What to use instead of epazote
Quick answer
The closest option is Mexican oregano, rated poor. Not a substitute so much as the nearest thing in the same cuisine. Both are resinous herbs that survive a long simmer and both belong in a Mexican bean pot, and there the resemblance ends: epazote is camphorous and faintly petroleum-like, Mexican oregano citric and medicinal. A pot of beans made with oregano instead is a good pot of beans without the specific savoury depth epazote gives.
It will not do for: Quesadillas with squash blossom or huitlacoche, where epazote is the identifying flavour; Green salsas built on it; Anywhere the harsh camphorous note is what the dish is after.
All recorded options
Ranked by suitability. Ratios are given only where they are defensible, and always with their basis — by weight or by volume — because spice densities differ.
Mexican oregano
PoorUse: 1× by volume — One for one against dried epazote. A rough equivalence between two resinous herbs rather than a real correspondence.
Not a substitute so much as the nearest thing in the same cuisine. Both are resinous herbs that survive a long simmer and both belong in a Mexican bean pot, and there the resemblance ends: epazote is camphorous and faintly petroleum-like, Mexican oregano citric and medicinal. A pot of beans made with oregano instead is a good pot of beans without the specific savoury depth epazote gives.
| Flavour | Aroma | Colour | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| different | partial | close | n/a |
Works for
- Bean and pulse dishes, where both herbs belong anyway
- Soups and long-cooked Mexican dishes
Does not work for
- Quesadillas with squash blossom or huitlacoche, where epazote is the identifying flavour
- Green salsas built on it
- Anywhere the harsh camphorous note is what the dish is after
Why there is no second option: There is no second option, and there is barely a first. Epazote's character comes from ascaridole, a compound found in almost nothing else that is eaten, and four hundred years of Mexican cooking has not produced an analogue. Mexican oregano is here because it is the nearest thing that belongs in the same pot, not because it resembles epazote. Hoja santa and avocado leaf were considered and rejected: both are aromatic Mexican leaves and neither is camphorous. The honest alternative to epazote is omitting it. Editorial judgement.
Epazote has no close substitute and grows like the weed it is. A windowsill plant solves this problem permanently for anyone who cooks Mexican food often.