

Pick a variety of pepper plants from your local plant center, or stick with ordinary chili peppers for a more predictable result.

If you want to start your own peppers from seed, try incorporating some of these exciting varieties into your chili powder blend!

• Aneheim Chili
• Paprika Pepper
• Hungarian Black Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper
• Bulgarian Carrot Pepper
• Jalepeno Pepper
• Santa Fe Grande Pepper

To make peppers into powder, simple dry the ripe peppers and grind in a coffee grinder or blender. We make a different chili powder mix every year, depending on what peppers do the best in our garden.

 

#12 Dill

Both dill weed and dill seed are easy herbs to grow in your backyard. Dill is one of the best herbs to grow in your garden, thanks to its hardiness!

Fresh heads of dill are great for pickling, while the seeds and leaves can both be dried for later use.

You can purchase inexpensive dill seeds here.

 

#13 Cilantro

Cilantro is a fast growing annual herb. Each plant can be cut back and harvested several times. It’s a great herb to have on hand for fresh use, or dry the leaves so you’ll always have some on hand!

You can find cilantro plants at any garden center, or buy seeds for 99 cents here!

 

#14 Coriander

Coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant. To get cilantro seeds, all you have to do is let cilantro plants flower and produce seeds. Coriander is very prolific, making it one of the best herbs to grow!

Allow the coriander seeds to dry out completely before storing whole or grinding in a blender or coffee grinder.

 

#15 Sage

Sage is a beautiful perennial, cold hardy in most climates. Its lovely silver leaves make a great addition to the landscape!

Sage can be harvested fresh, or dehydrated to keep in the kitchen.

You can find a sage plant at garden centers, or buy seeds here for 99 cents.

 

#16 Onion Powder

Expensive to buy, onion powder is easy to make yourself. You can grow your own onions, or use supermarket onions.

Simply chop the onions and dry in a dehydrator or on the “warm” setting of your oven. When the chunks are dry and crisp, they can be cooled and ground into powder in a blender or food processor.

 

#17 Thyme

Thyme is another cold hardy perennial. This low maintenance herb grows year after year without much care, making it a great choice when it comes to herbs to grow yourself.

Fresh thyme is wonderful in the kitchen, but the leaves can also be dried for later use.

 

Growing Herbs at Home

To dry our homegrown herbs, we use a combination of air drying, the “warm” setting of our oven, and a dehydrator. I find for most spices I get the best results with the dehydrator. You don’t need an expensive one with lots of bells and whistles. I recommend this inexpensive option. We use ours every day in the late summer and fall!

 

 

What herbs do you grow at home? Share in the comments!