How to Dry Marjoram: 4 Methods, Times and Temperatures

Marjoram is ready to cut and you can’t use it all? Good news: it’s one of the easier herbs to dry, and one of the hardy herbs that hold up well dried.¹ Hang small bundles of 5–6 stems in a warm, dry, airy room out of direct sun and give them 2–4 weeks,² or use a dehydrator, which does it in hours and lets you control the temperature. Skip the quick, hot oven sessions you’ll see online; none of the extension guides recommends them.

At a glance

Method	Settings from named sources	Time	Notes
Air-drying	Bundles of 5–6 stems, hung at 70–80°F in a dry, ventilated spot out of direct sun²	Generally 2–4 weeks	Cheapest; needs dry air
Dehydrator	95–115°F, up to 125°F where humid³; Penn State says 95–110°F⁴	1–4 hours³	Most control
Oven	Lowest setting, not above 180°F, door open⁴	3–4 hours⁴	Or overnight with only the oven light on³
Microwave	On high, from 30 seconds to 3 minutes depending on the source (table below)	Minutes	Small batches only; paper towels can catch fire⁴
Sun	Not recommended		Costs color and flavor

Before you start

The extension guides agree on timing. Most herbs are best harvested for drying just before the flowers first open, picked early in the morning once the dew has dried. Oregon State adds that cut herbs shouldn’t lie in the sun or sit around after harvest.

Rinse the stems in cool water and shake off the excess, then pat off all the visible water with towels or paper towels. You’ll often read that rinsing rids herbs of pathogens. The extension guides call it cleaning and make no such claim.

Air-drying

Air-drying is the easiest and cheapest method, and marjoram is a good fit for it. Here’s the Wisconsin method: tie washed branches into small bundles of 5–6 stems and hang them upside down somewhere warm (70–80°F), dry and well ventilated, out of direct sun, until the moisture is gone. That’s generally 2–4 weeks.² Keep the bundles small. Bundles that are too big will mold, the University of Tennessee warns.⁵

Where you hang them matters. Keep drying herbs away from the sink, stove and dishwasher, where the air is moist. Oregon State suggests an attic, a kitchen or any warm spot with moving air, and NCHFP says drying indoors usually gives better color and flavor than drying outdoors.³

A paper bag is optional. Penn State recommends one punched with holes to keep dust off. If you use one, gather it around the stems and tie it, cut holes in the sides for air, and pick a bag big enough that the leaves don’t touch the sides. It catches falling leaves, too.

Dehydrator

A dehydrator gives you the most control, because you set the temperature. NCHFP says to preheat with the thermostat at 95–115°F, going as high as 125°F where it’s humid, and to expect 1–4 hours, checking now and then.³ Penn State’s range tops out lower, at 110°F.⁴ Spread the sprigs in a single layer and start checking at the one-hour mark.

Oven

An oven only works if it can run cool. Penn State’s method is the lowest temperature, not above 180°F, for 3 to 4 hours with the door open.⁴ The Wisconsin guide gives the same numbers, with the herbs in a single layer and stirred now and then. Drying herbs too hot can cost you flavor, Oregon State warns. You’ll see quick, hot oven sessions of an hour or so at 200°F all over the place. None of the extension guides we checked recommends one.

If your oven’s lowest setting is above 180°F, use the cool-oven method. Lay leaves on a paper towel so they don’t touch, cover with another towel and another layer of leaves, and repeat for up to five layers. Leave them overnight in an oven warmed only by the light of an electric oven or the pilot light of a gas one.³ In some ovens the light alone gives enough heat.

Microwave

The microwave is fast, and it’s for small amounts only. The guides don’t agree on timing:

Source	Amount	Time on high	Method
Penn State⁴	Per cup	2–3 minutes	Start with 1 minute, mix every 30 seconds, keep checking
University of Tennessee⁵	Per cup	2–3 minutes	Start with 1 minute, mix every 30 seconds
Oregon State⁶	1 cup (never more than 1–2 cups)	1–2 minutes	Stir every 30 seconds after the first minute until almost dry, then finish at room temperature
University of Wisconsin²	4 or 5 branches between paper towels	2–3 minutes	Another 30 seconds if not brittle
America’s Test Kitchen¹	Not stated, on a paper towel	30–40 seconds	Crumble and store

Start with a minute or less, then check every 30 seconds until the leaves crumble.

Two safety points apply whatever timing you use. If the load is too small, the paper towels can catch fire, Penn State warns.⁴ And Oregon State says not to use paper towels made from recycled paper, which can contain metal scraps that arc.⁶ The Wisconsin guidance calls the microwave a last resort that cooks the herbs and gives very poor quality. It notes that the heat drives off some of the oils along with the water, so microwaved herbs may taste less intense than herbs dried other ways.²

Where the guides disagree

Question	What named sources say
Dehydrator temperature	95–115°F, up to 125°F where humidity is high (NCHFP, Tennessee, Oregon State)³⁶⁵; 95–110°F (Penn State)⁴
Air-drying time	Generally 2–4 weeks for sturdy herbs hung in bundles (Wisconsin)²; usually 5–10 days for tender herbs hung in small bunches inside bags (Oregon State)⁶
Microwave time	From 30–40 seconds (America’s Test Kitchen) to 2–3 minutes per cup (Penn State, Tennessee); see the table above
Oven	Lowest setting up to 180°F with the door open for 3–4 hours (Penn State, Wisconsin)⁴²; or no heat but the oven light or pilot light, overnight (NCHFP, Tennessee)³⁵

We didn’t find a side-by-side test of these on the same herb, so we haven’t picked a winner. Where you get a range, start low and check often.

What drying does to marjoram

We found no study measuring how home drying changes marjoram’s oil or flavor, so no source says yet which method keeps the most of it for this herb. For studies on related herbs, see how to dry oregano and how to dry rosemary. For the bigger picture, see dried herbs vs. fresh.

How to tell it’s done

The herbs are dry when the leaves are crisp and crumble easily between your fingers and the stems break when you bend them. The leaves should also fall off the stems, Oregon State says. Strip the leaves and toss the stems.

Check again after you pack them. Wisconsin’s advice is to watch the filled containers for a couple of days. If you see any moisture, take the herbs out and dry them longer.²

Air-dried herbs can carry bugs. The University of Tennessee says air-dried herbs and seeds need treating to kill insects and their eggs, either by heating at 160°F for 30 minutes or by freezing at 0°F or lower for at least 48 hours. It recommends freezing for better flavor.⁵

Storing dried marjoram

Keep the leaves whole and crumble them as you cook. Penn State says storing herbs whole is preferred. Use airtight containers somewhere cool, dry and dark, away from the stove and sink. Dried herbs can also go into airtight containers in the freezer, Oregon State adds.

How long dried marjoram keeps depends on who you ask, and none of these numbers was measured on marjoram:

Source	Scope	Figure
Penn State⁴	Most home-dried herbs	Keep well for up to a year
Oregon State⁶	Home-dried herbs	Up to one year; for best flavor, use within six months to a year
University of Wisconsin²	Home-dried herbs	Keep for years, but use within a year for best flavor
America’s Test Kitchen¹	Herbs dried in the microwave by its method	Up to 3 months, airtight
McCormick⁷	Leafy dried herbs, a spice company’s own guidance	1–3 years

They don’t agree, so we’ve left them side by side. McCormick defines shelf life as how long spices stay most aromatic, and that’s the right way to read every number here: a quality window, not a safety date. The real test is your nose. Crush a pinch, and if the smell is faint, the marjoram has faded.

Herbs in oil are a separate food-safety question. A 2011 review of home-prepared vegetables and herbs stored in oil says to refrigerate them and use them within four days or throw them out, and calls freezing the safest option.⁸

Not yet measured

How each drying method changes marjoram’s aroma compounds.
How long home-dried marjoram keeps, measured on marjoram rather than herbs in general.
Microwave times by oven wattage for marjoram.

When You Should Actually Use Dried Herbs, America’s Test Kitchen. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩ ↩² ↩³
Drying Herbs, Wisconsin Master Gardener Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison. mastergardener.extension.wisc.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹
Herbs (drying), National Center for Home Food Preservation. nchfp.uga.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸
Let’s Preserve: Drying Herbs, Penn State Extension. extension.psu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹
Drying Herbs, University of Tennessee Extension. lawrence.tennessee.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
Drying herbs (SP 50-921), Oregon State University Extension Service. extension.oregonstate.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
How Long Do Spices Last?, McCormick. mccormick.com · Merchant ↩
Nummer et al., Food Protection Trends, 2011. foodprotection.org · Peer-reviewed ↩

Also drawn on

Preserving Herbs by Drying (Stacy Reed, updated 3 May 2024), Penn State Extension. extension.psu.edu

How to Dry Marjoram: Air, Dehydrator, Oven and Microwave