Making Your Own Dried Basil
Making dried basil is so incredibly easy, I think my children could do it! Plus, homemade is always so much cheaper than the store, after the initial purchase, it’s free!
I grew my own basil this year and it did really well! I’ve tried to grow basil one other time when my neighbor gave me a gift of basil in a pot. It died within a few months, sadly. If you know anything from reading my blog, it’s that I don’t give up easily.
When Nate saw a potted basil plant at Walmart earlier this year, he suggested we give it another try. I immediately jumped on the idea. We brought our new plant home and it did exceptionally well! In fact, it became enormously bushy. I have had to prune it back a few times.
I love having potted basil year round. Pinching off a few leaves for snacking on with tomatoes and cheese is one of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh basil. I also love to cook with it after it’s been dried. It’s one of my main herbs that I use.
Here are the steps I use to make my own dehydrated basil.
- When your basil gets especially bushy, trim back the stems until it has a nice compact shape.
- Put the stems in a strainer and gently rinse them off.
- Shake the excess water off of the basil.
- Remove the leaves from the stems and place them in the dehydrator. Use a fine mesh or fruit leather attachment for smaller leaves.
- Dehydrate until leaves are dry and crumbly.
- Put basil on a plate and crumble into small pieces.
- Put dried basil crumbles into a spice jar.
- Lable jar.
You can check out how I have dried basil in my videos!