Blog

By Laura Slatalla, Recent ASU Nutrition Student

Experimenting with new combinations and flavors is one of the joys of cooking, but a little direction for herb and spice pairings can ramp up your dishes! Encourage your family to try foods prepared and seasoned differently, especially if they are foods that aren’t well liked in your household. It may change their mind! Make use of all those spices in your cabinets and pick up some fresh herbs from the store. Meals will have more layers of complexity and be tastier, without adding more salt, butter, or oil.

Make use of all those spices in your cabinets and pick up some fresh herbs from the store. Meals will have more layers of complexity and be tastier, too!

Garlic, lemon juice, and oil or butter are easy and tasty, but they get mundane. Here are some herb and spice pairings you can use to make your dishes pop:

Asparagus paired with tarragon or basil

Broccoli paired with oregano, basil, curry, or thyme

Carrots paired with ginger, parsley, coriander, cumin, or sage

Eggplant paired with basil, oregano, curry, rosemary, or parsley

Green Beans paired with dill, rosemary, chives, or basil

Peas paired with dill, thyme, or parsley

Potatoes paired with rosemary, sage, mint, paprika, or thyme

Spinach paired with basil, dill, chives, or nutmeg

Summer Squash paired with basil, chives, coriander, oregano, or parsley

Sweet Potatoes paired with chili, ginger, sage, or thyme

Winter Squash (acorn/pumpkin) paired with celery leaves, parsley, sage, thyme, curry, ginger, or rosemary

Let’s not forget fruit! Adding mint to fruit salad is one of my favorite things to do in the summer, but here are some more specific pairings:

Berries paired with lavender

Strawberries paired with rosemary, or sage

Mangos paired chili, or peppercorn

Peaches paired rosemary

For all kinds of delicious recipes featuring a plethora of different spices, visit the Fill Your Plate recipe section! We have main dishes, side dishes, veggie dishes, desserts, and much more!