Top 4 Tarragon Substitutes for Chicken, Fish and Sauces
Dill, basil, parsley with fennel seed and chervil each cover a different part of tarragon.
Fresh dill is the best tarragon substitute for fish, eggs and cool sauces, and basil suits tomato and chicken, both at the same amount. For cream and butter sauces, use 1 tablespoon parsley with up to 1/4 teaspoon crushed fennel seed. Chervil is closest if you can find it.
Which herb replaces tarragon in your dish?
Dill for fish and cool sauces, basil for tomato and chicken, and parsley with a pinch of fennel seed for cream and butter sauces.
| Substitute | Amount | Best for | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh dill | 1 tbsp, holding back the last quarter | Fish, potatoes, eggs, yogurt | Greener and less sweet |
| Fresh basil | 1 tbsp | Tomato, chicken, vinaigrette | Sweeter, and the dish tastes of basil |
| Parsley plus fennel seed | 1 tbsp parsley + up to 1/4 tsp crushed seed | Chicken in cream, eggs, butter sauce | Anise and green leaf, controlled separately |
| Fresh chervil | About 2 tbsp | Eggs, fish, fines herbes | The closest match, but milder and hard to find |
Add any fresh swap after the pan leaves strong heat. The green smell that makes these herbs useful leaves with the steam. Dried swaps are the exception, since they need time in liquid.
What does French tarragon bring that a swap has to cover?
A sweet anise smell, a soft green leaf, and a late aroma that fat and vinegar hold well.
- Sweet anise
- A clear licorice-like smell with no seed texture
- Soft green leaf
- Fresh pieces melt into sauce, egg and dressing
- Late aroma
- The top notes leave with steam, so fresh leaf usually goes in at the end
- Fat and acid
- Butter, cream, egg yolk and vinegar carry the smell well
- Small dose
- Too much pushes every other ingredient into the background
- Dill: fine texture.
- Basil: sweet, broad leaf.
- Parsley and fennel: two separate parts.
French tarragon is the one cooks mean. Russian tarragon has broader leaves and tastes grassy and faint, so a weak packet may be the wrong plant rather than an old one.
Star anise or a large dose of fennel copies the direction but makes a delicate sauce taste like candy.
Why is dill the best swap for fish and cool sauces?
Its grassy, citrus and lightly anise taste suits fish, yogurt and potatoes, and its fine fronds melt in the same way.
- Dill fronds: soft and quick.
- Cool dairy: protects the smell.
- Potatoes: soften the grassy edge.
Use the same amount of chopped fresh dill as the tarragon, but hold back the last quarter until you taste. Too much turns a quiet cream sauce grassy.
It is less convincing in a butter-rich French sauce, where sweet anise is the point. Use half the amount there. The parsley and fennel method suits those sauces better.
When does basil work instead?
In tomato dishes, chicken and vinaigrette, where the shift toward basil suits the food.
- Basil: sweeter and broader.
- Tomato: welcomes the change.
- Vinaigrette: keeps the leaf fresh.
Tear fresh basil near serving time, since cut leaves darken as they wait. In a cream sauce start at three quarters of the amount. Warm basil turns sweet and perfumed.
Thai basil has a stronger anise note, but it also brings pepper and a Southeast Asian taste. Use it only when the rest of the meal suits that.
How do parsley and fennel seed rebuild both parts?
Parsley gives the soft green leaf, and a small pinch of crushed fennel seed gives the anise, so you can set each one separately.
- Crush a tiny doseLightly crack 1/8 to 1/4 tsp fennel seed so the smell can escape
- Warm it gentlyHeat the seed in the butter, cream or vinegar without letting it darken
- Strain if neededRemove the hard pieces from a smooth sauce or custard
- Add the green finishStir in 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley once the strong heat stops
- Taste the whole dishAdd another pinch of parsley before any more fennel
- Parsley: green volume.
- Fennel seed: a small anise dose.
- Chicken sauce: carries both.
Butter spreads fennel fast, so an eighth of a teaspoon may be enough for four servings. If the first taste already reads as licorice, add more plain sauce rather than another herb.
Is chervil worth looking for?
Yes, if you can find it, since it is the closest soft herb in both taste and texture.
Chervil tastes like a milder tarragon with a hint of parsley. Use about twice the tarragon amount, and add it at the very end, since it fades even faster in heat.
It is rare in many supermarkets, which is why the three swaps above are the practical answers. Farmers markets and herb growers are the likeliest places to find a bunch.
How do fresh and dried tarragon convert?
One teaspoon of dried equals about one tablespoon of fresh, but dried leaf belongs earlier in the cooking.
| Recipe asks for | Dill | Basil | Parsley and fennel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tbsp fresh tarragon | 1 tbsp fresh dill | 1 tbsp fresh basil | 1 tbsp parsley + up to 1/4 tsp seed |
| 1 tsp dried tarragon | 1 tsp dried dill, starting lower | 1 tsp dried basil, a bigger change | 1 tsp dried parsley + 1/8 tsp seed |
| A long simmer | Fennel seed early, fresh dill late | A basil stem briefly, fresh leaf late | Crushed fennel early, parsley late |
Give any dried herb five to ten minutes in liquid before judging it. Rub a pinch first, too. A jar that smells like hay will not taste fresh at double the amount.
What if the sauce tastes like licorice or grass?
Fix the one problem you can taste, since each has its own cause.
- Licorice takes overToo much fennel, so add more plain sauce and lift out any visible seed
- Grassy sauceToo much dill or too long on the heat, so add a little butter or cream and a squeeze of lemon
- Sweet and perfumedToo much basil in warm fat, so dilute with more of the sauce base
- The herb disappearedThe fresh leaves cooked too long, so add a small fresh pinch off the heat
- Dusty tasteAn old dried herb, so replace the jar rather than adding more
Sugar, salt or lemon will not cancel extra fennel. Dilute first, then fix the salt and acid once the anise has dropped back.
When should a recipe not pretend to be tarragon?
When tarragon defines the dish, as in Béarnaise or fines herbes.
A Béarnaise made with parsley and fennel can taste very good beside steak. It is an herb butter sauce, though, so serve it under that name. Fines herbes without tarragon or chervil still makes a clean finish for eggs or fish with parsley and chives.
A delicate cream soup may be better with parsley alone. When mustard, capers or smoked fish already lead, leaving the herb out is also reasonable.