Natural form

Fresh cilantro bunch showing delicate fan-shaped leaves and slender green stems.

Shows the whole plant as found at market so readers recognize it on sight.

Herbs

Cilantro

Bright, citrusy herb for salsas, curries, and tacos

Fresh and citrusy, cilantro finishes tacos, salsas, and curries with a vibrant lift. Add it raw at the end; the stems are flavorful too. Keep it cold, stems in water.

Cilantro — the fresh leaf of the coriander plant — is bright, citrusy, and unmistakably herbaceous, a finishing herb that lifts tacos, salsas, curries, and noodle soups with a vivid green snap. It's also famously polarizing: a genetic quirk makes the leaves taste soapy to some people. Heat dulls it, so cilantro goes in raw at the very end. The stems are tender and just as flavorful as the leaves — chop and use them too. Its seed, sold dry as coriander, is a wholly different warm, toasty spice.

Measured in: g
Storage: Refrigerate
Shelf life: 5 days

Find it in

Produce

Types & varieties

Leaves and stems

Both are flavorful; stems hold up better to brief cooking.

Culantro (recao)

A sawtooth-leaf relative — stronger, more heat-stable, used in Caribbean and Southeast Asian cooking.

Coriander seed

The plant's dried seed — toasty and citrusy, a separate spice.

How to use

Add cilantro raw, right before serving, so its volatile citrus oils survive. Scatter it over tacos and curries, blend it into salsa verde, chutney, or zhug, and use the chopped stems in marinades and curry pastes.

Don't simmer it — heat turns it dull and flat
Use stems in pastes, blitz roots into Thai curry
Pair with lime to amplify its brightness

Fresh vs dried

Dried cilantro is a faint shadow of the fresh leaf and works only as a mild background note in rubs and soups. The herb's signature lift only comes from fresh leaves added late.

Common uses

Tacos and salsa verdeGuacamole and pico de galloIndian curries and chutneysThai and Vietnamese soups (pho, tom yum)Zhug and other green hot saucesRice and grain bowlsMarinades and curry pastes (stems and roots)

Tips & pitfalls

Add only at the end — cooking destroys its bright, citrusy aroma.
Save and chop the stems; they're flavorful and crunchy in salsas.
Thai recipes prize the roots — freeze them for curry pastes.
A squeeze of lime makes cilantro taste even fresher.
If it tastes soapy to you, parsley plus lime is a workable swap.

Nutrition

23kcal

Energy

96 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 31%Carbs 53%Fat 17%

Protein

2.1g

4% DV

Carbs

3.7g

1% DV

Fat

0.5g

1% DV

Fiber

2.8g

10% DV

Sugars

0.9g

of which

Sodium

46mg

2% DV

Notable micronutrients

Vitamin K258% DV

Vitamin A37% DV

Vitamin C30% DV

Vitamin E17% DV

Folate16% DV

Riboflavin (B2)12% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · Coriander (cilantro) leaves, raw

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In the shops

Matched grocery products

Cilantro
0.02 100 g · Mercadona
€1.25
Fresh Coriander Km0
DVERD · kg · Bonpreu
€1.49

Good to know

Flavor: Bright, citrusy, herbaceous (soapy to some)
Form: Fresh leaves and stems; dried is muted
Add when: Raw, at the very end
Cuisines: Mexican, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern
How to buy: Bright, perky bunches with no slime or yellowing
How to store: Stems in water, loosely covered, refrigerated 4–5 days

Substitutes

Flat-leaf parsley with lime — Mimics the fresh-green color and brightness without the soapy note.
Thai basil or mint — Different but fitting in Southeast Asian dishes.

Pairs with

Lime Chili Garlic Cumin Avocado Ginger Coconut milk

Also called

coriander · cilantro