Lemon Basil substitute

Best substitute

Sweet Basil + Lemon Zest

Use the same amount by volume of leaves, plus ½ tsp finely grated lemon zest per cup of leaves as the lemon basil you are replacing

Best for pepes

Close match

The closest easy swap is sweet basil plus lemon zest: use the same volume of leaves and add about 1/2 teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest per cup of leaves. A mix of basil and mint, roughly two parts to one, is better if the herb is being eaten raw. Thai basil works only if you accept a licorice note that kemangi does not have, so use about two thirds as much and add zest.

Other lemon basil substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Sweet Basil + Mint
Close match
2 parts basil to 1 part mint, same total volume as the lemon basil
Aimed at the cooling, slightly menthol side of kemangi rather than the lemon side.
What changes
Best for
raw lalapan and vegetable platters, karedok, fresh salads, rice paper rolls
This is the better blend when the herb is served raw alongside sambal and rice, because kemangi's job there is a cool, clean mouthful between bites of chilli. It reads as fresher and more minty than the original and less lemony, so a little zest on top improves it further. Mint bruises fast, so tear it rather than chopping and add it at the last moment.
3Thai Basil
Different taste
Use About ⅔ the volume, plus ½ tsp lemon zest for every cup of lemon basil
Widely available in Asian groceries, but a genuinely different herb, so worth being clear about.
What changes
Best for
cooked dishes, stir-fries, curries, soups
Thai basil is anise and licorice forward with sturdier purple-stemmed leaves, so it stands up to heat much better than kemangi but pushes the dish towards Thai flavours. Used cup for cup in something like ayam penyet the licorice takes over, which is why you cut the quantity and add zest. It is a good swap in a cooked curry and a poor one on a raw lalapan plate.
4Holy Basil (Tulsi)
Different taste
About half the volume, cooked only
Sometimes sitting next to kemangi in the same shop, and often confused with it.
What changes
Best for
cooked stir-fries, braises
Holy basil is clove-like and peppery with a slightly medicinal edge, further from lemon basil than sweet basil is. Raw it tastes harsh and drying, so only use it in something cooked, use half as much, and add lemon zest. If a recipe lists kemangi and your market sells the two side by side, sweet basil plus zest is a closer result than grabbing holy basil because the name looks similar.
5Lemon Verbena or Lemon Thyme
Different texture
About half the volume, raw or added at the very end
The best match for the lemon aroma alone, with none of the basil character underneath.
What changes
Best for
garnishing, broths, steamed fish, when you grow herbs but not basil
Lemon verbena is the purest lemon perfume of any common herb and is genuinely lovely here, but the leaves are leathery so slice them thin and use less, or they taste soapy. Lemon thyme is more resinous and woody, so it suits cooked dishes better than a raw platter. Either way you get the citrus lift and lose the soft, slightly peppery basil body, so the dish smells right and tastes simpler.
6Cilantro + Lemon Zest
Different taste
Use the same amount by volume, plus ½ tsp lemon zest per cup
A different herb family entirely, used for the same job: the raw green counterpoint.
What changes
Best for
lalapan, nasi ulam, raw platters, noodle bowls
Nobody will mistake this for kemangi, and that is worth saying plainly. What it does do is fill the same slot on the plate, which is a big pile of fresh raw leaves to eat with rice and sambal, and Indonesian cooks do use other raw herbs in ulam. Expect a soapy-citrus green flavour instead of lemon-mint. If you dislike cilantro, this is the worst option on this list rather than the best.

What is Lemon Basil?

Lemon Basil is Lemon basil is a small-leafed basil with a bright lemon and mint scent and none of sweet basil's anise, known in Indonesia as kemangi or daun kemangi and sometimes sold as hoary basil or Thai lemon basil.

Cooking tips

Add lemon basil raw or in the last twenty or thirty seconds of cooking. The lemon compounds are volatile and a couple of minutes of simmering leaves you with a vaguely grassy leaf and no citrus at all, which is why kemangi is piled on raw for lalapan and only tucked into pepes parcels where it steams gently.
The soft stems and the little flower heads are edible and are some of the most fragrant parts of the plant, so do not strip the bunch down to bare leaves the way you would with sweet basil. In pepes and steamed fish the whole sprig goes in.
Do not reach for dried basil for this. Drying destroys the lemon note first, so dried leaves give you hay and faint anise, which is worse than leaving the herb out and adding a strip of lemon zest instead.
Buy it in bunches at Southeast Asian groceries, where it is usually labelled kemangi rather than lemon basil, and pick a bunch with pale flower spikes still attached. Stand it stem-down in a glass of water on the counter, loosely covered, and it revives within an hour and keeps three or four days; the fridge blackens the leaves.
It is very easy to grow from seed and much easier to find as seed than as a plant, which is the real answer if you cook Indonesian food often. One pot on a windowsill supplies a household, and the leaves are best picked young before the plant flowers hard.

Frequently asked questions

Is kemangi the same as Thai basil?

No, and swapping them blind is the most common mistake here. Kemangi is lemon basil, all citrus and mint with tender pale leaves. Thai basil has purple stems and a strong licorice flavour. Both are basils and both are used raw in Southeast Asia, but a dish built around kemangi's lemon lift tastes wrong when it is anise instead, so cut the quantity and add lemon zest.

Can I just leave lemon basil out?

In a cooked curry or soup, yes, and you will lose a fresh top note rather than the backbone of the dish. On a lalapan or ayam penyet plate, kemangi is close to the whole point, since it is the cool fragrant thing you eat between mouthfuls of hot sambal. In that case put something raw and fresh on the plate, even if it is only cucumber slices and a wedge of lime, rather than nothing.

Is lemon basil the same as lemon verbena or lemongrass?

No, they are three unrelated plants that happen to smell of lemon. Lemon basil is a basil with soft leaves. Lemon verbena is a shrub with narrow leathery leaves and a much stronger lemon perfume. Lemongrass is a stalky grass used for its fibrous base and needs long cooking. They are not interchangeable at the same quantities: verbena needs roughly half as much, and lemongrass is not a swap for a raw herb at all.

What does hoary basil mean on the label?

It is another English name for the same plant, and you may also see lemon basil, Thai lemon basil, or the botanical name Ocimum africanum or Ocimum basilicum var. citriodorum. If the leaves are small, pale green and smell strongly of lemon when you rub one, you have the right herb whatever the sign says.

Can I use lemon basil in place of sweet basil in Italian cooking?

For pesto and for tomato dishes it is a real change rather than a swap. Lemon basil makes a bright, unusual pesto that many people like, but a caprese or a marinara built on it tastes lemony and lacks the sweet anise note the dish expects. Use about the same volume and taste as you go.

Related substitutes

More herbs substitutes

Lemon Basil substitute

Other lemon basil substitutes

2Sweet Basil + Mint

3Thai Basil

4Holy Basil (Tulsi)

5Lemon Verbena or Lemon Thyme

6Cilantro + Lemon Zest