Bouquet Garni: The French Secret to Flavorful Cooking

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In every traditional French kitchen, there’s one little bundle that quietly transforms soups, stews, and sauces: the bouquet garni.

My grandmother always kept a ball of cooking twine tucked into her drawer, ready to tie together sprigs of fresh herbs before dropping them into a simmering pot. At the end of cooking, she would simply lift the herb bundle out — leaving behind layers of wonderful flavor without stray stems floating around.

It’s a small detail, but in French cooking, the small details make all the difference.

What Is a Bouquet Garni?

A bouquet garni (literally “garnished bouquet”) is simply a bundle of herbs used to season long-simmered dishes like soups, sauces, and braises. Think of it as a quiet flavor base: herbs infuse the dish gently while it cooks, then are removed before serving for easy removal.

Traditionally, the herbs are tied with a piece of kitchen twine or wrapped in cheese cloth (or muslin cloth) so they stay neatly together.

Classic Herb Mixture

There isn’t one “official” recipe — every cook makes their own bouquet garni. But a traditional bouquet garni often includes:

• Sprigs of thyme
• Bay leaf (or a couple of dried bay leaves)
• Parsley stalks or sprigs of parsley

This classic herb mixture is the French cook’s holy trinity for slow simmering.

Other green herbs can be added depending on the desired flavor profile.

• sage
• rosemary
• tarragon
• basil
• cilantro
• oregano
• chervil

How To Make a Bouquet Garni

Making your own is simple and takes just a moment:

1. Gather your herbs (fresh is best, but you can use dry herbs in a pinch).
2. Tie them together with kitchen string.
3. For dry or delicate herbs, wrap them in a small square of muslin cloth or cheese cloth before tying.
4. Drop the herb bundle into your stock, stew, or sauce.
5. Simmer gently and remove before serving.

When To Use a Bouquet Garni

The bouquet garni is used in countless French classics:

• Homemade chicken stock
• Pot-au-feu
• Beef bourguignon
• Cassoulet
• Soupe à l’oignon

Any dish that benefits from a slow simmer can be lifted with this bundle of herbs.

Tips For Success

• Fresh herbs bring out the most fragrance, but dry herbs will still add lots of flavor.
• Keep it simple: 3–5 herbs is plenty.
• If you don’t have kitchen twine, don’t worry — toss the herbs in loose and fish them out later. But twine makes clean-up easier!
• When tying the twine, first tie a knot, then wrap the loose ends around the bundle several times before double knotting.
• You can even prep a few ahead of time and keep them in a glass jar with an airtight lid, in the refrigerator, ready to go for your weeknight soups. For even more inspiration, check out my post on the ultimate way to store fresh herbs — it’s the method my family has passed down, and it keeps herbs vibrant and flavorful for days.

A French Kitchen Ritual

For me, tying herbs with a bit of cooking twine feels like more than just a step in a recipe — it’s a small ritual.  With just a few sprigs and a pot on the stove, you can create something deeply nourishing, comforting, and timeless.

 In the end, a bouquet garni is proof that the simplest gestures in cooking — a tied herb bundle — can make the biggest difference in flavor.

Bon appétit,

Gaby