If you are like me, you often over plant and then wind up with more herbs than you will ever need. But, thankfully there is many ways to dehydrate herbs, even without a dehydrator, so you can extend their use.
One of my latest experiments was with parsley. Once it was ready, I made some pesto and froze some. But I still had so much left over I knew I needed to do something else.
I clipped some parsley and hung it upside down on a clothesline in my laundry room for about a week. After a week I rubbed it between my hands to crumble it and stored it in my parsley tin. It came out wonderfully with a fresh smell and bold taste.
This is my new strategy for more common herbs I use. Below I go into more detail!
How to Dry Herbs Without Electricity
To dry herbs without electricity, hang small bundles of clean, dry herb stems upside down in a warm, dark, well-ventilated area for 1-2 weeks until the leaves are crisp and crumbly.
This traditional air-drying method is simple, effective, and preserves the herbs’ flavors and medicinal properties. Ensure the herbs are free from moisture before storing them in airtight containers to maintain their quality for future use.
Steps for herb drying
- Wash your fresh herbs and allow to dry. A salad spinner can help you dry them faster. You can also use a tea towel to pat the leaves dry, then allow them to air dry.
- Separate large bundles into smaller bundles.
- Use string or twist ties to tie up the loose bundles.
- Use one end of string or twist tie to form a hook so you can hang the bundle.
- Hang bundles in a well ventilated area and leave space between each bundle.
- Check occasionally to be sure it’s drying well. Within a week your herbs should be dry enough to remove.
- Take each dried bundle and rub gently between your hands over a tea or paper towel.
- Remove all stems from the herbs.
- Store in an airtight container. I like to date mine so I know when it was made.
- Place container in a dark pantry to help it remain fresh longer.
Below are some example images of my process for air drying rosemary
Other Herb Drying Methods
DIY Dry Rack: You can build a simple drying rack, which will emulate a dehydrator rack, from 1×1 pieces of wood with window screen material stapled to it. Then lay out your herbs in single layers on the screen. To stack them you can place blocks of wood between the layers. This will be the same as hanging them, but can take up a bit more room.
Oven Version: Set your oven to the lowest temperature and lay out your herbs on a grill or tray. Close the door but leave it a bit ajar so some heat can escape. You want to make sure you do not cook the herbs – just dry them. You’ll have to check often to see if they are dry enough as all herbs take different amounts of time. On average it can take 3-4 hours but there are a lot of variables. I would recommend to start checking at the 2 hour mark and then frequently thereafter.
Microwave version – You can layer the herbs in paper towels inside the microwave and process for 1-3 minutes. Repeat as necessary until the herbs seem dry. I would only do this option as a last resort because a microwave is still cooking the herbs and not just removing the water.
The above should work for most herbs – some even dehydrate kale this way! I have not personally tested kale since I like to use my dehydrator for bigger food batches to save time.
If all of this sounds like too much work, then a dehydrator really is the best option. It might be expensive to get started, but ultimately it will save you money and time in the long run.
An alternate option is freezing herbs. You can take fresh herbs, chop it up and freeze it in small bits. I put mine in ice cube trays. Then I can easily pop out a frozen herb cube and place it in any dish to give it some flavor. It won’t be as fresh as it is from the store – but it will be close.