How many teaspoons are in a sprig? A conversion guide for common culinary herbs

About this guide:

A lot of recipes call for a specific amount of a finely chopped fresh herb. But how do you know what length of sprig or how many sprigs you need for that?

That's what this guide is for. It's a handy reference that tells you approximately how many teaspoons are in a sprig of a particular herb.

You can use this guide in the grocery store when shopping for a recipe. Or you can reference it before taking scissors to the potted herb plants in your kitchen or your garden.

NOTE: Please keep in mind that this resource is meant as a guide only. The amounts given for each herb are approximate because no two sprigs of a particular herb are the exact same and the number and size of leaves will vary to some extent.

What's in this guide:

This guide is organized by herb (in alphabetical order). How many teaspoons are in a sprig depends both on the herb and the size of the sprig. For each herb this guide lists:

• the length of the sprig measured
• the approximate amount of leaves that can be harvested from a sprig of that length
• the approximate amount of finely chopped herb that a sprig of that length will yield

I also included photographs to provide a visual reference for what each measured herb sprig looked like.

How was this guide created?

To create this guide, I analyzed sprigs of all common culinary herbs. I included basil, chive, cilantro, dill, lavender, marjoram, mint, rosemary, parsley (flat leaf (Italian) and curly leaf), oregano, sage, tarragon and thyme.

I did each measurement three times, meaning I selected three sprigs of the same length for each herb. For each measurement, I cut the leaves off the sprig and packed them into a measuring spoon or cup and noted the amount. Then I finely chopped the leaves, transferred them into a measuring spoon and noted their volume. The amounts reported in this guide are the average of the three measurements.

What is a sprig / How much is a sprig:

A sprig of an herb is a small branch of the herb plant (usually between 4 and 6 inches long, unless otherwise specified).

Sprigs can vary dramatically in size, even within a given plant. Because of that I have included the length of each sprig measured in this guide.

How to calculate specific amounts:

You can calculate the specific amounts of finely chopped herb you need using the conversions for teaspoons to tablespoons and tablespoons to cups listed below.

How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?

How many tablespoons are in a cup?

Basil:

Chive:

Cilantro:

Dill:

Lavender:

Note: Lavender buds will pack tightly together. That's why the volume of whole lavender buds and that of finely chopped lavender will be about the same.

Marjoram:

Mint:

Oregano:

Parsley (curly leaf):

Parsley (flat leaf):

How much is one bunch of parsley:

One bunch of parsley (flat leaf (Italian) or curly leaf) usually weighs 2 to 2 ½ ounces and is usually made up of 20 to 25 long sprigs.

Rosemary:

Sage:

Note: Finely chopped sage leaves won't pack very tightly together because of their cotton-like texture. That's why the volume of packed whole sage leaves and that of finely chopped sage will be about the same.

Tarragon:

Thyme:

More cooking conversion guides: