The leaves of the plant are very aromatic and it's these that are used as a flavouring herb. They have a nutty, botanical fragrance which enhances the flavor of Indonesian, Singaporean, Filipino, Malaysian, Thai, Bangladeshi, Vietnamese and Burmese foods, especially rice dishes and cakes. Typically they are used in sweet dishes, but in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka they are also used to flavour savoury dishes. The aroma of the leaves is very distinctive, with nutty overtones and hints of freshly-mown hay (indeed the scent is reminiscent of Jasmine rice, but much stronger). The maximum fragrance is developed from the leaves only on wilting, but the fragrance is lost on drying. As a result, even in their native area, pandanus leaves are often replaced by an extract that also contains green food colouring. The leaves are sometimes steeped in coconut milk, which is then added to the dish. They may be tied in a bunch and cooked with the food. They may also be woven into a basket which is used as a pot for cooking rice. Pandan chicken, or gai ob bai toey, is a Thai dish with chicken wrapped in pandan leaves and fried. The leaves are also used as a flavoring for desserts such as pandan cake and sweet beverages.

The exact chemical origin of pandan leaf's scent is not well known, but a good candidate is the compound compound 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline which also gives white bread, jasmine rice and basmati rice.

In Thailand, iced drinks made from young coconuts with pandanus flavour are popular, and in Indonesia, pandan leaves are made into ice cream like concoctions. However, the most common use of pandan leaves is to flavour desserts made from glutinous rice.

Pandanus amaryllifolius hardy ever produces flowers and is not known in the wild, but the cultivar is distributed over Southern India, peninsular South East Asia, Indonesia and Western New Guinea. Indeed, the only known instances of flowering in Pandanus amaryllifolius was reported from the Moluccas archipelago, and it is plausible that the species evolved there. Pandan leaves are commonly employed for Singhalese curries in Sri Lanka (often together with curry leaves) and they are used occasionally in Southern India. However, the most intensive usage is in south-east Asia especially Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia where the leaves are valued as they enhance the flavour of rice. Pandanus leaves can also be used as fragrant wrappers for cooking other foods such as rice, chicken and fish. The leaves are also commonly used in desserts especially in sweet puddings or custards based on the use of glutinous rice. For many of these recipes, however, pandan leaf essence is often used (and can be bought in good Asian supermarkets). However, this essence is invariably bright green in colour as a food dye is added. This works well in desserts but does not lend itself for spicy dishes. Unfortunately dried pandan leaf has no flavour at all and fresh leaves have to be used.

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