Natural form

Fresh basil sprigs showing bright green ovate leaves and upright stem structure.

Shows the reader exactly what fresh basil looks like before any preparation — leaf shape, color, and stem arrangement.

Herbs

Basil

Sweet, fragrant leaves for pesto, pasta, and caprese

Sweet and peppery with a heady aroma, fresh basil is the soul of pesto and the partner to tomato and mozzarella. Add it at the end so its perfume survives. Keep it cool, stems in water.

Sweet basil is a tender member of the mint family with glossy green leaves and a heady aroma of clove, anise, and pepper. Heat is its enemy: the volatile oils that make it sing evaporate fast, so basil belongs torn in at the very end or pounded raw into pesto. It is the soul of Italian summer cooking — caprese, margherita pizza, tomato sauce — and other cultivars (Thai, holy, lemon) carry it into Southeast Asian kitchens. Treat it like a flower: never let it touch ice-cold storage, which blackens the leaves.

Measured in: g
Storage: Refrigerate
Shelf life: 7 days

Find it in

Produce

Types & varieties

Genovese (sweet) basil

The classic large-leaf Italian basil for pesto and caprese.

Thai basil

Sturdier, anise-forward, holds up to stir-fry heat; purple stems.

Holy basil (tulsi/kaprao)

Peppery and clove-like, the star of pad kaprao.

Lemon basil

Bright citrus note for Southeast Asian dishes and infusions.

How to use

Add fresh basil at the last moment — stir it into a finished sauce off the heat, scatter torn leaves over pizza as it leaves the oven, or layer whole leaves into a salad. Cooking it long turns the flavor flat and the leaves dark.

Tear rather than chop to avoid bruising and blackening
Reserve a few leaves whole for finishing
Pesto: pound or blitz with oil, pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan

Fresh vs dried

Dried basil is a different, muted herb — fine for long-simmered tomato sauce but no substitute for the floral lift of fresh. When a recipe wants brightness, only fresh delivers; use dried early in cooked dishes.

Common uses

Pesto alla GenoveseCaprese with tomato and mozzarellaMargherita pizzaTomato and marinara saucesThai basil stir-fries (pad kaprao)Vietnamese pho and fresh rollsInfused into lemonade, sorbet, or cocktails

Tips & pitfalls

Store like flowers: trim stems, stand in a glass of water on the counter, not the fridge.
Blanch and shock leaves for a vivid-green, freezer-stable pesto.
Bruise a few leaves in the bottom of a glass for cocktails or lemonade.
Add to tomato sauce only in the last minute or two of cooking.
Freeze leftover basil in oil in ice-cube trays for winter sauces.

Nutrition

23kcal

Energy

96 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 44%Carbs 37%Fat 20%

Protein

3.2g

6% DV

Carbs

2.7g

1% DV

Fat

0.6g

1% DV

Fiber

1.6g

6% DV

Sugars

0.3g

of which

Sodium

4mg

0% DV

Notable micronutrients

Vitamin K346% DV

Vitamin A29% DV

Vitamin C20% DV

Iron18% DV

Folate17% DV

Magnesium15% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · Basil, fresh

View on FDC →

In the shops

Matched grocery products

Km0 Basil
kg · Bonpreu
€1.49

Good to know

Flavor: Sweet, peppery, with clove and anise warmth
Form: Fresh (best); dried loses most aroma
Add when: Late — tear in off the heat to keep the perfume
Cuisines: Italian, Mediterranean, Thai, Vietnamese
How to buy: Perky, unblemished leaves with no black spots
How to store: Stems in water at room temp like cut flowers; refrigeration blackens it