Lemon Thyme Substitutes, Ranked by the Job Lemon Thyme Is Doing

Out of lemon thyme? Common thyme plus a little grated lemon zest is the easiest fix. Penn State Extension describes lemon thyme as having “a distinct thyme flavor with just overtones of lemon,”¹ and that two-part flavor is the key to replacing it. Either rebuild both parts, or pick the part your dish actually needs. When lemon is the point, as in sweets and drinks, lemon balm or lemon verbena does the job with no thyme at all.

Quick answer

How the ratios on this page are labeled

• Computed: based on a measurable physical relationship.
• Attributed: a named source publishes this ratio. We quote it as theirs.
• Disputed: named sources give different answers to the same swap. You get each one, side by side.
• Method: our starting point, based on how the two compare. Taste and adjust.

The fresh-to-dried figures are general herb conversions from extension services. Everything else is a starting point.

If lemon thyme is seasoning a savory dish

Penn State suggests lemon thyme in a marinade for chicken and in a butter for grilled fish,¹ and NC State Extension notes that the leaves and flowers can be eaten raw in salads or cooked.² This is where lemon thyme gets used most, and where a homemade version works best.

1. Common thyme plus lemon zest

Lemon thyme shares a parent with common thyme, and UF/IFAS Extension describes its flavor as the usual thyme flavor with a citrus overtone.³ Rebuilding that from common thyme and lemon is the obvious route. World Spice Merchants, which sells dried lemon thyme, pitches its product as a stand-in for recipes that call for both thyme and lemon zest.⁴ You’re just running that logic in reverse.

The thyme half won’t be an exact match. Tasting Table’s Emery Pearson notes that lemon thyme is less bitter than common thyme,⁵ so use a little less common thyme than the lemon thyme called for.

Ratio (Method): For each teaspoon of fresh lemon thyme leaves, start with 3/4 teaspoon of fresh common thyme leaves and 1/4 teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest, then taste. For scale, NDSU Extension counts 1 to 2 teaspoons of rind from one medium lemon.⁶ If the dish cooks for a long time, add the zest near the end. None of the sources we found measures how zest holds up to heat.

With dried thyme (Computed): NDSU and Penn State Extension both convert 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried,⁶⁷ and America’s Test Kitchen found that 1 part dried herb to 3 parts fresh came closest to equal flavor. ATK also found that dried thyme held up reasonably well in dishes cooked for more than 20 minutes with a good amount of liquid.⁸ So the 3/4 teaspoon of fresh thyme above becomes 1/4 teaspoon of dried. Keep the zest the same.

With ground thyme (Disputed):

The two disagree by a factor of two, and neither says how it got its figure. Start with Penn State’s lower figure, a pinch for each teaspoon of fresh lemon thyme, and add more after tasting.

2. Lemongrass, in Southeast Asian-style dishes

Lemongrass gives you lemon without thyme. Its oil is led by citral,⁹ and its flavor is rich lemon without the acidity. The stalks are fibrous, so they usually get steeped and removed, while the tender center can be chopped finely. It suits a marinade or a broth, not a classic roast chicken with thyme.

Ratio (Method): Start with about 1 teaspoon of finely chopped tender lemongrass for each teaspoon of lemon thyme leaves, and add a pinch of common thyme if the dish needs the herbal note.

If lemon is the main point

In sweets, drinks and delicate sauces, lemon thyme’s lemon side matters more than its thyme. UF/IFAS even suggests lemon thyme for any recipe that calls for lemon juice, lemon zest or lemon flavoring.³ Penn State’s lemon thyme recipes include a cobbler.¹

1. Lemon balm

Lemon balm is another mint-family herb with lemon-scented leaves. Its oil is mainly citral, neral and citronellal.¹⁰ It has no thyme flavor at all, so it fits desserts, fruit and drinks better than a roast.

Ratio (Method): Start with the same amount as the lemon thyme called for, then taste.

2. Lemon verbena

Lemon verbena’s oil is led by the two forms of citral, geranial and neral.¹¹ Penn State says its leaves have “the brightest and most intense lemon scent and flavor” of the lemon herbs.¹ The leaves are tough, so chop them very fine or steep them and take them out.

Ratio (Method): Start with half as much lemon verbena as lemon thyme, then taste.

3. Lemon basil

In one Purdue comparison of commercial cultivars, citral was the predominant compound in all the lemon-scented basils.¹² Basil is a delicate herb that LSU AgCenter says to add near the end of cooking,¹³ so use lemon basil raw or at the last minute.

Ratio (Method): Start with the same amount, torn or chopped, and taste.

If you have dried lemon thyme instead of fresh

Fresh to dried (Computed): Use the general herb conversion of 1 tablespoon fresh to 1 teaspoon dried.⁶⁷ Penn State notes that lemon thyme dries easily and “retains its flavor quite well.”¹

What isn’t known

• The two studies of lemon thyme oil we could open found very different main compounds,¹⁴¹⁵ so lemon thyme from one place may taste different from another.
• You’ll sometimes read that lemon thyme and lemon verbena both hold their flavor through long cooking. We couldn’t find a source for either.

Related

• Lemon thyme, thyme vs. lemon thyme and lemon thyme uses
• Thyme, fresh thyme vs. dried, thyme substitutes and too much thyme
• Lemon balm, lemon verbena, lemongrass and lemon basil
• Lemon balm substitutes, lemon verbena substitutes and lemongrass substitutes
• Dried vs. fresh herbs

Footnotes

1. Smith and Marquesen, “Lemon-Scented Herbs in the Garden and the Kitchen”, Penn State Extension, 2025. extension.psu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

2. Thymus citriodorus (Lemon Thyme), North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, NC State University. plants.ces.ncsu.edu · Reference work ↩

3. Busbee, Andrews and Criss, “Lemon Thyme”, UF/IFAS Extension, 2024. sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩²

4. “Lemon Thyme”, World Spice Merchants. worldspice.com · Merchant ↩

5. Emery Pearson, “What To Know When Cooking With Lemon Thyme”, Tasting Table, 2024. tastingtable.com · Publication ↩

6. Julie Garden-Robinson, “Ingredient Substitutions” (FN198), NDSU Extension, 2018. ksre.ksu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

7. “Preserving Herbs by Drying”, Penn State Extension. extension.psu.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³

8. “Science: Substituting Dried Herbs for Fresh”, America’s Test Kitchen. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩

9. L.P.A. Oyen, Cymbopogon citratus, Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). uses.plantnet-project.org · Reference work ↩

10. Assessment report on Melissa officinalis L., folium, European Medicines Agency. ema.europa.eu · Regulator ↩

11. Sprea et al., “Volatile Compounds and Biological Activity of the Essential Oil of Aloysia citrodora Paláu”, Molecules, 2023. mdpi.com · Peer-reviewed ↩

12. “Comparative evaluation of North American commercially available Ocimum basil cultivars”, Perspectives on New Crops and New Uses, Purdue University, 1999. hort.purdue.edu · Peer-reviewed ↩

13. “Flavorful Herbs”, LSU AgCenter. lsuagcenter.com · Reference work ↩

14. Jurevičiūtė et al., “Composition of essential oil of lemon thyme (Thymus × citriodorus) at different hydrodistillation times”, Natural Product Research, 2019. iris.unipa.it · Peer-reviewed ↩

15. Toncer et al., “Essential Oil Composition of Thymus x citriodorus (Pers.) Schreb. at Different Harvest Stages”, Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, 2017. acikerisim.dicle.edu.tr · Peer-reviewed ↩

Also drawn on

• Thymus × citriodorus (Pers.) Schreb., Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. powo.science.kew.org
• Lemongrass, by Tony Hill, Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com
• Lemon balm (Melissa Petruzzello), Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com