Mint sauce substitutes
Mint sauce substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Homemade mint sauce
Same amount as the mint sauce
Makes about ½ cup
Chopped fresh mint steeped in sweetened vinegar, five minutes of work and no heat.
Make it, because it takes five minutes and involves no cooking: finely chop 4 tablespoons of fresh mint leaves, pour 2 tablespoons of boiling water over them with 1 teaspoon of sugar and ¼ teaspoon of salt, then stir in 3 tablespoons of malt or white wine vinegar and leave it 15 to 30 minutes. That makes about half a cup, plenty for six people. If you only have dried mint, use 2 teaspoons steeped in the vinegar for a full half hour and it works better than you would think. If you have mint jelly, loosen 3 tablespoons of it with a tablespoon of vinegar per quarter cup and it lands close. Mint sauce is doing two things and only two: acid to cut through rich lamb fat, and a strong cooling herb aroma. That is why mint on its own is not mint sauce and vinegar on its own is not either. You need both.
- Verdict —
- Works
- Best for —
- roast lamb
Updated 19 Aug 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of mint sauce | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Homemade mint sauceroast lamb | Same amountMakes about ½ cupWorks | Works |
| 2 | Dried mint plus vinegarroast lamb | 2 tsp dried mint + 3 tbsp vinegar + 1 tsp sugar + a pinch of saltYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 3 | Mint jelly, loosened with vinegarroast lamb | 3 tbsp mint jelly + 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice per ¼ cup mint sauceYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 4 | Salsa verde or chimichurriroast and grilled lamb | Same amountYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Minted yogurt or mint raitagrilled and spiced lamb | Same amount as a sauceYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Parsley, capers and lemon, with no mint at allroast lamb | 2 tbsp chopped parsley + 1 tbsp chopped capers + 2 tbsp lemon juice + ½ tsp sugarTweak it | Tweak it |
Homemade mint sauce
similar taste and texture
Chopped fresh mint steeped in sweetened vinegar, five minutes of work and no heat.
- Best for
- roast lamb, lamb chops and shoulder, shepherd's pie, new potatoes and peas
4 tbsp very finely chopped fresh mint leaves, 2 tbsp boiling water, 1 tsp sugar, ¼ tsp salt, then 3 tbsp malt or white wine vinegar. Stir and rest at least 15 minutes so the aroma moves into the vinegar. This is mint sauce, not a version of it. Spearmint is the classic mint for it; peppermint is too aggressive and slightly medicinal, and Moroccan mint is milder and very good.
Dried mint plus vinegar
different taste and texture
The pantry version, which needs a longer steep to work.
- Best for
- roast lamb, lamb kebabs and koftas, winter cooking when there is no fresh mint
Genuinely serviceable, and much better than no mint sauce at all. It tastes duller and slightly hay-like rather than bright and cooling, and there is no green fleck, so it looks brown and unappealing in the jug. Steeping is doing all the work here, so make it the moment you put the lamb in the oven, not while you are carving. Thirty minutes minimum, an hour is better.
Mint jelly, loosened with vinegar
different taste and texture
The American shelf equivalent, brought back toward a sauce with added acid.
- Best for
- roast lamb, lamb chops, glazing lamb in the last ten minutes
Closer than it looks once you sharpen it, and it may be the only mint product in an American supermarket. Straight from the jar it is sweet, glossy and clinging, so it glazes the meat instead of cutting through it and the plate ends up sweeter rather than lighter. The added vinegar is what turns it from a jelly back into a condiment. Warm it slightly to help it slacken and stir hard.
Salsa verde or chimichurri
different taste and texture
Herb, acid and salt in olive oil, with parsley and garlic instead of mint.
- Best for
- roast and grilled lamb, lamb chops, roast vegetables
Structurally the same idea and honestly delicious with lamb, but it takes the plate somewhere else. Olive oil makes it richer and more coating rather than thin and piercing, and garlic and oregano make it savoury and Mediterranean where mint sauce is cooling and sharp. Because it carries fat, it does less of the fat-cutting work, so keep the vinegar or lemon in it generous. A good dinner, just not a British one.
Minted yogurt or mint raita
different taste and texture
½ cup yogurt beaten with 2 tbsp chopped mint, 1 tbsp lemon juice and salt.
- Best for
- grilled and spiced lamb, koftas and kebabs, lamb flatbreads
It does have acid, from the lemon and the yogurt's own lactic tang, and it does have mint, so on paper it covers both jobs. In practice it coats the meat rather than cutting through it, so a fatty shoulder tastes creamier and richer rather than lighter and brighter, which is the opposite of what mint sauce is for. Excellent with grilled or spiced lamb, underwhelming with a plain Sunday roast.
Parsley, capers and lemon, with no mint at all
different taste, similar texture
The least-bad option when there is no mint in the house in any form.
- Best for
- roast lamb, lamb chops, an emergency at 6pm on a Sunday
Being honest: this is not mint sauce and does not taste of mint. What it does do is deliver the sharp, salty, herby hit that mint sauce exists to provide, and against roast lamb that is most of the value. Chop the capers finely so they distribute. If you have no capers, a chopped cornichon or a spoonful of pickle brine works. This beats an extra ladle of gravy, which only makes the plate richer.
Questions
5 questionsCan I just leave mint sauce out?
Yes. Roast lamb with good gravy is a complete meal and nothing about the cooking depends on it. What you lose is the sharp acid that stops rich lamb fat from feeling heavy halfway through the plate. If you skip it, put something else acidic on the table instead: a wedge of lemon, pickled red cabbage, a spoonful of redcurrant jelly with a squeeze of lemon in it, or even a sharp pickle. Any of those does a good share of the same job.
Is mint sauce the same as mint jelly?
No, though they are made from the same herb and serve the same meal. British mint sauce is thin, sour and pourable, essentially mint steeped in vinegar with a little sugar. American mint jelly is a firm, sweet, pectin-set preserve, usually bright green, that you slice or spoon in a wobbling lump. You can use jelly in place of sauce if you loosen it with vinegar, but straight from the jar it makes the plate sweeter rather than sharper.
Can I use dried mint to make mint sauce?
Yes, and it is a reasonable option in winter. Use 2 teaspoons of dried mint to 3 tablespoons of vinegar with a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt, and steep it for a full 30 minutes or longer, because dried leaves release their aroma slowly. It tastes duller and more hay-like than fresh and it looks brown rather than green, so serve it in a jug rather than showing it off in a bowl.
What vinegar should I use for mint sauce?
Malt vinegar is the traditional British choice and gives the flavour most people recognise. White wine vinegar makes a cleaner, brighter sauce that lets the mint through more clearly, and cider vinegar sits between the two with a faint apple note. Rice vinegar is too mild. Balsamic is too sweet and too dark and should be avoided.
What else can I serve with roast lamb instead of mint sauce?
Redcurrant jelly with a squeeze of lemon is the most traditional alternative and pairs beautifully with lamb. Salsa verde or chimichurri are excellent if you want something herby with more body. A harissa or garlic yogurt suits spiced or grilled lamb. All of them work because they bring acid, salt and aroma against fat, which is the actual function you are replacing.
Tips for substituting mint sauce
6 tips- Chop the mint with the sugar on the board. The sugar crystals grip the leaves so they stop sliding away from the knife, and you get a much finer chop with far less bruising, which means less of that dark bitter edge you get from mashed mint.
- Pour a splash of boiling water over the chopped mint before the vinegar goes in. It sets the green colour and stops the sauce going black, which is what happens when raw mint sits in neat vinegar for hours.
- Malt vinegar is the traditional choice and tastes correct in a British context. White wine vinegar and cider vinegar are cleaner and milder and both work well. Avoid balsamic entirely: it is too sweet and too dark, and it turns the sauce a muddy brown and tastes wrong against lamb.
- Make it at least 15 minutes ahead and taste it cold, because the steep is what moves the aroma into the vinegar and because cold suppresses sweetness. A mint sauce that tastes balanced warm will taste sharp from the fridge, so adjust the sugar at serving temperature.
- It keeps a week refrigerated but the colour dulls badly after a day or two. Since it is five minutes of work with no cooking, make it fresh each time rather than doubling the batch.
- Do not confuse mint sauce with mint jelly on the shelf. The sauce is a thin, pourable, sour vinegar condiment; the jelly is a firm, sweet, pectin-set preserve. They look nothing alike on a plate and behave completely differently, and swapping one for the other without adjusting the acid is the most common mistake here.