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Basil vs. Cilantro: Different Families, Different Chemistry

By · Reviewed · 17 sources

basil vs cilantro

Cooking for someone who can’t stand cilantro? Basil can stand in, but only in a few raw dishes, and the dish will taste different. The two herbs come from different plant families and smell of completely different compounds. Sweet basil’s aroma is built on methyl chavicol (estragole). Most of cilantro leaf’s volatile oil is aldehydes, the compounds behind both its fresh, citrusy taste and the soapy taste some people get from it.12

Side by side

Basil (sweet basil)Cilantro
SpeciesOcimum basilicum L.Coriandrum sativum L., the leaf of the plant whose seed is coriander
FamilyMint family (Lamiaceae)Parsley family (Apiaceae)
Native rangeTropical and subtropical Asia to northern Australia (Kew)Eastern Mediterranean to western Pakistan (Kew)
PlantAnnual or subshrub of the seasonally dry tropicsAnnual, up to 1.3 m tall, with a taproot1
LeafGlossy, oval, smooth or slightly toothed, often cuppedFeathery
Key aroma compoundsMethyl chavicol (estragole); one French-type oil: 53.3%3Aldehydes, more than 80% of the leaf oil, led by (E)-2-dodecenal at 15.6% in one analysis1
FlavorSweet and green, with anise and clove notesFresh, green and citrusy; soapy to some people
FormsFresh leaves, dried leavesFresh bunches, dried leaf
Typical usesItalian tomato dishes, pesto, Thai cookingLatin American, Indian and Chinese dishes; Mexican salsas
CostNo dated, sourced price comparison foundNo dated, sourced price comparison found
SafetyEstragole: BfR names basil pesto among foods that may contain high amounts4FDA import controls on fresh cilantro from Puebla, Mexico, over cyclosporiasis outbreaks5

PROSEA describes French-type basil oil as sweet-spicy, slightly green and fresh, while descriptions of cilantro run anywhere from citrusy with a biting tang to soapy. Basil also varies more than most herbs. PROSEA recognizes at least six chemotypes within the species,3 and lemon basil, cinnamon basil and Thai basil all smell very different from Italian basil.

The differences that change a dish

The soap problem belongs to cilantro alone

In a 2012 genetic study of 14,604 people of European ancestry who reported whether cilantro tasted soapy, Eriksson and colleagues found a variant near a cluster of smell-receptor genes. One of those genes codes for a receptor that binds several of cilantro’s aldehydes strongly. The effect is real but modest. The heritability tagged by common variants was about 0.087, so genes explain only part of who tastes soap.2 Basil’s aroma comes from different compounds, so it doesn’t carry that risk. Cooking for someone who hates cilantro? Basil changes the dish, but it won’t spoil it.

Heat

Both are delicate. Basil and cilantro are among the herbs best added in the last minute or two of cooking, because long heat costs them flavor and aroma. Most cooks use cilantro raw. Basil goes into sauces too, usually near the end.

Cuisines

The two herbs belong to different kitchens, though both travel. In Italian cooking, basil goes into pizzas, pasta, chicken and cheese dishes and pesto, and sweet basil is an important ingredient in Thai cuisine. Cilantro’s young leaves are used widely in Latin American, Indian and Chinese dishes. It goes into Mexican salsas and meat dishes, and Arabic cooking uses both leaves and seeds in pickles, curries and chutneys.

One common mix-up: the basil in the Thai stir-fry phat kaphrao isn’t Thai basil. It’s holy basil, a different species that Thai cooks call kaphrao. Andy Ricker notes that “holy basil” labels sometimes end up on purple-stemmed Thai or sweet basil.6 See holy basil and Thai basil.

Nutrition

Per 100 g, fresh basil has more vitamin K, calcium and iron, and cilantro has more vitamin A, vitamin C and fiber:

Per 100 g, freshBasilCilantro
Vitamin K415 µg (346% DV)310 µg (258% DV)
Vitamin A (RAE)264 µg (29% DV)337 µg (37% DV)
Vitamin C18.0 mg (20% DV)27.0 mg (30% DV)
Calcium177 mg (14% DV)67 mg (5% DV)
Iron3.17 mg (18% DV)1.77 mg (10% DV)
Fiber1.6 g (6% DV)2.8 g (10% DV)

Source: USDA FoodData Central values;78 the percentages are our math against FDA Daily Values.9 Nobody eats 100 g of either in one sitting. USDA weighs a quarter cup of whole basil leaves at 6 g and a quarter cup of cilantro at 4 g,78 which works out to about 25 µg of vitamin K from the basil (21% DV) and 12 µg from the cilantro (10% DV). Vitamin K is the only nutrient either one supplies in a meaningful amount at normal servings. For vitamin K and blood thinners, see the basil profile.

Can one stand in for the other?

Only in some dishes, and the dish will taste different.

  • Basil in place of cilantro. Works in raw uses like a herb salad or a fresh salsa when someone can’t stand cilantro. Ratio (Method): Start with the same amount, torn or chopped, and taste. Ratio (Attributed): For Southeast Asian dishes, A Couple Cooks suggests Thai basil or mint as a 1:1 substitute. Its last option for cilantro-haters is to leave cilantro out altogether.10 More options are ranked on cilantro substitutes.
  • Cilantro in place of basil. Fine in a raw salad or a noodle bowl. Thai basil is one of the herbs on Andrea Nguyen’s pho garnish plate,11 and if it’s missing, more cilantro and mint still give you a plate of fresh herbs. It doesn’t work where basil is the point: pesto, a tomato and mozzarella salad, or a Margherita pizza. Ratio (Method): Start with about half the basil amount, since cilantro is the more assertive of the two.

What isn’t known

  • The cilantro genetics study doesn’t give a percentage of people who taste soap, so we don’t either.2
  • We couldn’t trace the plant heights you’ll often see (about 30 inches for basil, 18 for cilantro). PROSEA gives cilantro up to 1.3 m.1

Footnotes

  1. Coriandrum sativum, Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). uses.plantnet-project.org · Reference work ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. Eriksson et al., “A genetic variant near olfactory receptor genes influences cilantro preference”, Flavour, 2012. link.springer.com · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. N.O. Aguilar, Pham Truong Thi Tho and L.P.A. Oyen, Ocimum basilicum, Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). uses.plantnet-project.org · Reference work ↩ ↩2

  4. “Alkenylbenzenes in food: how large is the health risk?”, BfR Communication No. 22/2022. bfr.bund.de · Regulator ↩

  5. Import Alert 24-23, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. accessdata.fda.gov · Regulator ↩

  6. Andy Ricker with J.J. Goode, “Stir-fried chicken with hot basil (kai kaphrao)”, from Pok Pok, via The Splendid Table. splendidtable.org · Publication ↩

  7. Basil, fresh (FDC 172232), USDA FoodData Central. fdc.nal.usda.gov · Regulator ↩ ↩2

  8. Coriander (cilantro) leaves, raw (FDC 169997), USDA FoodData Central. fdc.nal.usda.gov · Regulator ↩ ↩2

  9. Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. fda.gov · Regulator ↩

  10. Sonja Overhiser, “Best Cilantro Substitute”, A Couple Cooks, 2026. acouplecooks.com · Publication ↩

  11. Andrea Nguyen, “Pho Garnish Plate”, from The Pho Cookbook, via The Splendid Table. splendidtable.org · Publication ↩

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