12 Uses for Mint You Need to Try
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Do you grow mint in your garden or perhaps you may have picked up a little too much at the store this week? Find ways to use it up with all of these uses for mint!
Uses for Mint
As you may know, mint is an inexpensive addition to your landscaping, easy to grow, and even easier to take care of. Mint is a hardy plant that tends to flourish even with minimal care. Whether you are growing spearmint or peppermint, mint plants can give your yard a lovely aroma and visual appeal with emerald green leaves.
But did you know that mint is good for so much more?
Believe it or not, there are many uses mint can be used around your home, both in your kitchen as well as in other areas of your home. Because it is so easy to grow and inexpensive, it is the perfect plant for budget-conscious people looking to get some bang for their plant buck! Take a look below at 10 uses for mint that you may not know about. You will be inspired to try these simple uses this weekend.
Take a peek!
Uses for Mint Leaves
1. Make your own mint syrup.
Mint syrup can be used to flavor your summer drinks, snow cones, desserts, and more. Just boil mint leaves with one part sugar to two parts water to create a simple syrup.
2. Perk up your pesto.
Add mint leaves to your pesto dishes to give them a pop of refreshing flavor. It pairs well with basil, or you can even make mint pesto by using mint as the solo herb.
–Get my Homemade Pesto Recipe here!
3. Utilize as an insect repellent.
Place pots of mint around your garden (do not plant in your garden directly, as it will take over EVERYTHING) to repel insects that would love to dine there. Ants especially hate it, so sprinkle mint wherever they seem to be a problem.
4. Chew for fresh breath.
You can chew on clean mint leaves for fresh breath and soothe your stomach after a large meal. Just break off a fresh leaf, let it sit on your tongue for a second or two, then chew away! Chewing mint can also help with indigestion symptoms.
You can also make your own mouthwash when you combine chopped mint leaves in 1 quart of boiling water. Strain. Store in the refrigerator and use as needed.
5. Give your potatoes some pop.
You can add chopped mint to your roasted potatoes for an added pop. Just chop and toss with a little oil, salt, and pepper and pour over your potatoes. Roast as usual.
Tip: Here’s my Easy Roasted Potatoes Recipe.
6. Fancy up your beverages
Freeze mint leaves in your ice cubes to make mint ice cubes for a pop of freshness and some pretty presentation. This is especially a great idea when planning bridal or baby showers. Guests will love it! Don’t stop at cold drinks; mint is great in hot chocolate too. (Especially chocolate mint!)
You can also try my Cherry Mint Infused Water or some mint tea for simple ways to enjoy this herb. Mint lemonade is also good when you make a regular homemade lemonade with lemons (or lime!) and add a sprig or two of mint.
7. Spice up your salads.
Mint leaves make a pretty and practical addition to fruit salads. Just chop and sprinkle or throw the washed leaves in whole. It’s also great with a feta cheese salad, cucumber salad, watermelon salad, or other cold dishes. You can even add to salsa salads for an instant pick me up as well.
Tip: Find my favorite 1 Minute Salsa Recipe here.
8. Give your butter a boost.
You can make your own mint butter in seconds. Just mix butter and fresh mint leaves in a blender or food processor until mixed well. Use on toast, muffins, and so much more.
9. Enjoy a Mint bath.
Add mint leaves to your bath; they will refresh and wake up your skin and your senses! You can chop leaves and add them or add leaves whole. It is a way to get the spa experience for less!
10. Spice up steamed foods.
You can add mint to steamed vegetables and steamed rice to get an added pop of flavor. The flavor of mint is unexpected but pairs nicely with these food items, are a great way to perk them up and try something new.
11. Make Mint Sugar
Place fresh or dried mint in a sealed container with sugar. Occasionally shake or stir around the contents of the container so that the sugar takes on the flavor of the mint. Use for sprinkling or in recipes where both mint and sugar are needed.
This would be fun to use in a mint chocolate cake or in a mint chocolate sauce.
12. Make a Strawberry Mint Face Mask
Because mint is gentle but revitalizing, take a peek at a wonderful recipe for a Strawberry Mint Face Mask you can try this weekend! Soothe your skin and relax your senses with this easy-to-use mask using mint.
What You Need:
- 6 Strawberries
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 6 mint leaves
- 1 cup of yogurt
Directions:
1. Chop your strawberries and mint leaves as fine as possible.
2. Add the chopped ingredients into a bowl and stir in the yogurt and honey.
3. Mix well for several minutes until the mixture is smooth.
4. Apply to your face, avoiding the eyes.
5. Relax and allow the mixture to sit for 15-20 minutes.
6. Rinse off with warm water and pat dry.
Your face will feel smooth, calm, and refreshed! Try this recipe and see how the mint makes all of the difference.
See how many wonderful uses there are for this amazing plant? You can find mint at any local gardening center or farmer’s market, and you can typically buy it for just a few dollars a plant. Why not see what mint can do for you? Give these practical uses a try and see if you don’t fall in love with the marvelous mint plant!
More Uses for Fresh Herbs
Find more of my Herb Ideas and Articles here.
What are your favorite uses for mint? Do you have a favorite recipe to use it in?
Merissa has been blogging about and living the simple life since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to the 100-acre farm and on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.
This blog post on What to Do With Mint Leaves was originally published on Little House Living in September 2013. It has been updated as of June 2023.
My favorite use for mint would have to be medical. My husband had severe acid reflux and now thanks to mint he doesn’t have it as severe. Whenever he does have it, he just takes a leaf or two and eats them and its gone within a minute or two.
Here are some of the other known medicinal benefits of mint: http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-705-PEPPERMINT.aspx?activeIngredientId=705&activeIngredientName=PEPPERMINT
Great post! 🙂 Linking to it on a post I’m publishing tomorrow 🙂
I planted mint in my herb garden ( I am new to this) we’ll it is going crazy I have tried to pull it out but it still comes back is there any other way to stop it from coming back?
It’s a little too late now… but for future reference mint should only be planted in a pot (which can be buried in the garden if you like). The pot prevents the mint from spreading like crazy. Mint is really a very hardy weed, and I’m not sure how to prevent it from coming back.
Mint is so invasive that it can grow down through the drain hole in planters sitting on soil and pop up elsewhere. Place containers on cement or a solid base of some sort. A few years ago when we were struggling to rescue a neglected lawn, my husband commented it’s a shame our HOA covenants don’t allow replacing grass with mint. We’d have been home free.
YES!!! Plant it in a pot or “windowbox” – even a plastic one, like, from Dollar Tree, and bury THAT in the ground; mulch around your plants! The pot keeps the roots from taking over! lol You will only learn this lesson the hard way, once!
Yep, me too. I spent some time each spring yanking it out of my raised beds. But I think I have fewer tomato hornworms than my neighbors! And I use a lot of it in drinks and cooking. My family loves tzatziki sauce wit mint and dill.
I took a bath w mint. I recommend it!
Dear Sarah , I was glad to see you enjoyed your mint bath in July and would like to enquire if you have repeated the experience since..
love plus igat plenty of it 😍
I had some rather bland chardonnay that perked right up when I added fresh mint. This year I am growing Mojito mint. I was told that it is the perfect mint for Mojitos. Well – you can tell what my garden is for!
I used this site for my Agriculture project. Thank you! ╰(*°▽°*)╯
Mint is an awesome rodent repellent. It also repels spiders.
How does it ropel spiders just wondering cuz I hate spiders too many of them here?
Does it repel skinks/ small lizards?
This is great! My dad has tons of mint and I’m looking for things to do with it. I put it in lemonade, and made a lemon curd with mint. I’ll do the roasted potatoes tomorrow.
Lemon curd with mint sounds so good!
I blend a lot of the mint to make juice ,I also add some orange , lime juice and ginger then a little sugar ,it makes nice refreshing drink.
Very good with any kind of beans I can just pick it and eat it Judy straight from the garden
I can’t go outside. Insects are feasting on Me. I have A lot Mint. Can it be boiled, strained & use the water become Mosquito Repellant? Use a spray bottle of course.
I haven’t tried it before so I’m not sure how it would work.
I do use it as a natural bug repellent. I do notice that it is not as strong as some other repellent but does detour some Mosquitoes. I first noticed this when I started bathing with mints and then would go out on the deck.
i would like to try some of these
How do you store mint to use later?
You can always dry it to use later. 🙂
I love mint ice cubes. First boil the mint and then let it sit and cool down. After put the mint water in a ice tray and place fresh mint in each cube for nice decoration. Freeze and then use for many different drinks and beverages.
sounds neat to do…freezing and attractive in glasses….would make you feel “fancy”….haha will try it myself…thanks
I made mint tea 0ne year. Just boil it with your tea bags. Be sure to strain it befire you drink it. It’s nice and cooling one hot days. Gives ice tea a littlerefreshing taste too.
We have wild mint all along our lake shore. How do I know it is not the inedible kind of mint?
Thanks for all the comments. I have just planted some in a pot and they are doing great. I use in tea and pineapple juice. Its a great herb.
A favorite recipe we use for tabouleh uses mint. It adds great flavor with the tomatoes and grains, a lovely salad for summer meals and picnics.
I take the leaves off my mint and put it on my dehydrated and dry them. Then I put them in my vita mix and turn it on until it is all very fine. I use 1/2 tsp each morning in my smoothie and it adds freshness.
I like to put a small sprig of mint in a glass and add lemonade or lemon water. It gives it a little different twist.