Food and Recipes Seasonings Herbs 19 Ways To Use Fresh Mint That Go Way Beyond A Julep By Jenna Sims Jenna Sims Jenna is a Senior Digital Editor for Southern Living and joined the team in 2014. She writes, produces, and assigns content with a focus on email growth and commerce content. She covers a range of topics in the lifestyle space from holiday gift guides to new product launches to tips for cooking with your air fryer. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on July 1, 2023 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Torie Cox Mint is an easy-to-grow herb that also multiplies quickly. Once you add a mint plant to your herb collection, you'll have plenty on hand to use whenever you need it. If you already have a mint plant in your garden, we're here to share our best fresh mint recipes so you can make the most of your bounty. If you don't yet have one, these recipes using fresh mint just may convince you to buy one the next time you're at the flower shop. While we'll never turn down a classic Mint Julep, it's just one of the many recipes you can make with the fresh herb. From drinks to main dishes to desserts, there are plenty of ways to incorporate fresh mint into your cooking. 01 of 19 Fresh Mint Chocolate Pie Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Instead of extract, this pie gets all of its flavor from the fresh herb. The chocolate wafter cookie crust is the perfect compliment to all of the minty goodness. 02 of 19 Mint Margarita Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Christine Keely You are only two steps away from a refreshing drink. Mint gives an upgraded, fresh taste to traditional margaritas. 03 of 19 Cucumber-Chickpea Salad With Feta-Mint Vinaigrette Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis The homemade vinaigrette for this cucumber salad calls for 3/4 cup of fresh mint, plus other fresh herbs so it's a great recipe to showcase your homegrown ingredients. The crispy chickpeas create a lovely texture. 04 of 19 Cucumber Mint Mojito Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Mint and cucumber come together to create a cool, refreshing flavor. You can also easily make this a big batch drink because this cocktail is blended. 05 of 19 The SL Mint Julep Photo: Hector Sanchez Our take on the classic Kentucky Derby drink that's worth enjoying year-round. It's a true classic. 06 of 19 Mint Chocolate Chip Cake Southern Living We turned the classic ice cream into a decadent layer cake. The whipped cream based frosting will not disappoint. 07 of 19 Watermelon Slushies With Key Lime-Mint Sugar We think that this recipe will make your list of top 10 summer desserts. The Key Lime-Mint Sugar can be stored for up to three months in an airtight container. 08 of 19 Blackberry-Mint Sparkler Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Make the most of fresh blackberries and mint in this fruity, fizzy cocktail. Add a sprig of mint and a few blackberries to garnish each glass. 09 of 19 Warm Radish-And-Potato Salad With Smoked Trout And Radish Leaf-And-Mint Pesto Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Torie Cox Feeling a little fancy? Mint leaves are used in the salad and pesto to give this potato salad a refreshing finish. 10 of 19 Strawberry-Mint Tea Alison Miksch; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Refreshing on its own or as a mixer, you can't go wrong keeping a pitcher of this mint tea in your refrigerator all summer long. You can also spike this mixture for a fun, pitcher drink. 11 of 19 Zucchini-Mint Pasta Becky Luigart-Stayner You can easily add your choice of protein to turn this side into a main dish. Fresh lemon adds an extra layer of brightness to this dish. 12 of 19 Aperol And Blood Orange-Mint Spritz Peter Frank Edwards Just four ingredients and a few stirs are needed to make this Aperol Spritz. Oranges might be the star of this show, but the mint adds the little something this drink needs to make it truly special. 13 of 19 Sautéed Snap Peas And Mint Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen The easy and unexpected side dish takes just 10 minutes to come together. Fresh mint from your garden brightens up the flavors of the sugar snap peas. 14 of 19 Mint-Champagne Shrub Hector M. Sanchez Plenty of mint balances out the tart vinegar flavor of this shrub cocktail. It makes eight servings so there will be plenty for the entire party. 15 of 19 Mint Julep Sweet Tea Jennifer Davick; Styling: Lydia DeGaris Pursell Two classic Southern drinks come together to create an iced cocktail that's begging you to sit on a porch with a glass in hand. 16 of 19 Lemon-Mint Sparklers Hector Sanchez; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham The Lemon-Mint Syrup used to make this cocktail can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator for up to a week. Make sure to mix it all together just before you serve it to make sure it's fizzy. 17 of 19 Mint-And-White-Chocolate Milk Punch Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck Mint is a quintessential taste of the holiday season, and this milk punch delivers plenty of minty flavor. If desired, add vodka. 18 of 19 Watermelon-Mint Margaritas Southern Living Frozen watermelon creates a slushy texture for margaritas. Use orange or apple juice instead of tequila. 19 of 19 Roasted Lamb With Fresh-Herb Sauce Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Melissa Gray; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely Fresh mint is always the perfect compliment to lamb. It's much more simple to make than you think. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit