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

Out of lemon verbena? Lemon balm is the go-to swap for tea and infusions, lemon zest for desserts, and lemongrass for savory cooking. Several of these plants get their lemon scent from citral, which also leads lemon verbena’s oil,¹ and that’s why they make the best substitutes. Keep in mind how strong the original is: Penn State Extension says lemon verbena leaves “have the brightest and most intense lemon scent and flavor” of the lemon herbs.²

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.

If lemon verbena is infused in tea, syrup or cream

Fresh or dried lemon verbena leaves often go into refreshing drinks and flavor liqueurs, puddings and jams. Penn State suggests steeping the leaves for sorbet, ice cream or whipped cream.² Here the leaf gets steeped and strained out, so texture doesn’t matter. Only scent does.

1. Lemon balm

Lemon balm isn’t a relative of lemon verbena. Its leaf oil is mainly citral, neral and citronellal,³ which puts it in the same family of scents. It’s the gentler herb. Penn State ranks lemon verbena as the most intense, and lemon balm has a soft, faintly minty background. Its uses include herbal teas, fruit drinks and liqueurs.

Ratio (Attributed): The Herb Society of America’s Sunshine Tea blend calls for “2 tablespoons lemon verbena (or substitute lemon balm),” alongside chamomile, green tea and lavender.⁴ That’s an equal-volume swap inside a mixed blend. If lemon balm will be the only flavor in a tea or syrup, start with the same volume and add more after tasting, since it’s milder.

2. Lemon myrtle

Lemon myrtle is the leaf of an Australian tree whose distilled oil is mostly citral.⁵ Gernot Katzer groups it with lemon verbena, lemon balm and lemongrass as the herbs with the purest lemon scent.⁶ It’s great in teas, syrups and baking, but it’s strong.

Ratio (Method): With dried lemon myrtle leaf, start with a quarter of the lemon verbena amount, then taste.

3. Lemongrass

Lemongrass oil is also led by citral, a mix of geranial and neral. PROSEA describes its smell as fresh-grassy, lemon-like and tea-like,⁷ so expect a greener, grassier result than lemon verbena gives. For an infusion, slice and bruise a fresh stalk. Dried lemongrass only works where there’s liquid. America’s Test Kitchen found it fine in a curry paste and a soup, but in a stir-fry it “retained the texture of hay.”⁸

Ratio (Method): Start with about the same volume of thinly sliced fresh stalk as lemon verbena leaves, steep, and taste.

If lemon verbena is a fresh lemon note in desserts or raw dishes

When chopped lemon verbena goes straight into a fruit salad, a cake batter or a dressing, you need something you can eat as is.

1. Lemon zest

Zest gives a clean lemon aroma you can eat without straining, but it has none of lemon verbena’s herbal, perfumed edge.

Ratio (Method): For each tablespoon of chopped fresh lemon verbena, start with about 3/4 teaspoon of finely grated zest, then taste. For scale, NDSU Extension counts 1 to 2 teaspoons of rind from one medium lemon.⁹

2. Lemon basil

In a 1999 Purdue comparison of commercial basil cultivars, citral was the predominant compound in all the lemon-scented basils.¹⁰ The Herb Society of America’s basil guide recommends ‘Mrs. Burns’ Lemon’ for vinaigrettes, drinks and desserts.¹¹ Lemon basil still tastes like basil, and like other basils it’s best added at the end of cooking, which LSU AgCenter advises for delicate herbs.¹²

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

If lemon verbena is seasoning a savory dish

1. Lemongrass

Lemongrass has a rich lemon flavor without the acidity. The stalks are fibrous, so they’re usually steeped and then removed, while the tender center can be chopped finely and eaten. It’s a natural fit for broths, marinades and fish cooked in parcels.

Ratio (Method): Start with 1 part sliced stalk per part lemon verbena, and take the pieces out before serving. With dried lemongrass, ATK uses half as much dried as fresh, and only in dishes with liquid.⁸

2. Lemon thyme

Penn State describes lemon thyme as “a distinct thyme flavor with just overtones of lemon.”² It works with chicken and fish, but its thyme character is a lot for a dessert or a tea.

Ratio (Method): Start with the same amount and taste.

Fresh or dried lemon verbena

Penn State notes that lemon verbena leaves dry easily and says their scent and flavor last two to three years.² That shelf-life figure is theirs, and we found no other source to check it against.

Fresh to dried (Computed): NDSU and Penn State Extension both give the general herb rule of 1 tablespoon fresh to 1 teaspoon dried.⁹¹³ We didn’t find anyone who measured it for lemon verbena. In America’s Test Kitchen’s tests of dried herbs, tasters preferred fresh in all but one use,¹⁴ so expect dried leaves to taste a little flatter.

What isn’t known

• Lemon verbena oil varies a lot by origin. In studies reviewed by Sprea and colleagues, some samples were dominated by geranial and neral and others had little or none of either,¹ so leaves from different sources may not taste the same.
• Lemon basil sometimes gets described as a pungent herb used mostly in North African cooking. We couldn’t find a source for the North African use, and PROSEA describes its parent, hoary basil, as mild and widely grown in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.¹⁵ Kew lists lemon basil as a hybrid of hoary basil and sweet basil.¹⁶

Related

• Lemon verbena, lemon balm vs. lemon verbena and lemon verbena vs. lemongrass
• Lemon balm, lemongrass, lemon myrtle, lemon basil and lemon thyme
• Lemon balm substitutes, lemongrass substitutes and lemon thyme substitutes
• Dried vs. fresh herbs and cooking with lemongrass