↑

Playdates to Parties

DIY Party Crafts and Recipes

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers, Sides, and Finger Foods
    • Drinks
    • Main Dishes
    • Desserts
    • Cooking Tips & Tricks
  • Crafts
    • Printables
    • Cricut Crafts
    • Kid Crafts and Activities
    • Organization
    • DIY Projects
  • Parties
    • Kids Parties
    • Baby Showers and Gender Reveals
    • Party Games
    • Party Music
    • Grown Up Parties
    • Gift Ideas
    • Party Planning Tips
  • Holidays
    • New Year’s Eve
    • Valentines Day
    • St. Patricks Day
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • July 4th
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
  • About
    • Contact
    • Disclosure and Privacy Policy
  • Hostess Toolkit
  • Shop

How to Make a Bouquet Garni (and the perfect recipe to try it out!)

July 24, 2017 by Leslie 11 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. To learn more, please read our disclosure and privacy policy

Find out how to make a bouquet garni to get all the delicious flavor of fresh herbs without the unpleasant texture of limp and waterlogged leaves.

Find out how to make a bouquet garni to get all the delicious flavor of fresh herbs without the unpleasant texture of limp and waterlogged leaves.

How many times have you forgotten to fish out that bay leaf from your pot of soup or your sauce? Or maybe you passed by that recipe that tells you to add fresh herbs to the pot only to pull them out later?

There is a way to get the flavor of fresh herbs without the hassle of finding them after the fact. It’s called a bouquet garni…which is just a fancy way of saying ‘garnished bouquet’.

Traditionally, bouquet garni are made with thyme, bay leaf, and parsley. But you can use this method for any recipe that calls for herbs that need to be removed before serving. In today’s pictures, you’ll see the combination of herbs used to make Hey Fitzy’s Aglio e Olio Parmigiano-Reggiano Conchiglioni (also known as Pasta Shells with Garlic and Oil)!

How to Make a Bouquet Garni – The two main methods

[clickToTweet tweet=”How to Make a Bouquet Garni (and the perfect recipe to try it out!) #recipes #food” quote=”How to Make a Bouquet Garni (and the perfect recipe to try it out!) #recipes #food”]

Option One – Tie the herbs directly together

Find out how to make a bouquet garni to get all the delicious flavor of fresh herbs without the unpleasant texture of limp and waterlogged leaves.

Just grab your herbs in a nice neat bunch and wrap them up with a piece of twine long enough to hang over the edge of your pot as your liquid boils. This method is perfect for fresh herbs with sturdy stems, such as rosemary thyme oregano and parsley.

Option Two – Wrapped in a cheesecloth

Find out how to make a bouquet garni to get all the delicious flavor of fresh herbs without the unpleasant texture of limp and waterlogged leaves.

Find out how to make a bouquet garni to get all the delicious flavor of fresh herbs without the unpleasant texture of limp and waterlogged leaves.

Cut a large piece of cheesecloth big enough to wrap around all your herbs. Gather the corners of the cheesecloth together and tie it up with twine, making sure the twine is long enough to hang over the edge of your pot. This method is best for herbs that cannot be tied together well with their stems. Examples of such herbs could include dried bay or basil leaves.

But what if you don’t have cheesecloth and you can’t tie everything together?

Try putting the herbs into an empty tea bag, coffee filter, or a reusable tea infuser. A word of caution: If you use a tea infuser or other reusable item with holes, make sure that any inedible herbs (like bay leaf) are not so small that they can get into your final dish.

Why would you use Bouquet garni?

Bouquet garni are perfect for smooth sauces or soups where you want the flavor of herbs but the leaves could be unpleasant in the finished recipe. Bouquet garni are also fantastic for infusing the flavor in other unusual ways, such as in boiling pasta water.

3-Pasta

Now it’s Your Turn

Today, my awesome Spectacular Summer Co-Host, Tammy, from Hey Fitzy is sharing her recipe for Aglio e Olio Parmigiano-Reggiano Conchiglioni (also known as Pasta Shells with Garlic and Oil). I made Tammy’s recipe twice now for my kids, and they just love it! Best of all, it was the perfect trial recipe for a bouquet garni, which meant speedy cooking and speedy cleanup. Win-win!

In which recipe would you use a bouquet garni?
Do you have a favorite cooking technique that sounds fancy, but is really easy?

 

Here’s a little bit more about Tammy

What’s your favorite holiday?

I have to say Christmas. I love the festivities, decorating, getting everyone together, and the childlike magic of it all. Could do without the gift part but love everything else about it.

At which store would you like to max-out your credit card?

Gosh…I would have to say Nordstroms.

Each of my Spectacular Summer co-hosts is sharing a little bit more about Tammy on their blogs, too. So don’t forget to hop around and see what else she has to say.

A Purdy Little House Health, Home, and Heart
Confessions of a Mommyaholic Hey Fitzy
Crafting a Family JENerally Informed
Dazzle While Frazzled Just Measuring Up
Flourish and Knot The No Pressure Life

Click here to get Tammy’s delicious recipe, and to try out your own bouquet garni!

 

Signature2.jpg

Subscribe via
Bloglovin, Facebook, and Twitter
to get more updates!

Don’t forget to check out these awesome posts:


  • Share1
  • Tweet

Filed Under: Cooking Tips & Tricks, Food, Main Dishes Tagged With: herbs, soup, soups, stews

About Leslie

Leslie is the passionate party planner in her family. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, she was determined to find a way to continue making amazing parties for her kids that don't leave you exhausted. To do that Leslie combines the experience she learned working for a professional event planner with the reality of a busy family life to create party inspiration that the average mom can reproduce and be proud of.

Comments

  1. Tammy says

    July 24, 2017 at 10:12 pm

    Hi Leslie,
    Thank you for sharing my easy pasta recipe. So glad your kids love it as much as we do! Love your recipe for bouquet garni. I am totally gonna try that next time!

    Reply
  2. Carolina twin mom / Mary Peterson says

    July 28, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    I’ve never heard of this! What a great idea! I can already see how useful this will be for making boring old pasta snazzier. Thanks for sharing! #happynowlinkup

    Reply
  3. Mimi says

    July 31, 2017 at 1:21 am

    Love a good Bouquet Garni. I love tucking them into hampers at Christmas. I love your idea of including ways to use them. Good thinking! Mimi xxx

    Reply
  4. Chloe Crabtree says

    July 31, 2017 at 11:09 pm

    A quick and good cooking lesson! I will be pinning this to my kitchen tips so I have it handy! Thank you so much for sharing at Celebrate Your Story!

    Reply
  5. Gentle Joy Homemaker says

    August 1, 2017 at 9:20 am

    I appreciate this information…. I didn’t know what the words even meant… but this is certainly something I can use. Thank you for introducing me to this. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Sam - Raggedy Bits says

    August 3, 2017 at 8:32 pm

    Oh, I haven’t made one of these for years since being in a Commercial Kitchen!! Will have to make it again!

    Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with us over at Waste Not Wednesday!

    Reply
  7. Roseann Hampton says

    August 3, 2017 at 9:23 pm

    I love using these in soups. I bought a gadget from pampered chef that works great for this! Thanks for sharing at The Bloggers Pit Stop! Roseann from www. Thisautoimmunelif.com

    Reply
  8. FLORENCE @ VintageSouthernPicks says

    August 5, 2017 at 9:07 pm

    Hi Leslie,
    It’s an interesting post about how to use fresh spices in cooking. I didn’t know about Bouquet Garni., or how best to use it. That pasta sure looks good. I’d probably love it right along with your kids!

    Reply
  9. Elise Cohen Ho says

    August 7, 2017 at 4:51 pm

    This is funny because my hubby talked about having pasta this week. Now I have the perfect recipe.

    Reply
  10. Kimberly H. Smith says

    August 9, 2017 at 12:16 pm

    My husband does this with edible herbs without a container. I always thought it was something he came up with on his own. LOL Thanks for sharing this on #TrafficJamWeekend.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 12 Fresh Modern Farmhouse DIYs and Tips ⋆ Home with Cupcakes and Crinoline says:
    August 5, 2017 at 8:00 am

    […] How to Make a Bouquet Garni from From Play Dates to Parties […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I love helping busy moms create DIY parties that aren’t overwhelming. Here you'll find crafts, recipes, and fun printables you can use to create a celebration you’re proud of that you get to enjoy too! Read More
See My Latest Stories

Reader’s Favorites

The Happy Now Blog Link Up #363

The Best Gender Reveal Party Games to Keep Them Guessing

40+ Kids Birthday Party Songs That Won’t Drive You Crazy

5 Birthday Traditions That Aren’t a Party (Plus a Free Printable)

The Best Party Games for Toddlers | 20 Easy Ideas

Must-HaveParty Supplies

BrowseParty Themes

Submit a Party &Get Featured!

See all thePrintables



Copyright ©2023, Playdates to Parties. All Rights Reserved. // Design by Pixel Me Designs. // Privacy Policy.
All images original to this website are the property of From Play Dates to Parties. Use of a single watermarked image is only authorized with a link and reference to the original source. Republishing posts in their entirety or removing/editing watermarks is prohibited without permission. Pinning is always welcome and appreciated. Thank you!
10 shares