Herbes de Provence: What’s in the Blend, the Label Rouge Recipe, and How to Use It

The herbs in that jar of herbes de Provence probably didn’t grow in Provence. Producers estimated in 2008 that genuine Provençal herbs held only about 5% of the French market.¹ The blend itself is dried Mediterranean herbs built around thyme, rosemary, savory and oregano. In France, one version is protected by a Label Rouge specification with fixed proportions, and it leaves out lavender. Everywhere else, the name covers whatever a maker puts in the jar.

At a glance

What is in it

The Label Rouge recipe

One version of the blend carries the French Label Rouge quality mark. Its specification, LA 02/03, published by France’s INAO, is held by the Association Interprofessionnelle des Herbes de Provence (AIHP). It fixes both the herbs and their proportions: thyme, rosemary, savory and oregano, with basil in the original version. There’s no lavender.² The trade paper Réussir reported in 2008 that the label was obtained in 2003 for a precisely defined blend.¹

The proportions have changed over time, and the sources don’t all show the same figures:

The 2014 document on INAO’s site shows both 26% and 27% for the three main herbs, which looks like a proposed change, and still lists 3% basil.² Ducros’s 2025 sheet for its “red label” (Label Rouge) blend lists rosemary, savory and oregano at 27% each and thyme at 19%, with no basil.³ We couldn’t open the final approved text of the current specification, so the table shows each source as it stands.

The 2014 specification also sets out how the herbs are handled and what the finished blend has to meet:²

Commercial blends

Outside the label, there’s no fixed recipe. The Takeout’s Leah Kaplan gives the most common blend as rosemary, fennel seeds, thyme, marjoram and savory, along with basil, mint, oregano and tarragon. Some blends add bay leaves, chervil or culinary lavender. She also writes that Julia Child’s version called for only thyme or savory, basil and ground fennel seed.⁴

Origin and history

The Takeout credits Julia Child with bringing the blend into American kitchens by the 1960s, and says the French brand Ducros was selling a packaged herbes de Provence by the 1970s.⁴ We couldn’t find an older documentary source for the name.

The herbs in most jars aren’t from Provence. Label Rouge producers told Réussir in 2008 that herbs sold as “de Provence” generally don’t come from the region, and estimated that genuine Provençal herbs held about 5% of the French market.¹ We didn’t find a statistical source for which countries supply the rest. The widely repeated lists naming North Africa, China and eastern Europe couldn’t be traced.

On lavender, Kaplan writes that it was added to the blend to appeal to tourists.⁴ That’s her account, not documented history. What is on record is that the Label Rouge recipe leaves lavender out.

Flavor and the compounds behind it

The blend smells resinous and savory, with a peppery, thyme-like warmth. That smell comes from the essential oils of the individual herbs, which have been measured separately:

We didn’t open a source for savory or lavender chemistry, and we didn’t find a study of the blend’s aroma as a whole. Since the Label Rouge recipe sets minimum oil contents for each herb, it’s the one version of the blend where aroma strength is specified.²

How it is used

The Takeout recommends it for grilling fish, marinating meat and roasting vegetables, and in stews and ratatouille, which is usually cooked in olive oil with a generous amount of the blend. A pinch also goes into vinaigrettes and marinades. Kaplan suggests leaning on fennel for bouillabaisse and on thyme for roast chicken.⁴ Dried woody herbs like these usually go in early, so they have time to soften and give up their flavor.

For more ideas, see herbes de Provence uses and cooking with herbes de Provence.

Making your own

The Takeout suggests grinding the rosemary and fennel first, then mixing in the other dried herbs, and says the proportions don’t need to be exact.⁴ The Label Rouge table above gives you one documented set of proportions to start from.

Buying and quality

In France, the red Label Rouge mark identifies the certified blend, made to the recipe and quality limits above. Elsewhere, read the ingredient list. It tells you whether the jar includes lavender, which changes the flavor noticeably, and whether it leans on thyme and savory or on marjoram and basil. A good blend is green, not gray-brown, and smells strongly when you rub it. The Label Rouge specification requires a clean, uniform green and limits stems to 2.2%.²

Storage

The Takeout says the blend can last up to a year in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, and that you should replace it when its color or smell fades.⁴ Ducros gives its Label Rouge blend a best-before period of 24 months, stored in a dry, cool place away from light.³ Those are a writer’s guidance and a manufacturer’s date for its own product, not measured shelf lives.

Safety

At food amounts, we didn’t find any specific regulatory concern about the herbs in the blend. On lavender, NCCIH says it’s likely safe in food amounts.⁹ Basil contains estragole, which the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food found to be genotoxic and carcinogenic in studies mainly of mice given it orally.⁸ Where basil shows up in the blend at all, it’s a small part: 3% in the original Label Rouge recipe, and absent from the 2025 Ducros sheet.¹³

Health claims

Lavender often gets credit for calming effects. NCCIH says it’s unclear whether lavender aromatherapy helps with sleep or stress, and that the evidence that an oral lavender oil product might help anxiety is limited by small studies.⁹ None of that research is about lavender eaten in an herb blend. We’re not making any health claim for herbes de Provence, and we couldn’t trace claims that the blend boosts immunity or strengthens bones to any source.

Substitutes and comparisons

The closest everyday stand-in is Italian seasoning. The USDA’s purchase specification describes Italian seasoning as a blend of thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano and basil,¹⁰ which overlaps heavily with herbes de Provence but adds sage and has no savory.

Ratio (Attributed): The Takeout says you can typically swap the two one for one in everyday cooking, while noting they aren’t a direct match.⁴

See herbes de Provence vs. Italian seasoning, herbes de Provence substitutes and Italian seasoning.

Other French blends: fines herbes, which The Takeout describes as lighter and better as a finishing herb,⁴ and bouquet garni.

The herbs themselves: thyme, rosemary, summer savory, winter savory, oregano, marjoram, basil, lavender, tarragon, fennel seed and bay leaves. See also rosemary vs. lavender and summer savory vs. winter savory.