According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, around ⅙ of American Jews adhere to kosher dietary laws, which equates to around 0.3% of the population of the United States. If you’re a part of this minority – or you just have a hunger for knowledge – how do you know which herbs and spices are kosher?
The vast majority of herbs and spices are kosher. You can tell for certain if an herb, spice, or seasoning blend is kosher by looking for the kosher certification symbol (typically a K or a U within a circle).
If you’re a little fuzzy on what it means to be kosher, don’t worry – we’ll do a quick refresher before diving more into the details. We’ll also review a few exceptions that might make an herb or spice NOT kosher…

What does kosher mean?
Kosher is a Hebrew term and describes something fit to eat according to Jewish law. These kosher diet rules are called kashrut. Not all Jewish people choose to follow these rules, but some do.
According to the Kosher Certification Service, what makes a food kosher is complex and can’t easily be summarized. From the slaughter of animals for meat to added ingredients like stabilizers and emulsifiers, there are rules and standards to qualify a food as kosher.
To be considered kosher, foods must be prepared under the supervision of a rabbi to ensure they follow Jewish law, from the cleanliness of the production process to the treatment of animals meant for human consumption.
One way to tell if a food is kosher is to look for the common symbols that signify that it’s kosher – most often it’s a U with a circle around it or a K with a circle around it.
Are herbs and spices kosher?
According to the Kosher Certification Service, spices are “nearly always kosher” – so it’s safe to assume herbs are as well. There are a few things to consider regarding spices and seasoning blends, though.
Flow agents
Some spices and spice blends contain added ingredients to prevent caking and help the powder flow freely. To be considered kosher, the flow agents used must be from approved sources. Silicon dioxide is a common flow agent and is kosher, while stearates (another type of flow agent) can come from animals and must come from a kosher source.
Israeli-grown herbs and spices
Herbs and spices are generally considered “acceptable from any source, kosher-certified or not”. There is a caveat when it comes to Israeli-grown herbs and spices, though.
Kosher rules don’t allow the consumption of herbs and spices grown in Israel during a “sabbatical year”. A sabbatical year occurs once every seven years, and during that time nothing is grown or harvested on Israeli soil.
If an herb or spice is labeled as coming from Israel, it needs to be certified to ensure it wasn’t produced or harvested during a sabbatical year.
Added ingredients
Some herb and spice blends contain added ingredients like dairy-based ingredients and meat-based ingredients (cheese, bacon, etc). One kosher law prohibits the combination of meat and dairy products.
If a seasoning blend contains both meat and dairy ingredients, it’s not kosher. In addition, if the equipment used to make a spice blend that contains meat ingredients wasn’t properly cleaned before processing a seasoning blend containing milk, that would be an issue under kosher law as well.
Psst! Bacon and pork of any kind aren’t kosher, so beware of any salad topping mixes that might contain dried bacon in addition to herbs and spices!
The good news is that most seasoning blends (like Italian seasoning, taco seasoning, and other popular mixes) usually don’t contain meat AND dairy ingredients. If you’re unsure, check the ingredients list and look for a kosher-certified symbol. If that doesn’t answer your question, then you can always make your own seasoning blends using plain herbs and spices that you know are kosher.
Bottom line – which herbs and spices are kosher?
The great news is that virtually all herbs and spices are kosher! If you’re using blends of herbs and spices, there are a few potential exceptions, but those are pretty rare. Finally, if an herb or spice comes from Israel, it should be ensured that it wasn’t produced or harvested during a sabbatical year.
When in doubt, look for the kosher certification symbol which usually is a K, a K within a circle, or a U within a circle. (I was curious so I checked my spice drawer and sure enough, each herb and spice bottle had a U with a circle around it!)
What about salt?!
Before we leave you with this (possibly) new information, we can’t forget to mention salt. “Kosher salt” is one of the more well-known terms when it comes to kosher foods. Salt isn’t a spice, but it’s the most popular flavor enhancer worldwide, so we’ll give it the spotlight for a second.
Kosher salt is less processed than iodized (table salt) and generally doesn’t contain added iodine. The grains of kosher salt are coarse with large and uneven grains, and it’s ideal for all forms of cooking except for baking since the larger flakes don’t dissolve as uniformly or evenly as finely ground salt.
Kosher salt doesn’t usually contain added ingredients like anti-clumping agents, similar to sea salt, so it’s considered to be very pure.
FAQs:
Most herbs, spices, and spice blends are kosher. Look for the kosher-certified symbol to ensure they’re kosher, but the vast majority of herbs, spices, and seasoning blends are kosher.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer used in some processed foods. It can be kosher but needs to be certified.
Kosher salt is especially popular for seasoning meat and vegetables because of the large, coarse size of the salt granules. The larger granules mean it’s easier to uniformly sprinkle as a seasoning compared to fine salt crystals which are more difficult to sprinkle uniformly as a seasoning.
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