Cilantro

Season seafood and poultry with dried cilantro, or stir it into guacamole, where the avocado's fat rehydrates the flakes as everything comes together.

Add it to salsas, ceviche, rice, or scrambled eggs, or work it into a citrus-based marinade for chicken or steak, where it blooms into the liquid rather than sitting on the surface. Sprinkle it on elote.

When substituting dried cilantro for fresh, use about ⅓ the amount specified.

The cilantro in Hogback BBQ & Grill’s recipes comes from us for fresh, herbaceous brightness that cuts through smoky heat.

Shop all our Chef-Approved spices and blends.

Cilantro is one of the more divisive herbs in cooking, largely because of a genetic difference in how people perceive it. Some people carry a gene variant that makes them taste soap where others taste something bright and citrusy, and that reaction comes from aldehyde compounds naturally present in the fresh leaf.

Drying mellows those aldehydes considerably, which is why a lot of cilantro skeptics find the dried version genuinely enjoyable even when fresh cilantro is a dealbreaker for them.

For the full story on cilantro, including how it compares to coriander and how to substitute it in specific dishes, go Behind the Seasoning: Cilantro.

Dried Cilantro FAQ

What is dried cilantro?

Dried cilantro is the dehydrated form of fresh cilantro leaves. Its flavor is more concentrated than fresh, so a little goes further.

Does dried cilantro taste soapy too?

Usually not, even for people who strongly dislike fresh cilantro. Drying breaks down a lot of the aldehyde compounds responsible for the soapy reaction, so many cilantro skeptics find the dried version genuinely enjoyable. If you've written off cilantro entirely because of fresh, the dried form is worth trying before ruling it out for good.

How much dried cilantro do I use in place of fresh?

Use about ⅓ the amount called for in a recipe. Drying concentrates cilantro's flavor into a smaller volume, so less is needed to get the same effect.

Why do some people think cilantro tastes like soap?

It comes down to genetics. A specific gene variant affects how certain people perceive the aldehyde compounds naturally present in cilantro, making it taste soapy to them rather than bright and citrusy.

Can I use dried cilantro in guacamole or salsa the same way I'd use fresh?

Yes, and in some ways it works better. The fat in avocado and the moisture in salsa rehydrate the dried flakes as everything comes together, so the flavor integrates fully rather than sitting on top the way fresh cilantro does when scattered on at the end.