7 Herbs to Put in Pasta Sauces

Pasta is a versatile dish that can be cooked in multiple ways. Different recipes call for different ingredients including a wide range of herbs and seasonings.

The kind of sauce (Alfredo, Pesto, Carbonara, Bolognese, Arrabiata) you make for your pasta depends on your flavour preferences.

Whichever sauce you decide to make for your pasta, herbs are indispensable to the recipe.

Now the question is, which herbs to put in pasta sauces (for vegetarian and non-vegetarian pasta)?  

Given below are the names of the most commonly used herbs for pasta dishes—      

1. Basil.

Basil is often called the king of herbs. Why? Because basil is a popular herb in various communities and cultures around the world.

Another reason is that along with being an important ingredient in countless recipes (not just pasta), Basil has medicinal as well as aromatic uses.

Basil is the main ingredient in pesto pasta— a mouth-watering pasta dish that makes your tastebuds happy.

Other than pesto, basil is mainly used in pastas and pasta sauces that have tomatoes as the main ingredient.

Basil enhances the natural flavour of tomatoes with its refreshing and somewhat peppery aroma.

Basil is an important part of Italian cuisine.

You can use basil as a dried herb for tomato pasta sauce or add a few fresh leaves towards the end of the cooking process.

Remember that dried basil can be added earlier in the cooking process in order to develop flavour slowly.

In addition to tomatoes, basil works well in pasta dishes containing extra virgin olive oil, garlic  and/or parmesan cheese.

What’s more?

Basil can easily be grown at home in your herb garden. So, you will have a steady supply of fresh basil for your culinary adventures.

2. Oregano.

Oregano provides an earthy and robust flavour to a dish. It is also slightly bitter in taste and hence, perfect to be added to tomato-based pasta sauces.  

Additionally, oregano goes well with sauces that have olive oil, garlic and/or red wine as ingredients.

It is important that you use oregano in moderation. If you put too much oregano in a pasta sauce, it can reduce the influence of other flavours in the dish.

This way, a disharmony in different ingredients and flavours might arise, and completely ruin the dish you are making.

It has already been mentioned that oregano can taste a bit bitter. It happens when oregano is cooked for too long.

So if you don’t want the pasta sauce to taste bitter, you need to add the oregano at the end of the cooking process; either after the heat is turned off or in the last 10-15 minutes of simmering.        

3. Thyme.

Thyme is a flavoursome herb that brings a minty, woodsy and slightly sweet taste to pasta sauces.

Thyme is one of those dried herbs for pasta sauces that enriches the taste of a variety of pastas; be it creamy, tomato-based or garlic-butter sauces.

Though a lot of people use dried thyme to flavour their pasta sauces, you can use fresh thyme leaves to make your pasta sauce extra-delicious.

The best time to add thyme to your dish is while the pasta sauce is simmering. Doing this would allow its flavours to infuse into the sauce.

Thyme can be used together with other herbs such as basil, parsley, oregano and red pepper flakes; without the aroma of each of these herbs clashing with the others’.

Thyme can also be used as a seasoning and garnishing, not just as an ingredient.

4. Rosemary.

Rosemary is an excellent choice when it comes to fresh herbs for pasta sauce. However, some people do use dried rosemary leaves as well.  

You can use rosemary while making pasta sauces with ingredients like mushrooms, tomato, garlic, lemon, butter and cream.

Remember that rosemary has a strong taste. So, leaves from 1-2 sprigs are enough for a full pot of sauce.

Also, always remove the leaves from the woody sprigs before adding them to the pasta sauce.

The best way to incorporate rosemary into a pasta sauce is by cooking the rosemary leaves in butter or oil for 1-2 minutes.

Then, you can add the tomatoes or other ingredients to the pot. This way, the rosemary leaves would release its fragrance smoothly, seeping into the contents of the pot.

5. Parsley.

In a lot of Italian herb pasta recipes, parsley exudes ‘main character energy’. Parsley shows up at the last minute and makes the pasta sauce incredibly yummy.

In other words, you need to add fresh parsley to the pot at the final 60 seconds of cooking or right after removing the pot full of pasta sauce from the stove.

This way, the leaves won’t lose its subtle flavour and would be able to work its magic on the dish.

Parsley goes well with pasta sauce recipes that contain components such as parmesan cheese, garlic, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, tomatoes and walnuts.

Cooks who use parsley in their pasta sauces on a regular basis prefer to use flat-leaf parsley (Italian parsley) for cooking as its flavour is more luscious and palpable than curly parsley.

6. Tarragon.

A versatile herb with a heavenly aroma— tarragon is used in all sorts of pasta sauces.

It does not matter if the recipe calls for mushrooms, seafood, chicken, cream, lemon, wine or mustard; tarragon pairs well with anything and everything.

This is perhaps the reason why tarragon is one of the major white sauce pasta recipe ingredients in many cuisines around the world.

Cooks usually use fresh tarragon for pasta sauces. However, dried tarragon can also be used if fresh ones are not available.

Just remember that dried tarragon has a much stronger smell and needs to be used sparingly.        

7. Sage.

Sage is a classic pasta sauce herb that can be found in most Italian kitchens. In fact, it is an essential part of Northern Italian cuisine.

It is advisable to use fresh sage leaves for cooking instead of dried ones.

The best way to use sage in a pasta recipe is to sauté it. This process allows the fresh sage leaves to release their flavour slowly and blend nicely with the other ingredients.

Sage is used in pasta sauce recipes that consist of butter, cream, garlic, almond, tomato, pumpkin olive oil and/or chicken broth.    

Pasta Sauce Herbs FAQs

What herbs go well with pasta sauce?

Depending on the type of pasta you are making and the other ingredients being used, there are a number of herbs that go well with pasta sauce.

Those herbs include oregano, basil, parsley, thyme, tarragon and chives.

What herbs do Italians put in pasta?

Italians use a wide range of herbs such as basil, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, sage, parsley, rosemary and marjoram.

Which herb is the king of all herbs?

Basil is known as the king of all herbs. It has an intoxicating scent that enhances the flavour of pasta sauces instantly.

What are the best seasonings for pasta?

Cloves, sumac, black pepper, oregano and crushed chilies are some of the best seasonings for pasta.

What herb is similar to oregano?

There are various substitute herbs you can use depending on the recipe you are using for making the pasta sauce.

Marjoram is deemed to be the best substitute for Mexican oregano. In place of Mediterranean or Greek oregano, you can use parsley, basil or tarragon.    

Which basil is best for pasta?

Sweet basil is thought to be the best type of basil for pasta.  

In many Italian soups and sauces, Genovese basil (a sub-species of sweet basil) is the main ingredient.

Genovese basil is comparatively somewhat easy to grow in a kitchen garden. Hence, you can grow it and have access to plenty of leaves for cooking.

What is the queen of all herbs?

Basil is the queen of all herbs. It is recognised by its refreshing fragrance and beautiful leaves.

It is known as the queen of all herbs due to its healing properties.

Basil is so delicious that it is included in a number of white sauce pasta recipes with cream. Basil instantly increases the savouriness of a pasta dish.