Mint Substitutes, Ranked by the Job Mint Is Doing

Out of the mint you need? The best substitute for one mint is almost always the other mint. In cooking, “mint” usually means peppermint or spearmint, and McCormick describes spearmint as the milder of the two, with no menthol.¹ No other herb comes close to either mint’s chemistry, so with no mint at all, the right swap depends on the job: coolness in a drink or dessert, where mint extract can step in, or fresh green flavor in a savory dish, where basil can fill in.

Quick answer

How the ratios on this page are labeled

Every ratio carries one of four labels.

• Computed: based on a measurable physical relationship, such as converting fresh herbs to dried.
• Attributed: a named source publishes this ratio. We quote it as theirs.
• Disputed: named sources give different answers to the same swap. You get each one, side by side.
• Method: our starting point, based on how the two compare. Taste and adjust.

Only the extract and dried-herb figures below come from a named source.

If mint is the cool, minty flavor in a drink, dessert or tea

This is mint as the main flavor: mint tea, a mojito or julep, mint chocolate, a fruit salad. Here you need the mint compounds, and no other herb in the kitchen has them.

1. The other mint

Spearmint and peppermint have different personalities, but both taste clearly of mint. Peppermint oil is mainly menthol and menthone,² and McCormick says peppermint’s menthol gives a sharper taste that borders on spicy.¹ Spearmint’s main compound is carvone, and Katzer calls its flavor minty but not pungent.³ By Katzer’s account, true peppermint goes almost entirely into confections and sweet liqueurs, and its freshness suits chocolate, while spearmint is the mint for British mint sauce.³

Ratio (Method): Spearmint for peppermint: start with the same amount and add more if the dish needs more lift. Peppermint for spearmint: start with about half, since peppermint’s menthol bite is sharper, and taste.

2. Mint extract

If the leaves themselves don’t matter, as in frosting, a smoothie or a batter, extract is the simplest swap. Read the label. McCormick’s Pure Mint Extract contains oil of spearmint and oil of peppermint in alcohol and water,⁴ while its Pure Peppermint Extract contains only oil of peppermint in alcohol and water.⁵ McCormick suggests the mint extract for smoothies, cocktails and baked goods,⁴ and a few drops of the peppermint extract for hot cocoa, frosting or brownie batter.⁵

Ratio (Attributed): McCormick’s label for its Pure Mint Extract says 1 bunch of mint leaves equals 1 teaspoon of extract.⁴ It doesn’t say how big a bunch is, and the figure is for that product only, not peppermint extract or other brands. Extract also adds alcohol, with no green color or texture.

Flavoring oil in place of extract (Attributed): LorAnn says its peppermint super-strength flavor is 3 to 4 times stronger than alcohol-based extracts, and advises using 1/3 to 1/4 of the extract amount a recipe calls for.⁶ That’s the manufacturer’s figure for its own product.

If mint is a fresh green herb in a savory dish

In a salad, a yogurt sauce, a herb sauce for lamb or a grain salad, mint is one green note among several. A leafy herb from the same plant family can fill the gap here, though none of them tastes like mint.

1. Basil

Basil is in the mint family, but its flavor comes from different compounds. PROSEA describes its smell as sweet-spicy, slightly green and fresh.⁷ So basil brings sweetness and green freshness, but not mint’s coolness. It suits a herb salad or pesto-style sauce better than a mint tea.

Ratio (Method): Start with about half the mint amount, torn or chopped, and add more to taste. Add it at the end: LSU AgCenter lists basil and mint among the delicate herbs best added in the last minutes of cooking.⁸

2. Marjoram

Marjoram is mild and sweet, which fits some of the same savory dishes. It isn’t minty, chemically: neither of the two main types of marjoram oil is led by menthol.⁹

Ratio (Method): Start with half the mint amount and add more if needed.

3. Tarragon, for an anise note

PROSEA describes tarragon’s scent as sweet and anise-like, with a peculiar bittersweet flavor.¹⁰ It gives you sweetness and anise, not mint. It’s best in a fruit salad, a sweet drink or a sauce for fish or chicken.

Ratio (Method): Tarragon is assertive, so start with about a quarter of the mint amount, chopped fine.

4. Rosemary, for cooked meat only

Rosemary often gets suggested for mint’s savory uses, especially lamb. Its oil is a whole different profile. The University of Delaware’s extension service puts rosemary among the strong herbs and mint in the medium group.¹¹ Rosemary will season a roast well, but it won’t taste of mint, and it’s too strong to use raw in place of mint leaves.

Ratio (Method): Start with about a quarter of the mint amount, finely chopped, in cooked dishes only.

If mint is going into a cooked dish

When the herb is cooked in rather than scattered on top, dried mint is the obvious stand-in for fresh. It’s a compromise, though. America’s Test Kitchen lists mint among the herbs that are better fresh, saying delicate herbs like it are much weaker when dried.¹²

Ratio (Computed): America’s Test Kitchen’s tests found that 1 part dried herb to 3 parts fresh came closest to equal strength,¹³ and LSU AgCenter’s rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon finely cut fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon crumbled dried.⁸ Those are general herb rules, not a test on mint. Use 1 teaspoon dried mint for each tablespoon of chopped fresh mint, and taste.

What isn’t known

• McCormick’s 1-bunch-to-1-teaspoon figure doesn’t define a bunch, and we found no source giving a drop count for replacing chopped mint with peppermint extract or oil.
• You’ll often read that basil and marjoram share mint’s menthol coolness. The chemistry sources we reviewed don’t list menthol among their main compounds.⁷⁹

Related

• Mint, types of mint, mint uses and cooking with mint
• Peppermint, spearmint, spearmint vs. peppermint and peppermint substitutes
• Basil, basil vs. mint, marjoram, tarragon and rosemary
• Oregano vs. mint and lemon balm vs. mint
• How to dry mint, how to store mint and too much mint

Footnotes

1. McCormick Kitchens, “About Mint: Uses, Pairings and Recipes”, McCormick, 2026. mccormick.com · Merchant ↩ ↩²

2. Pooja Singh and Abhay K. Pandey, “Prospective of Essential Oils of the Genus Mentha as Biopesticides: A Review”, Frontiers in Plant Science, 2018. frontiersin.org · Peer-reviewed ↩

3. Gernot Katzer, “Mint (Mentha)”, Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages. gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com · Reference work ↩ ↩²

4. Pure Mint Extract, 2 oz, McCormick product page. mccormick.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. Pure Peppermint Extract, 1 fl oz, McCormick product page. mccormick.com · Merchant ↩ ↩²

6. LorAnn Oils All-Natural Peppermint Super Strength Flavor, WebstaurantStore listing. webstaurantstore.com · Merchant ↩

7. N.O. Aguilar, Pham Truong Thi Tho and L.P.A. Oyen, Ocimum basilicum, Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). uses.plantnet-project.org · Reference work ↩ ↩²

8. “Flavorful Herbs”, LSU AgCenter. lsuagcenter.com · Reference work ↩ ↩²

9. Kakouri et al., “Origanum majorana Essential Oil: A Review of Its Chemical Profile and Pesticide Activity”, Life, 2022. mdpi.com · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩²

10. C.C. de Guzman and R.A. Reglos, Artemisia dracunculus, Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). uses.plantnet-project.org · Reference work ↩

11. “Using Herbs and Spices”, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension, 2025. udel.edu · Reference work ↩

12. Danielle Lapierre, “When You Should Actually Use Dried Herbs (and Which Ones to Avoid)”, America’s Test Kitchen, 2022. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩

13. “Science: Substituting Dried Herbs for Fresh”, America’s Test Kitchen. americastestkitchen.com · Publication ↩

Also drawn on

• Mint (plant), Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com
• Spearmint, Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com
• Basil (revised by Sohini Dasgupta, updated 19 Sep 2026), Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com