Winter Savory Substitutes, Ranked by the Job Savory Is Doing

Winter savory is Satureja montana, a perennial, shrubby herb of the mint family native from south-central and southern Europe to Lebanon.¹ Britannica says it can be used much like summer savory in cooking but has a harsher, more bitter flavor.² Monticello’s notes on the herb list bean dishes, organ meats and wild game among its uses.³ In one analysis of a Croatian winter savory oil, the leading compound was carvacrol, at 13.7 percent, followed by p-cymene at 11.8 percent.⁴ Carvacrol is also a main compound in thyme and oregano oils,⁵⁶ which is why those herbs make reasonable stand-ins. The right one depends on what the savory is doing in your dish.

Quick answer

How the ratios on this page are labeled

Every ratio carries one of four labels.

• Computed: based on a measurable physical relationship, with the source named.
• Attributed: a named source publishes this ratio. We quote it as theirs.
• Disputed: named sources give different answers to the same swap. We show each one and do not average them.
• Method: we found no published ratio. We give a direction and a cautious starting point, and say so.

We found no credible source that publishes a ratio for any herb in place of winter savory. Every amount on this page is a Method starting point. The closest published figure is America’s Test Kitchen’s tested swap for summer savory, used below as a guide.

If you have summer savory

Summer savory, Satureja hortensis, is in the same genus.⁷ Britannica describes its flavor as delicate, sweet and spicy, and winter savory’s as harsher and more bitter.² America’s Test Kitchen likewise describes summer savory as the more delicate of the two, with winter savory coarser in texture.⁸ The oils overlap: across the studies in one review, carvacrol made up 11 to 67 percent of summer savory oil,⁹ and carvacrol led the Croatian winter savory sample.⁴

Ratio (Method): No published ratio was found. Because summer savory is the milder herb, start with the same amount and add up to half again if the dish needs more. If you are swapping fresh for dried or dried for fresh, the University of Delaware’s extension service notes that dried herbs are stronger than fresh.¹⁰

If you have neither kind of savory

1. Thyme and sage, two to one

In an ATK tasting, most tasters detected a stronger resemblance in savory to thyme and sage than to mint.⁸ Its test cooks replaced fresh summer savory with fresh thyme and fresh sage in sausage stuffing and chicken soup, and tasters judged the combination nearly identical to savory.⁸ ATK’s published rule is 2 parts fresh thyme to 1 part fresh sage, for summer savory.⁸

Ratio (Method): ATK tested this blend against summer savory, not winter savory, so we treat it as a starting point here. Use the same total volume as the winter savory, two thirds thyme and one third sage, and taste.

2. Thyme alone

PROSEA names thymol and carvacrol as the characteristic compounds of thyme oil,⁵ so thyme shares savory’s main phenol. It is also a hardy herb that America’s Test Kitchen groups with those added early in cooking.¹¹ That suits bean pots and braises, winter savory’s usual territory.

Ratio (Method): No published ratio was found. The University of Delaware puts thyme and savory in the same medium-strength group,¹⁰ so start with the same amount and taste.

3. Oregano

Oregano carries even more of the shared phenols: carvacrol and thymol together make up about 78 to 85 percent of oregano essential oil.⁶ Britannica describes its taste as warm and pungent.¹² In our judgment it is the most assertive herb on this page, and it pushes a dish toward Greek and Italian flavors.

Ratio (Method): No published ratio was found. Start with half as much dried oregano as winter savory, or the same amount of fresh, and taste.

4. Sage alone

In our judgment sage gives the stuffing and sausage side of savory but not its thyme-like side. PROSEA credits sage’s strong smell to thujones and lists sausages and stuffings among its main uses.¹³ The University of Delaware puts sage in its strong group, a step above savory.¹⁰

Ratio (Method): No published ratio was found. Start with half as much sage as winter savory.

If savory is one herb in a blend for roasts

Herbes de Provence

The French Label Rouge specification for herbes de Provence calls for 26 to 27 percent savory, with the same share of rosemary and oregano and 19 percent thyme.¹⁴ It puts savory back into the dish, though rosemary and oregano make up most of the rest.

Ratio (Method): No published ratio was found. Start with the same amount and taste.

If savory is seasoning game or a rich roast

Rosemary

Rosemary is a stronger herb: the University of Delaware puts it in its strong group.¹⁰ Its oil is dominated by α-pinene and 1,8-cineole rather than carvacrol,¹⁵ so it brings a piney, resinous note rather than savory’s sharp, thyme-like one.

Ratio (Method): No published ratio was found. Start with half as much, finely chopped.

Marjoram

Marjoram is gentler. Its sweet note is credited to cis-sabinene hydrate,¹⁶ and the University of Delaware’s general advice for long-simmered dishes is to add herbs in the last 45 minutes.¹⁰

Ratio (Method): No published ratio was found. Start with the same amount, stirred in toward the end.

If savory is seasoning a pot of beans

Savory is the classic bean herb: Monticello lists bean dishes among winter savory’s uses,³ and Duden defines the German Bohnenkraut, “bean herb,” as a seasoning used especially for bean dishes.¹⁷ In our judgment thyme, or the thyme and sage blend, is the safest replacement in a bean pot.

Epazote is sometimes suggested as well. It is a different plant altogether, Dysphania ambrosioides, in the amaranth family,¹⁸ and Tasting Table calls beans its best-known application.¹⁹ Tasting Table compares its flavor to anise or licorice,¹⁹ which is nothing like savory. Use it only where its own flavor belongs, as in Mexican bean dishes. Tasting Table advises adding it near the end of cooking.¹⁹

Epazote ratio (Method): No published ratio was found. Start with a single sprig or a small pinch of dried epazote per pot and taste.

What isn’t known

• No published measurement compares winter savory’s strength with summer savory or any other substitute.
• A figure of 1 1/2 times as much summer savory is sometimes given. We found no source for it; the Method range above is a starting point, not a measurement.
• Thyme is sometimes described as more potent than winter savory, with a half-quantity swap. We found no source for either claim, and the University of Delaware groups thyme and savory together.¹⁰
• Sage and epazote are sometimes recommended for digestive comfort in bean dishes. We found no clinical study supporting either, and this page makes no health claims for any herb.
• Only one analyzed sample of winter savory oil was reviewed here. Its composition may not represent winter savory in general.

Related

• Winter savory and winter savory uses
• Summer savory vs. winter savory, summer savory and summer savory substitutes
• Thyme, sage, oregano, marjoram, rosemary and epazote
• Herbes de Provence, fresh thyme vs. dried and too much sage?