Basil vs Oregano – Which is Healthier?

Our Verdict

When comparing basil to oregano, we picked the basil.

Why?

You may be thinking: these are just herbs; we don’t eat enough of these for the nutritional values to be relevant!

And to this we say: there’s nothing stopping you :p Herbs are full of flavor and goodness and there is really no reason to deny yourself. On this note, check out the sabzi khordan (traditional Levantine herb platter), linked below. You’ll start thinking about herbs in new ways, and you can thank us later!

Now, in terms of macros, nominally basil has more protein and oregano has more carbs and fiber, but the numbers are so close in each case that we’re going to call this category a tie.

When it comes to vitamins, things get more interesting: basil has more of vitamins B2, B3, B6, B9, K, and choline, while oregano has more of vitamins A, B1, B5, C, and E. This means a 6:5 win for basil, but note how the two herbs together give an impressive vitamin coverage. In other words, they complement each other nutritionally, not just culinarily!

In the category of minerals, basil has more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc, while oregano has more selenium. Now, this is obviously a clear win for basil, but we’d like to highlight that both of these herbs are incredibly rich in minerals (i.e. oregano is a very good source of all those minerals we listed for basil, too!); it’s just that basil has even more of most of them.

When looking at any nutrient-dense food (which most herbs are), it’s worth looking at polyphenols. In this case, both are very abundant in polyphenols, and/but their respective numbers are close enough to be within each other’s margin of variation (i.e. exact numbers will depend on the individual plant’s life history), so this category is a tie.

Adding up the sections makes for an overall clear win for basil, but absolutely please do enjoy both unless you have a good reason not to—they complement each other so well, in nutrients as well as in flavor!

Want to learn more?

You might like to read:

• Cilantro vs Parsley – Which is Healthier?
• Holy Basil: What Does (And Doesn’t) It Do?
• Invigorating Sabzi Khordan (A Traditional Levantine Platter Of Herbs & Accompaniments)

Enjoy!