Best Za'atar Substitutes (and How to Make Your Own)

Za’atar is both a spice blend and the Arabic name for a group of wild herbs, which Katzer says include oregano, marjoram, thyme and savory.¹ If you’re out of the blend, the best substitute is a batch you mix yourself, and you may already have most of it. At its simplest it’s sumac, thyme, oregano and sesame seeds,² covering three jobs at once: herbal, sour and nutty. Recipes agree on what goes in but not on how much sumac, so start in the middle and taste.

Quick answer

What za’atar is doing	Best substitute	Starting amount, per 1 part za’atar	Treatment
All three jobs (bread with olive oil, eggs, hummus)	Homemade za’atar	1 part	Attributed
Mostly herbal (in dough, on roast vegetables or chicken)	Dried thyme with oregano or marjoram, plus lemon zest	1 part, then taste	Method
A crunchy, nutty topping for bread and oil	Dukkah	1 part, check the salt first	Method
You have za’atar’s herbs but no sumac	Finely grated lemon zest in place of the sumac	1 part zest per part sumac	Attributed

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.

Best option: make your own

If you keep a spice rack, you likely have the herbs. Sumac is the part you’re most likely missing. See below for what to do then.

Ratio (Attributed): The Spice House says to use a homemade substitute 1:1 anywhere za’atar is called for.³

Named recipes agree on the ingredients but not on the proportions, especially the sumac:

	America’s Test Kitchen (Bryan Roof)⁴	The Spice House³	Laura Crowley, UC Master Food Preservers²	Susan Belsinger, Fine Gardening⁵
Herbs	2 Tbsp dried thyme, 1 Tbsp dried oregano	1 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried marjoram	1 Tbsp dried thyme; 1 Tbsp dried oregano, marjoram or a mix	2 Tbsp dried thyme; 2 Tbsp dried marjoram and/or oregano
Sumac	1 1/2 Tbsp	1/4 tsp	2 Tbsp	About 1 Tbsp
Sesame	1 Tbsp, toasted	1/2 tsp, toasted	1 Tbsp, toasted	1/4 cup, toasted
Other	1/4 tsp salt	Pinch of ground cumin and coriander	Salt optional	2 to 3 tsp salt

ATK’s version has three times as much sumac per teaspoon of thyme as the Spice House’s. The Spice House says to adjust the sumac for more tang,³ and that’s the practical answer: start in the middle and taste. ATK grinds the thyme and oregano to a fine powder before stirring in the sumac, sesame and salt, and says its blend keeps at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a year.⁴

Why these herbs stand in for the wild ones

The herb called za’atar isn’t always available outside the eastern Mediterranean. Susan Belsinger suggests equal parts thyme and marjoram, oregano or both in its place.⁵ Thyme and oregano share the same main flavor compounds,⁶⁷ and marjoram is milder.

If you don’t have sumac

Sumac brings the sourness. Katzer describes it as tart and sour with slightly astringent overtones, from acids that include citric acid.⁸ For a dry blend, the Spice House suggests finely grated lemon zest or a small pinch of citric acid in its place, and a squeeze of lemon juice for wet uses like dips.³

Ratio (Attributed): For lemon zest in place of sumac, the Spice House says you can start 1:1.⁹ Za’atar made this way tastes of lemon, not sumac, and loses sumac’s red color.

If you don’t have sesame seeds

Sesame gives the nutty note. Some of its aroma compounds form only during toasting.¹⁰ Leave the sesame out if you have to. The blend will still taste herbal and sour. If you’re avoiding sesame, know that store-bought za’atar usually contains it, and the FDA reports that some manufacturers have added sesame to products that didn’t contain it before.¹¹ Read the label every time.

If za’atar is mostly an herbal seasoning

In a bread dough or on roast vegetables, the herbs carry most of the flavor.

Dried thyme with oregano or marjoram, plus lemon zest

Ratio (Method): Mix two parts thyme to one part oregano or marjoram, following the proportions in the ATK and Spice House recipes above, add a little lemon zest, and use the same amount as the za’atar called for. Taste for salt, since most za’atar has some.

Italian seasoning

Italian seasoning shares some of za’atar’s herbs. McCormick’s version lists marjoram, basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, savory and sage.¹² It has no sumac and no sesame, and the rosemary and sage pull it away from za’atar’s flavor.

Ratio (Method): Start with about half the za’atar amount, add lemon zest and toasted sesame if you have them, then taste.

If za’atar is a topping for bread and olive oil

Dukkah

Dukkah is another Near Eastern seasoning eaten with bread dipped in olive oil. It typically includes sesame and coriander seeds, cumin, salt and pepper, and maybe hazelnut. It handles za’atar’s nutty, crunchy job well, but the herbal and sour notes are missing or weak. A 19th-century list quoted in the Oxford Companion to Food includes za’atar or wild marjoram or mint, so some versions do carry an herb.¹³

Ratio (Method): Start with the same amount, check the salt, and add a pinch of dried thyme and lemon zest if you have them.

Swaps that don’t do the job

Harissa. Harissa is built on chiles. UNESCO describes the traditional Tunisian paste as sun-dried chiles crushed with salt, garlic and coriander.¹⁴ It brings heat and none of za’atar’s herbs, sumac or sesame. Skip it as a za’atar substitute.

What isn’t known

Store-bought blends vary as much as the recipes above, and no source measures the sumac, salt or sesame share of a typical jar.

Za’atar, za’atar uses and cooking with za’atar
Sumac and sumac substitutes
Thyme, oregano, marjoram and oregano vs thyme
Sesame seeds and sesame seed substitutes
Dukkah, Italian seasoning and harissa powder

Oregano, Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages. gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com · Reference work ↩
Crowley, Za’atar Spice Blend, UC Cooperative Extension Master Food Preservers of El Dorado County. ccfruitandnuts.ucanr.edu · Reference work ↩ ↩²
Za’atar Substitute, The Spice House, 2020. thespicehouse.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Roof, Za’atar, America’s Test Kitchen, 2017. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩ ↩²
Belsinger, Za’atar: An Exotic Herb Blend, Fine Gardening, 2010. finegardening.com · Publication ↩ ↩²
Thymus vulgaris, PROSEA. uses.plantnet-project.org · Reference work ↩
Lombrea et al., International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2020. mdpi.com · Peer-reviewed ↩
Sumac, Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages. gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com · Reference work ↩
Sumac Substitute, The Spice House, 2018. thespicehouse.com · Merchant ↩
Sesame, Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages. gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com · Reference work ↩
Califf, An Update on Sesame Allergen Labeling on Food Packages, FDA, 2023. fda.gov · Regulator ↩
McCormick Italian Seasoning ingredients, via Giant Food Stores. giantfoodstores.com · Merchant ↩
Duqqa, The Oxford Companion to Food. app.ckbk.com · Reference work ↩
Harissa (Tunisia), UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, 2022. ich.unesco.org · Reference work ↩

Za’atar Substitutes: Make Your Own, or Match the Job It’s Doing