Cinnamon Basil: The Sweet Basil That Smells of Cinnamon

Cinnamon basil smells warm and spicy instead of like anise and clove, but the cinnamon in the name is a resemblance, not shared chemistry. It’s a cultivar of sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum, and what sets it apart is methyl cinnamate, which made up nearly a third of its oil in the one cultivar trial we found.¹ True cinnamon bark oil is dominated by a different compound, cinnamaldehyde. In the kitchen, the Herb Society of America calls it good in teas and baked goods. It can also go anywhere sweet basil goes, with a warmer result.

At a glance

What cinnamon basil is

Cinnamon basil isn’t a separate species. A comparative trial of North American commercial basil cultivars, published in Purdue University’s New Crops proceedings, lists ‘Cinnamon’ under Ocimum basilicum, the same species as Genovese and other sweet basils. In that trial it grew to about 44 cm tall and 49 cm across, with green leaves, purple stems, pink flowers and purple flower spikes, and it flowered in 86 days. The same paper groups ‘Cinnamon’ with basils “named for their aromas.”¹

The native range of O. basilicum runs from tropical and subtropical Asia to northern Australia. None of the sources we could find records where or when the cinnamon-scented type was selected. It’s often called “Mexican basil” or said to be native to Mexico, but no source backs up either claim.

Flavor and aroma

The Herb Society of America says the leaves have a spicy aroma that leaves a warm feeling on your tongue when you taste them on their own. Think sweet basil with the anise turned down and a clove-and-cinnamon warmth turned up.

The compounds

Basil is chemically all over the map. PROSEA recognizes at least six chemotypes within O. basilicum, and notes that some selections are rich in methyl cinnamate.² The Herb Society names trans-methyl cinnamate as the compound behind basil’s cinnamon scent.³

The only measurement we found for the ‘Cinnamon’ cultivar comes from the Purdue trial, which reports its essential oil yield and main compounds:¹

That’s one trial of North American commercial seed, not a survey, and other seed sources and growing conditions may give different numbers. Linalool, which Genovese also carries, is still the biggest single component. Methyl cinnamate is what sets this cultivar apart.

The cinnamon in the name is a resemblance, not shared chemistry. True cinnamon bark oil is dominated by a different compound, cinnamaldehyde, at 50 to 75% of Ceylon cinnamon bark oil according to PROSEA.⁴ Methyl cinnamate-rich basil is also grown for its oil; the Purdue paper notes commercial production in Bulgaria.¹

How cinnamon basil is used

The Herb Society of America calls the ‘Cinnamon’ cultivar good in teas and baked goods, and suggests lemon and cinnamon basils for desserts. Its recipes put cinnamon basil in a pound cake, in muffins with lemon basil, in herb syrups and in a pineapple-orange cooler.³

Beyond that, it can go anywhere sweet basil goes, with a warmer result: fruit salads, stone fruit, and stir-fries or curries where you’d use Thai basil. For more ideas, see cooking with cinnamon basil.

There’s a claim going around that cinnamon basil is called bai maengluk in Thailand. PROSEA gives maenglak as the Thai name of a different species, Ocimum americanum (hoary basil),⁵ while its Thai name for O. basilicum is horapha.² See Thai basil for how to tell the Thai basils apart.

Technique

LSU AgCenter groups basil with the delicate herbs best added in the last minute or two of cooking, since long cooking costs flavor and aroma. For swapping forms, its rule of thumb is one tablespoon of finely cut fresh herbs to one teaspoon of crumbled dried.⁶ The Herb Society’s basil syrup steeps 8 to 10 sprigs of anise, cinnamon, green or lemon basil.³

Buying and storage

We found no grading standard or published shelf-life figure for cinnamon basil specifically. Fresh sprigs should be perky and fragrant, with no black spots. It handles like any other basil: see how to store basil, can you freeze basil? and how to dry basil.

Nutrition and safety

We found no nutrient analysis of the cinnamon cultivar, and you shouldn’t assume figures for generic basil apply to it. For basil in general, see the nutrition table on our basil page.

The EU Scientific Committee on Food concluded in 2001 that estragole, the methyl chavicol found in many sweet basils, is genotoxic and carcinogenic in animal studies.⁷ Estragole isn’t among the major compounds the Purdue trial reported for ‘Cinnamon’,¹ but that’s a single measurement, and no regulator has assessed this cultivar specifically.

The NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has no fact sheet on basil.⁸ We couldn’t trace any of the health claims for cinnamon basil, from anti-inflammatory effects to easing digestive complaints, to a human study. We make no claim that it treats or prevents any condition.

Substitutes and comparisons

In cooked dishes, sweet basil with a small pinch of ground cinnamon gets close. Thai basil gives you a spicy, anise-led alternative. For side-by-side comparisons and related basils:

• Cinnamon basil vs. Thai basil
• Basil
• Genovese basil
• Lemon basil
• Holy basil
• Cinnamon
• Too much basil