Lemon Thyme Uses: 8 Ways to Cook With It

Lemon thyme tastes distinctly of thyme with overtones of lemon, and UF/IFAS Extension says it fits any recipe calling for lemon juice, lemon zest or lemon flavoring.¹ Use it anywhere thyme and lemon would both be welcome: a chicken marinade, a butter for grilled fish, summer vegetables, salads, even a berry cobbler. One thing to skip: the popular trick of steeping sprigs in oil in a sunny spot isn’t safe. For the plant itself, see the lemon thyme profile.

Lemon thyme uses at a glance

Use	What the source says	Source
Chicken	Add it to a marinade; use it in place of dried thyme in roast lemon chicken	Penn State, Tasting Table²³
Grilled fish	Lemon thyme butter on top	Penn State²
Grilled summer vegetables	Green beans, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini	Penn State²
Roast potatoes and meats	Named by Tasting Table	Tasting Table³
Salads and vinaigrettes	Leaves and flowers eaten raw	NC State, Tasting Table⁴³
Bouquet garni	A fragrant addition	Tasting Table³
Baking	Berry cobbler; lemon thyme bars	Penn State, Tasting Table²³
Drinks	Herbal tea, lemonade, gin and tonic	Tasting Table³

Chicken

Penn State Extension’s first suggestion is lemon thyme in a marinade for chicken.² Tasting Table’s Emery Pearson suggests swapping fresh lemon thyme in for dried thyme in a roast lemon chicken. You can put the leaves in a rub, or tuck whole sprigs in the cavity or under the skin before roasting. Pearson’s handling advice applies here: strip the leaves from the stems before cooking, or cook whole sprigs and toss them afterward.³

Fish

Penn State suggests a lemon thyme butter on grilled fish.² Soften butter, beat in chopped leaves and a pinch of salt, chill it, and slice a round onto the hot fish. Sprigs in the poaching liquid for white fish, or tucked inside a whole fish before baking, work too. Lemon thyme has no acidity of its own, so if you want sourness, a squeeze of lemon still belongs on the plate.

Vegetables and potatoes

Lemon thyme goes well with summer grilled vegetables like green beans, tomatoes, eggplant and zucchini, and with roasted vegetables and roasted potatoes. Roast carrots and beets with a few sprigs are a natural next step.

Salads and dressings

The leaves and flowers can be eaten raw in salads. Pearson recommends an everyday salad with an herby vinaigrette and lists dressings and marinades among its best uses.³ The small leaves don’t need chopping.

Compound butter

Tasting Table and Penn State both point to butter. Beyond fish, a lemon thyme butter is good on corn, steamed green vegetables and warm bread.

Bouquet garni

The classic bouquet garni is sprigs of parsley and thyme with a bay leaf, tied in a bundle that comes out before serving. Tasting Table calls lemon thyme a fragrant addition to one.³ Swapping it in for common thyme makes sense in chicken stews, fish soups and white bean dishes where a lemon note fits. In a red-wine braise, it’s less at home. For other thyme uses, see cooking with thyme.

Baking and desserts

Lemon thyme and berry cobbler (Attributed). Penn State’s recipe whisks 1 tablespoon of minced fresh lemon thyme leaves into the sugar and cornstarch that coat 3 pints of blackberries, blueberries or a mix.² Pearson also suggests lemon thyme in place of common thyme in lemon thyme bars.³ It’s worth trying in shortbread, scones, herb breads and fruit salads too.

Drinks

Tasting Table lists herbal teas, cocktails, an herbal lemonade and a gin and tonic.³ Bruise a sprig to release its scent before adding it, same as any herb.

Infused oil: keep it cold

A method you’ll see everywhere says to cover lemon thyme sprigs with oil and leave the jar in a sunny spot to infuse. That’s unsafe. Oregon State University Extension warns that herbs are low-acid foods that can carry Clostridium botulinum, and that homemade mixtures of fresh herbs in oil must be refrigerated and used within 4 days, or frozen.⁵ That guidance covers herbs in general, not lemon thyme by name. Make small batches, keep them in the fridge, and use them for dressings and marinades within that window.

Infused vinegar

Herb vinegar is the shelf-friendly way to keep lemon thyme’s flavor in a liquid. The extension guides we read describe the method for herbs in general:

Step	University of Maine Extension	Oregon State Extension
Herb per pint of vinegar	Two to three sprigs⁶	About 3 to 4 sprigs of fresh herbs⁷
Which vinegar	White or wine vinegar in its herb pairings⁶	Distilled white is a good choice for delicate herbs⁷
Steeping	Room temperature, 3 to 4 weeks⁶	A cool, dark place, 3 to 4 weeks⁷
Keeping	Refrigerate and use within 3 months⁶	Cool, dark place; best within 4 to 6 months; refrigeration best for flavor⁷

The two guides disagree on how long it keeps and whether it needs refrigerating, so we show both. Oregon State says to throw out vinegar that shows mold, bubbling, cloudiness or sliminess without tasting it.⁷ You’ll also see instructions to steep herb vinegar for only a few days, which is much shorter than either guide’s 3 to 4 weeks.

Fresh or dried

UF/IFAS says lemon thyme can be used fresh or dried.¹ Penn State notes that it dries easily on a screen or in a mesh colander and keeps its flavor well.² Tasting Table says it’s best fresh.³ For drying and keeping, see how to store thyme and can you freeze thyme.

Busbee, Andrews and Criss, “Lemon Thyme”, UF/IFAS Extension, 2024. sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩²
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 ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸
Emery Pearson, “What To Know When Cooking With Lemon Thyme”, Tasting Table, 2024. tastingtable.com · Publication ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²
Thymus citriodorus (Lemon Thyme), North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, NC State University. plants.ces.ncsu.edu · Reference work ↩
Raab and Woodburn, “Herbs and vegetables in oil” (SP 50-701), Oregon State University Extension Service, 2025. extension.oregonstate.edu · Reference work ↩
Kathleen Savoie, “Let’s Preserve: Herbal Vinegar” (Bulletin #4049), University of Maine Cooperative Extension. extension.umaine.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Nellie Oehler, “Flavored Vinegars” (SP 50-736), Oregon State University Extension Service, 2025. extension.oregonstate.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

Also drawn on

Bouquet garni, Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com

Lemon Thyme Uses: Chicken, Fish, Vegetables, Butter, Baking and Drinks