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Thai Basil
substitutes

Thai Basil substitutes

Out of thai basil? Here are the best substitutes — what to reach for, why it works, and how much to use. Italian basil + a pinch of anise seed is the top pick.

  1. 01
    Italian basil + a pinch of anise seedbest pick

    Rebuilds Thai basil's sweet-licorice character from sweet basil.

    1:1 plus a pinch

  2. 02
    Holy basil (krapow)

    The peppery Thai cousin — different but authentic in stir-fries.

    1:1

  3. 03
    Italian basil

    Same herb family; sweeter and softer, and it wilts faster.

    1:1

  4. 04
    Mint + Italian basil

    Mint's cooling edge stands in for the anise note in salads and rolls.

    1:1 combined

Cooking with thai basil?

Paste your recipe into Mise — we'll find every ingredient as a real product you can buy, and swap the ones you can't, like thai basil, for the closest match in stock.

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How we choose these

These are tested kitchen substitutes, chosen for matching flavor, texture, and role — with ratios so the swap actually works. Taste as you go; substitutes shift intensity, not just flavor.

Flavor data: Epicure (Radzikowski & Chen, 2026), arXiv:2605.22391, CC-BY-4.0.
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