Coriander + Lemon grass
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 377 recipes, and they share 217 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Do coriander and lemon grass go together?
Yes. 377 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 217 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 1% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything lemon grass carries, coriander has too: 217 of lemon grass's 244 flavor molecules also occur in coriander. Among the shared key aromas are decanal (soap, orange peel) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What each one brings
coriander
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 14% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 11% for lemon grass. It carries 138 molecules lemon grass doesn't have.
lemon grass
Much the same character. It carries 27 molecules coriander doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Lime: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with coriander, top 1% with lemon grass.
- Cumin: top 1% of pairs with coriander, top 1% with lemon grass.
- Turmeric: top 1% of pairs with coriander, top 1% with lemon grass.
- Cardamom: top 1% of pairs with coriander, top 1% with lemon grass.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with coriander and lemon grass
Mostly mains: 11 of the 14 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Almost all of lemon grass's flavor molecules (217 of 244) are also found in coriander, but coriander has 138 that lemon grass lacks. Lemon grass gives you part of coriander's character without most of its fresh, green side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 217 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 138 only in coriander and the 27 only in lemon grass.
Coriander and lemon grass questions
Do coriander and lemon grass go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 377 recipes, and they share 217 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do coriander and lemon grass taste good together?
Almost everything lemon grass carries, coriander has too: 217 of lemon grass's 244 flavor molecules also occur in coriander. Among the shared key aromas are decanal (soap, orange peel) and eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
What goes with coriander and lemon grass?
Lime is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with coriander and top 1% with lemon grass. Cumin and turmeric also fit both.
What can you make with coriander and lemon grass?
Mostly mains: 11 of the 14 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Cambodian Lemongrass Soup, Burmese-Style Fish Salad, California Thai Flank Steak, Chicken Satay.
Can I use lemon grass instead of coriander?
Only partly. Almost all of lemon grass's flavor molecules (217 of 244) are also found in coriander, but coriander has 138 that lemon grass lacks. Lemon grass gives you part of coriander's character without most of its fresh, green side. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Coriander vs Lemon Grass. https://compkitchen.com/compare/coriander-vs-lemon-grass. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_coriander_vs_lemon_grass_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Coriander vs Lemon Grass},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/coriander-vs-lemon-grass},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.