It’s time for another Recipe ReDux, and this month the theme is Get Your Dehydrator On! We were challenged to get creative with dehydrated fruits, vegetables or other ingredients. You know I border on OCD when it comes to collecting kitchen gadgets, so even I was surprised to be caught off guard on this one. I don’t own a dehydrator! Well, never fear because as I learned last year when I made fruit leather, a regular old oven turned on very low will do the trick just fine.
Before I go into the details of today’s recipe, I have a confession to make: I was all set to experiment with carrot chips, when I happened to see a post on drying herbs from one of my favorite blogs, Kalyn’s Kitchen. One look at my overgrown herb garden, and the full sleeve of garlic sitting in my fruit bowl (that’s smelling up all of my fruit), and I quickly decided to steal borrow Kalyn’s recipe and adapt it a bit. I also realized that with the still 100 degree weather we’re having in Scottsdale, I wouldn’t even need to turn on my oven. Win!
It’s so easy to dry your own herbs, and it’s also a great way to save any that would otherwise go into the compost bin. I love this mixture of rosemary and thyme for fall dishes, but parsley and sage would work (am I hearing a song here…?) too. Just make sure you choose herbs that hold their color well when chopped fine. Add some lemon zest if you like, or garlic or hot pepper flakes would also be nice. Pulse them well in a food processor, and if your house (or patio) is warm, just spread them out and let them dry for a good 5-8 hours. If it’s really humid or you just want to speed it up, spread them on a microwave safe plate, cover with a paper towel, and zap em for 1-3 minutes, Check them frequently though because microwaves will vary.
So today, I’m sharing a recipe for an herb mixture that goes into one of my favorite marinades for chicken, fish or vegetables. I add some lemon juice and olive oil to the mix, and it’s a great all purpose, and lower sodium marinade.
I will admit, I’ve never thought to dry this herb mixture, so thanks Kalyn for the inspiration! I pulsed everything in the food processor, spread it onto a baking pan, set it out on the patio for a few hours to dry and voila! Delicious and fresh dried herb mixture with so much flavor you’ll never notice that it’s lower in salt.

Rosemary Thyme Lemon and Garlic Herb Mix
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup packed rosemary leaves
- 1/2 cup packed thyme leaves
- zest of 2 lemons
- 1 head of garlic cloves peeled
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Pulse until mixture is well chopped and blended, with no large pieces of garlic remaining.
- Spread herb mixture on a cookie sheet or baking pan and let air dry in a warm place for 4-8 hours, pr until dry to the touch.
- When completely dry, break any clumps apart with your fingers and transfer mixture to an airtight container or jar.
Do you ever dry the last herbs in your garden? Do you have a favorite herb mix combo?
Be sure to check out the other fabulous dehydrated foods members of the Recipe ReDux have cooked up!
Eat well!
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Great idea! I have an over grown oregano bush that needs to be dried! Maybe I will have to make this! Thanks 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Karli! Yes – definitely dry the oregano – it will work beautifully 🙂 Enjoy!
What a great idea!! Such a tasty way to cut sodium from our seasonings!!
Thanks for your comment Katie! I do like to be able to control how much salt goes into my seasoning, and this really doesn’t need much because of all the flavor. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Love love love this 🙂 So inspired to dry my own herbs now and make this mix.
Thanks Deanna! Hope you like it 🙂 I loved all of the creative ideas in this ReDux – pinned so many of them to try!
This is just the most clever idea ever! I have a few herbs hanging on in my garden and I’m going to try it this weekend!
Kathi
I know – I hate letting them go to waste, and this is a great way to use them. Let me know how it works!
Sounds like a great mixture! Glad I was able to inspire you, and thanks for the nice thoughts about my blog.
Thanks for visiting Kalyn, and for the inspiration – you always have so many great ideas 🙂
Thanks for all the great tips! I have yet to toast/dry my own herbs but since it’s so easy I should just get around to doing it myself!
I will confess, I didn’t realize how easy it really is and I’ll be doing it so much more now! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment 🙂
Would you think I were weird if I said I would eat that herb mix with a spoon, by itself, LOL!
OK that’s a little bit out there! It did make the house and patio smell awfully good though… Thanks for visiting!