Top 11 'Grocery Bill-Slashing' Herbs to Plant for Beginners Tired of Buying Tiny Plastic Packs
Let's be honest. You’re standing in the produce aisle, staring at a tiny plastic clamshell of fresh basil. It costs a small fortune, holds about twelve leaves, and you know, deep down, that half of it will turn into a sad, slimy mess in your crisper drawer before you can even think about making a second batch of pesto. It feels wasteful, expensive, and a little bit ridiculous.
We've all been there. The dream of fresh, fragrant herbs elevating our home cooking clashes with the reality of overpriced, over-packaged produce. It's a cycle of buying, wilting, and wasting that's frustrating for both our wallets and our desire for a more sustainable kitchen. But what if I told you there’s a simple, deeply satisfying solution sitting on your windowsill, balcony, or a sunny patch in your yard?
Growing your own herbs is one of the easiest and most rewarding entry points into gardening. It's a small act of self-sufficiency that pays you back tenfold in flavour, freshness, and serious savings. Forget the tiny packs. It's time to cultivate an endless supply. Here are the top 11 grocery bill-slashing herbs that even the most novice gardener can grow successfully.
1. Basil (The Pesto Powerhouse)
If there’s one herb that justifies starting a kitchen garden, it's basil. A fresh bunch can be pricey, yet it's the heart and soul of countless summer dishes. The good news? Basil is incredibly easy to grow, as long as you give it what it wants: lots of sun and warmth. It’s a true sun-worshipper, so a spot that gets at least 6 hours of direct sunlight is perfect.
The real secret to a bushy, productive basil plant is regular harvesting. Don't just pick off individual leaves! Snip the stem right above a set of two leaves. This encourages the plant to branch out, creating two new stems where you cut one. Also, be vigilant about pinching off any flower buds that appear. Once basil flowers, its energy shifts from leaf production to seed production, and the leaves can become bitter. Keep pinching, and your plant will reward you with a season-long supply.
Top Tip: Grow a few different types! Genovese basil is your classic pesto variety, but Thai basil offers a fantastic anise-like spice for stir-fries and curries, while lemon basil adds a bright, citrusy note to fish dishes and iced tea.
2. Mint (The Unstoppable Freshener)
Mint is so easy to grow, your main challenge will be stopping it from taking over your entire garden. It’s a vigorous, relentless spreader, which is why it's the number one herb to always plant in a container. Seriously. A pot, a hanging basket, a window box—anything to contain its ambitious roots. Trust me on this one.
Once potted, mint is wonderfully low-maintenance. It tolerates a bit of shade and just needs to be kept reasonably moist. A single small plant can quickly grow into a lush bush, providing more than enough mint for mojitos, iced teas, fruit salads, and homemade mint sauce. Harvest it just like basil by snipping stems, and it will grow back even fuller.
Top Tip: When your mint plant gets a bit "leggy" (long, sparse stems), give it a major haircut, cutting it back by about half. It will respond with a burst of fresh, compact growth.
3. Rosemary (The Hardy Roasting Hero)
Tired of buying a single, expensive sprig of woody rosemary for your roast chicken? Plant one rosemary bush, and you'll likely have enough for yourself—and your neighbours—for years to come. This Mediterranean native is a hardy, woody perennial that thrives on neglect. It loves full sun, well-draining soil, and hates being overwatered. It’s the perfect “plant it and forget it” herb.
A small rosemary plant from a nursery will quickly establish itself and grow into a sizable shrub. In warmer climates, it will live year-round outdoors. In colder zones, you can bring it inside for the winter or cover it for protection. To harvest, simply snip off a few sprigs as needed. The aroma alone is worth the minimal effort.
Top Tip: The woody stems are packed with flavour. After stripping the leaves, toss the bare stems onto your barbecue coals to infuse your food with a beautiful, smoky aroma, or use them as flavourful skewers for kebabs.
4. Thyme (The Savory Sidekick)
Like rosemary, thyme is a drought-tolerant Mediterranean perennial that packs a huge flavour punch. A tiny pinch of fresh thyme leaves can transform soups, stews, roasted vegetables, and sauces. Because you often only need a little, those store-bought packs almost always go to waste. A single plant, however, provides a permanent, harvestable supply.
Thyme is a low-growing plant that makes a wonderful, fragrant groundcover or a beautiful "spiller" in a container arrangement. It needs plenty of sun and well-draining soil. Let the soil dry out between waterings. To harvest, just snip a few of the top inches from the stems. Regular trimming will keep the plant from becoming too woody and encourage tender new growth.
Top Tip: English thyme is the go-to culinary variety, but Lemon thyme is a fantastic alternative that adds a bright, citrusy flavour perfect for chicken and fish.
5. Parsley (The Indispensable Garnish)
Don't dismiss parsley as a mere garnish! Its fresh, green flavour is a workhorse in the kitchen, essential for tabbouleh, gremolata, and chimichurri, and perfect for brightening up just about any dish. Growing your own means you can skip the sad, limp bunches at the store and have a vibrant supply on hand.
There are two main types: flat-leaf (Italian) and curly. Most chefs prefer flat-leaf for its more robust flavour, but both are easy to grow. Parsley enjoys rich soil, consistent moisture, and can handle a bit less sun than its Mediterranean cousins. The key to a long and happy harvest is to snip the outer stems first, allowing the centre of the plant to keep producing new leaves.
Top Tip: Parsley is a biennial, meaning it has a two-year life cycle. In its second year, it will try to flower. While the leaves are still edible, they can become tougher. It’s best to plant a new batch each spring for the most tender leaves.
6. Chives (The Easiest Allium)
If you're looking for the absolute easiest, most foolproof herb to grow, chives might be the winner. These perennial members of the onion family will pop up in your garden every spring with zero effort. Their mild oniony flavour is perfect for snipping over scrambled eggs, baked potatoes, soups, and salads.
Chives grow in clumps of slender, hollow green leaves. You can grow them from seed or, even easier, buy a small pot and divide it. They aren’t fussy about sun and will grow happily in a pot on a balcony. To harvest, use scissors to snip the leaves about an inch from the base. They will regrow incredibly quickly.
Top Tip: Don't throw away the beautiful purple pom-pom flowers! They are edible and have a delicate onion flavour. Sprinkle the individual florets over a salad for a beautiful and delicious touch.
7. Cilantro/Coriander (The Salsa Staple)
Cilantro is a must-have for anyone who loves Mexican, Southeast Asian, or Indian cuisine. The problem? You often need a lot of it for recipes like salsa or green chutney, and store-bought bunches wilt in a flash. Growing your own gives you a constant, fresh supply.
The one challenge with cilantro is that it "bolts" (sends up a flower stalk) very quickly in hot weather. Once it bolts, the leaf production stops, and the flavour changes. The solution is succession planting. Every 2-3 weeks, sow a new small batch of seeds. This ensures that as one batch is finishing up, a new one is ready for harvest.
Top Tip: Let one of your plants go to seed! The dried seeds are the spice we know as coriander. You get two products from one plant. Crush the seeds to release their warm, citrusy aroma for use in curries and rubs.
8. Dill (The Pickler's Pal)
With its feathery fronds and unique, slightly anise-like flavour, dill is irreplaceable for flavouring fish, making tzatziki, and, of course, pickling. It's one of those herbs that's so much better fresh, and growing it is a breeze.
Dill grows best in cooler weather and can get quite tall and feathery. Plant it from seed directly in your garden or in a deep pot. You can start snipping the fronds as soon as the plant is a few inches tall. Like cilantro, it will eventually bolt, producing beautiful yellow umbrella-shaped flowers that attract beneficial insects.
Top Tip: Both the leaves (dill weed) and the seeds are used in cooking. Let the flower heads mature and dry on the plant to easily harvest your own dill seed for pickling brines and spice blends.
9. Oregano (The Pizza Plant)
That dusty jar of dried oregano in your pantry can't hold a candle to the pungent, peppery flavour of fresh leaves. A staple in Italian, Greek, and Mexican cooking, oregano is a hardy, spreading perennial that is just as easy to grow as its cousin, thyme. Give it a sunny spot, and it will happily form a low-maintenance, flavour-packed groundcover.
Like mint, oregano can be an enthusiastic spreader, so planting it in a container is a great way to keep it in check. It thrives in well-draining soil and doesn't need much water once established. In fact, its flavour is often more concentrated when grown in leaner, drier conditions. Simply snip stems as you need them.
Top Tip: Greek oregano is generally considered the most flavourful for cooking. If you have more than you can use fresh, oregano is one of the few herbs that dries exceptionally well, retaining much of its pungent flavour.
10. Sage (The Savory Stunner)
With its beautiful, silvery-green, velvety leaves, sage is as much an ornamental plant as it is a culinary one. Its earthy, peppery flavour is famously paired with poultry, pork, and winter squash, and is the star of any Thanksgiving stuffing. One plant is usually more than enough for the average family kitchen.
Sage is a woody perennial that loves full sun and well-draining soil—it's very susceptible to root rot if it stays too wet. It's incredibly low-maintenance. Prune it back in the spring to encourage new, tender growth and prevent it from becoming too woody and sparse.
Top Tip: Try making browned butter sage sauce. It’s incredibly simple—just melt butter in a pan, add a few whole sage leaves, and cook until the butter turns nutty and brown. Pour it over pasta (especially gnocchi or ravioli) or chicken for a gourmet meal in minutes.
11. Lemon Balm (The Calming Refresher)
Our final herb is a delightful and often-overlooked choice. As a member of the mint family, lemon balm is fantastically easy to grow (and yes, you should plant it in a pot!). Its crinkly green leaves release a wonderful, bright lemon scent when bruised. While not as common in cooking as the others, its value is immense.
Lemon balm is a prolific grower that’s not fussy about sun or soil. Use its leaves to make a wonderfully calming herbal tea, infuse water for a refreshing summer drink, or chop it finely and add it to fruit salads or yogurt. It’s a wonderful plant for attracting bees and other pollinators to your garden. Many of us here at the Goh Ling Yong blog have a pot of it just for a quick, calming cup of tea.
Top Tip: Muddle a few leaves at the bottom of a glass before adding sparkling water or gin and tonic for an instant, aromatic upgrade to your favourite beverage.
Your Fresh Start Awaits
Stepping out your door to snip a few sprigs of fresh rosemary for dinner isn't a homesteader's fantasy; it's a simple, achievable reality. Starting an herb garden is one of the most cost-effective, flavour-enhancing, and sustainable changes you can make in your kitchen. You'll reduce food waste, eliminate plastic packaging, and connect with your food in a deeply rewarding way.
Don't feel overwhelmed by this list. Start small. Pick just one or two herbs that you buy most often—basil and mint are fantastic starting points. A couple of pots on a sunny windowsill are all you need to begin slashing your grocery bill and elevating your cooking.
Now it's your turn. Which herb are you most excited to try growing? Do you have any of your own money-saving gardening tips? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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