Culinary Lavender substitute

Best substitute

Rosemary, fresh or dried

Half to two thirds as much as the lavender called for

Best for lavender shortbread and butter cookies

Different taste

Rosemary is the closest thing most kitchens already have: use about half as much, because it shares lavender's piney, resinous edge without the perfume. For sweet things such as lavender lattes, honey and syrups, dried chamomile at roughly double the quantity or a quarter teaspoon of rosewater in place of a teaspoon of buds both land closer, since they cover the floral, honeyed side instead. Two warnings that matter more than the ratios. Most lavender on sale is not food grade, so craft, florist and potpourri lavender is out. And lavender essential oil is not a substitute for buds at any dilution, because it is enormously concentrated and not made for dosing food.

Other culinary lavender substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Dried chamomile flowers
Different taste
About 2 teaspoons chamomile for every 1 teaspoon lavender
The nearest match on the floral side.
What changes
Chamomile is honeyed, faintly apple-like and gently bitter, and it infuses into liquids the same way lavender does.
Best for
lavender lattes and steamers, simple syrups and cordials, infused honey and infused cream, panna cotta, custards and ice cream
Softer and rounder than lavender, with none of the pine or camphor, so a chamomile latte tastes soothing and honeyed where a lavender one tastes floral and slightly cool. Chamomile is far more forgiving: it does not tip into soapiness the way lavender does, so it is a good choice if you have overdone lavender before. It goes bitter if you steep it more than about ten minutes in hot liquid.
3Rosewater or dried rose petals
Different taste
A quarter teaspoon rosewater, or 1 tablespoon dried petals, for every 1 teaspoon lavender buds
Trades one perfume for another.
What changes
Rose is jammier, sweeter and rounder, and like lavender it is very easy to overdo.
Best for
shortbread, madeleines and macarons, syrups, lemonades and iced tea, whipped cream and buttercream, anything paired with berries or stone fruit
Rose reads as romantic and sweet where lavender reads as herbal and cool, and it pairs differently: rose loves raspberry, pistachio and cardamom, lavender loves lemon, blueberry and honey. Rosewater brands vary wildly in strength, so add half, taste, then add the rest. Like lavender, too much and you are eating soap.
4Thyme or lemon thyme
Different taste
Use the same amount
A quiet, reliable savoury swap that shares lavender's small woody leaf and Mediterranean character.
What changes
Best for
roast vegetables, chicken and lamb, savoury shortbread and crackers, herb blends and compound butters, goat cheese dishes
Herbaceous and slightly lemony rather than floral, so nothing tastes perfumed. Lemon thyme is the better of the two here because its citrus note occupies some of the same bright space lavender does. Safe in the sense that it is almost impossible to overdo, which is the opposite of lavender.
5Earl Grey tea
Different taste
1 teaspoon loose leaf or 1 teabag for every 1 teaspoon lavender buds
Not a herb, but bergamot oil does the same job of making a bake or a drink taste perfumed and slightly cool.
What changes
Best for
lavender lattes and London fogs, shortbread, loaf cakes and scones, infused cream, syrup and custard, poaching syrups for pears and peaches
Citrus perfume instead of floral perfume, plus tea tannin and a little caffeine, which slightly dries the mouth in a custard. Grind the leaf fine if it is staying in the batter, or infuse in warm cream and strain. This is the swap most likely to make someone say your version tastes better rather than different. Some Earl Grey blends already contain lavender, sold as cream Earl Grey, which is even closer.
6Leave it out and accept a plain version
Different taste
Omit
The honest answer when lavender is the named star of the recipe and you have no food-grade buds.
What changes
Best for
lavender shortbread, lavender honey, lavender lemonade, lavender ice cream
There is no substitute that tastes of lavender, because the flavour comes from linalool and camphor in a combination nothing else in the kitchen reproduces. Plain shortbread, plain lemonade and vanilla ice cream are all excellent. That is a better outcome than dosing your food with lavender essential oil or with garden lavender you cannot vouch for, and much better than using an unknown lavandin variety, which is high in camphor and tastes medicinal rather than floral.

What is Culinary Lavender?

Culinary Lavender is Culinary lavender is dried, unopened lavender flower buds sold food grade, almost always English lavender, and it is used in tiny amounts purely as a floral aromatic in baking, syrups, honey and drinks.

Cooking tips

Start with one level teaspoon of dried buds per batch, meaning per cup of flour, per cup of sugar or per cup of liquid, and taste before you commit to more. A tablespoon, which looks like a modest pinch in a mixing bowl, is enough to make an entire batch of shortbread taste like soap, and there is no way to pull it back out.
Infuse and strain rather than leaving buds loose in the food. Whole buds are gritty and unpleasantly bitter to bite into. Steep them in warm cream, milk, melted butter, honey or hot sugar syrup for ten to twenty minutes, then strain. If you do want them in a dough, grind them with some of the recipe's sugar in a spice grinder first so they disappear.
Lavender sugar is the easiest way to use it and to control the dose: one tablespoon of buds per cup of granulated sugar in a sealed jar for a week, then sift the buds out. Now you can use the sugar by the spoonful in cookies, whipped cream, lemonade or on top of a cake and dial the intensity up and down at will.
Buy Lavandula angustifolia, the species sold as English lavender, with named varieties such as Munstead or Royal Velvet. What you want to avoid is lavandin, sold under names like Grosso or Provence, which is bred for oil yield and is high in camphor, so it tastes sharp and medicinal in food even though it smells wonderful in a drawer. Florist bunches, wreath lavender and potpourri are frequently sprayed and are not food grade.
Never dose food with lavender essential oil in place of buds. It is a concentrate on a completely different scale from an infusion, it will not distribute evenly through a batter, and food-safe dilution is not something to guess at over a mixing bowl. If you only have oil, make the plain version of the recipe instead.
Lavender pairs best with lemon, honey, blueberry, apricot, black pepper, goat cheese and dark chocolate, and it sits comfortably next to thyme and rosemary because they share its resinous side. It fights with strong spices such as cumin and cinnamon, which flatten the floral note entirely.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use lavender from my garden or from a florist?

Only garden lavender you know has not been treated, and only if it is English lavender, Lavandula angustifolia. Florist, craft and potpourri lavender should be treated as not edible: those bunches are routinely sprayed with pesticides and preservatives that are not approved for food, and the variety is usually lavandin, which tastes camphorous. If your own plants are untreated angustifolia, harvest the buds just before they open, dry them somewhere dark and airy for a week or two, and strip them from the stems.

Can I use lavender essential oil instead of culinary lavender?

No. Essential oil is a concentrate hundreds of times stronger than an infusion of buds, it does not disperse evenly through fat or batter, and safe dilution for eating is not a judgement to make by eye in a home kitchen. If you have no buds, use rosemary, chamomile or Earl Grey instead, or make the plain version of the recipe. Extracts and syrups sold specifically as lavender flavouring for food are a different product and are fine, used according to the label.

How much dried lavender is too much?

More than about one teaspoon of buds per cup of flour, sugar or liquid, and most palates start reading the result as perfume or soap rather than food. Lavender is one of the few ingredients where erring low is almost always right, because the underdosed version tastes subtly floral and pleasant while the overdosed version is inedible. Infusing and straining gives you far more control than adding buds directly, since you can taste as you go and stop.

Is culinary lavender the same as herbes de Provence?

No, but most herbes de Provence blends sold outside France include lavender alongside thyme, rosemary, savory, marjoram and oregano, which makes the blend a reasonable stand-in in savoury cooking at roughly one for one. Traditional Provencal blends often contain no lavender at all. It is the wrong thing to reach for in a sweet recipe, since the oregano and savory will taste out of place in shortbread.

Can I just leave lavender out of a recipe?

Usually yes, with no other adjustment, because the quantities are so small that lavender contributes aroma and nothing structural. No moisture, no fat, no acidity, no leavening. A lavender shortbread without lavender is simply shortbread, and a lavender honey cake is a good honey cake. The only time it matters is when lavender is the whole point of the dish, and in that case a plain, well-made version beats a version faked with something that tastes nothing like it.

Related substitutes

More spices & herbs substitutes

Culinary Lavender substitute

Other culinary lavender substitutes

2Dried chamomile flowers

3Rosewater or dried rose petals

4Thyme or lemon thyme

5Earl Grey tea

6Leave it out and accept a plain version