Epazote

Epazote is an herb well-known to Mexican and Caribbean cooking. The name comes from the Aztec (Nahuatl) epazotl. It is also known as pigweed or Mexican tea and is frequently regarded as a garden pest.

Epazote is used in soups, stews and beans. It is commonly used in black bean recipes to ward off some of the "negative" side affects of eating beans. Much like cilantro, it is referred to as an "acquired taste". The herb is quite pungent and some say it smells like gasoline or kerosene.  You can read more about epazote here.

You can typically purchase fresh epazote in Mexican markets.  The dried version is can be purchased here at Gourmetsleuth.com.

Best Substitutes For Epazote

If you don't have epazote you can substitute:

• Replace fresh with dried at the rate of 1 teaspoon dried for 1 tablespoon fresh. If the recipe calls for fresh epazote do try to find it as your first option.
• OR - Use equal amounts of papalo if you can find it.  Look for it in Mexican markets.
• OR - If you don't care for the flavor you can leave it out of the recipe.  For tacos you can use fresh flat-leaf parsley to replace epazote.