Peppermint extract substitutes
Peppermint extract substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called mint extract, peppermint essence, peppermint flavoring, peppermint flavouring, pure peppermint extract, imitation peppermint extract
Use Crushed candy canes, starlight mints or Andes mints
1 tbsp finely crushed candy for every ½ tsp peppermint extract
Peppermint extract's only job is aroma, that cool sharp candy-cane smell, and it adds no sugar, no fat and no structure, so leaving it out will not wreck a recipe, it will just taste plain. The best swap is crushed candy canes or starlight mints, about 1 tablespoon of fine powder per ½ teaspoon of extract, stirred into the wet ingredients so they dissolve. Next best is peppermint oil, but it is roughly three to four times stronger, so use 1/8 teaspoon where the recipe wants ½ teaspoon and start even lower than that. Creme de menthe works at about 1 tablespoon per ½ teaspoon of extract if you accept the extra liquid and a green tint. Plain mint extract is a fine stand-in one for one, though it leans a touch sweeter and more herbal than the icy peppermint note.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Blitz the candy in a food processor or bash it in a bag with a rolling pin until it is a fine powder with no shards left, then stir it into the melted butter, milk or eggs rather than into the dry flour so it actually dissolves.
- Best for —
- peppermint bark
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked · per ½ tsp peppermint extract| # | Substitute | Instead of ½ tsp peppermint extract | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crushed candy canes, starlight mints or Andes mintspeppermint bark | 1 tbsp finely crushed candyTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Peppermint oil, food gradechocolate work and ganache | 1/8 tsp oil per ½ tsp extract, and start with half of thatWorks | Works |
| 3 | Creme de menthe or peppermint schnappsgrasshopper pie | 1 tbsp liqueurWorks | Works |
| 4 | Fresh peppermint or spearmint leaves, steepedice cream and panna cotta | ½ cup packed leaves steeped into the recipe's dairyTweak it | Tweak it |
| 5 | Peppermint tea bags, opened or steepedhot chocolate and lattes | Contents of 2 tea bags, ground fineYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Nothing at all, plus a small change elsewherebrownies | Omit, and add ½ tsp vanilla extract in its placeTweak it | Tweak it |
Crushed candy canes, starlight mints or Andes mints
similar taste, different texture
The most reliable swap, because hard peppermint candy is essentially peppermint flavour plus sugar, and you almost certainly have some in the house if you are baking a peppermint recipe in December.
- Best for
- peppermint bark, brownies and blondies, buttercream and frosting, hot chocolate, ice cream and no-bake cheesecake
- Prep
- Blitz the candy in a food processor or bash it in a bag with a rolling pin until it is a fine powder with no shards left, then stir it into the melted butter, milk or eggs rather than into the dry flour so it actually dissolves.
Two real changes. First, you are adding sugar, roughly 2 teaspoons of it per tablespoon of candy, so in a delicate cookie dough cut the recipe's sugar by the same amount or the edges will spread and caramelise faster. Second, if the powder is not fine enough it will not dissolve in a low-moisture dough and you get crunchy gritty flecks, which is charming on top of bark and unpleasant inside a cake crumb. Red-and-white candy will also faintly tint white frosting pink.
Peppermint oil, food grade
similar taste and texture
The same flavour compound at far higher concentration. Extract is mostly alcohol with a little flavour in it; oil is close to pure flavour, so the swap is about restraint rather than technique.
- Best for
- chocolate work and ganache, hard candy and mints, peppermint bark, any recipe where extra liquid would seize the chocolate
- Prep
- Add it with a toothpick dipped into the bottle rather than a measuring spoon, stir it fully through, then taste before adding a second dip.
Strength varies by brand, so treat three to four times as a range, not a rule. Overshoot it and the bake genuinely tastes of toothpaste, and there is no fixing it. Use only a bottle labelled for food or candy flavouring; aromatherapy essential oils are not sold to food standards and should not go in your baking. The one place oil beats extract outright is in melted chocolate, because extract is water-based enough to make chocolate seize while oil blends in smoothly.
Creme de menthe or peppermint schnapps
similar taste and texture
A sweet mint liqueur, so you get the aroma plus sugar plus alcohol plus, in the green versions, colour.
- Best for
- grasshopper pie, frosting and mousse, chocolate mint cake, hot drinks and adult desserts
Reduce the recipe's other liquid by the tablespoon you are adding, or the batter will be slack and the frosting will loosen. Green creme de menthe will tint anything pale a mint green, which is fine for grasshopper pie and wrong for a white peppermint buttercream, so buy the clear white version if colour matters. The alcohol mostly bakes off in a cake but not in an unbaked frosting or mousse, so leave this one out if that matters to you.
Fresh peppermint or spearmint leaves, steeped
different taste, similar texture
Real mint infused into a liquid the recipe already contains. It gives a soft, green, garden-fresh mint rather than the sharp icy blast of extract.
- Best for
- ice cream and panna cotta, custards and pastry cream, chocolate ganache, whipped cream, syrups and drinks
- Prep
- Bruise the leaves, warm them in the milk, cream or melted butter the recipe already calls for until it just steams, take it off the heat and leave it 20 to 30 minutes, then strain and press the leaves to get everything out.
Be honest about what this does and does not do. Steeped mint is delicious but it is a different flavour, more herbal and rounded, with none of the cooling candy-cane hit, so a mint chocolate chip ice cream made this way tastes grown-up and grassy rather than nostalgic. It also only works where there is a fat or liquid to infuse; you cannot steep mint into a dry cookie dough. Never chop raw leaves into a batter instead, because they turn black and taste of nothing.
Peppermint tea bags, opened or steeped
different taste and texture
A pantry fallback that works because peppermint tea is nothing but dried peppermint leaf, already chopped small.
- Best for
- hot chocolate and lattes, syrups and glazes, cake soaks, shortbread and simple cookies
- Prep
- For a wet recipe, steep 2 bags in ¼ cup of very hot water for 10 minutes, squeeze them out and use that liquid in place of some of the recipe's liquid. For a dry recipe, tear the bags open and grind the leaf to dust in a spice grinder.
Weaker and more tannic than extract, so expect a gentle mintiness with a faint bitter tea edge rather than a clean sweep of peppermint. Some blends include liquorice root or spearmint, which changes the flavour again, so check the ingredients on the box. Ground leaf leaves visible dark flecks in a pale dough.
Nothing at all, plus a small change elsewhere
different taste, similar texture
The honest option. Peppermint extract contributes aroma and effectively nothing else, so a recipe without it still bakes, sets and rises exactly as written.
- Best for
- brownies, cookies, cakes and cupcakes, frosting
What you lose is the entire identity of a peppermint recipe, so this is a fine choice for a chocolate cake with a whisper of mint in it and a poor one for peppermint patties, where mint is the whole point. Swapping in vanilla keeps the bake from tasting flat and underseasoned. If mint is genuinely essential and you have no candy, no oil and no fresh leaves, it is worth waiting rather than making a version nobody will recognise.
Questions
5 questionsWhat is the best substitute for peppermint extract?
Finely crushed peppermint candy, about 1 tablespoon per ½ teaspoon of extract, stirred into the wet ingredients so it dissolves. It is the same flavour from the same source and you probably already have candy canes or starlight mints if you are baking something peppermint. Reduce the recipe's sugar by about 2 teaspoons per tablespoon of candy to keep the balance right.
Can I use peppermint oil instead of peppermint extract?
Yes, but it is roughly three to four times stronger, so use about 1/8 teaspoon of oil where the recipe asks for ½ teaspoon of extract, and add it with a dipped toothpick so you cannot overpour. Only use oil sold as a food or candy flavouring. Oil is actually the better choice in melted chocolate, because extract can make chocolate seize.
Can I just leave peppermint extract out?
Yes. It adds only aroma, no sugar, fat, liquid or structure, so the recipe will bake and set exactly the same. The result simply will not taste of peppermint. Adding ½ teaspoon of vanilla in its place stops the bake tasting flat. In something like peppermint patties or peppermint bark, where mint is the entire identity of the dish, omitting it is not really an option.
Is mint extract the same as peppermint extract?
Close but not identical. Bottles labelled mint extract are usually peppermint or a peppermint and spearmint blend, and swap in one for one without anyone noticing. Pure spearmint extract is different, sweeter and more herbal with far less of the cool menthol hit, so a candy cane cookie made with it tastes more like chewing gum than Christmas.
Can I use fresh mint instead of peppermint extract?
Only where there is a liquid or fat to infuse, such as ice cream, custard, ganache or whipped cream. Warm about half a cup of packed bruised leaves in the recipe's cream or milk, steep 20 to 30 minutes off the heat, then strain. The result is a soft garden-mint flavour, not the sharp cooling one, and it will not work in a dry cookie dough. Do not chop raw mint into batter, as it blackens and loses its flavour.
Tips for substituting peppermint extract
5 tips- Peppermint is one of the few flavourings that is easier to ruin by adding too much than too little. Half a teaspoon flavours a whole tray of brownies. A full tablespoon tastes medicinal. Start at the bottom of the range, taste the raw batter or frosting, and add more in 1/8 teaspoon steps.
- Extract and oil are not interchangeable spoon for spoon, and this is the mistake that ruins the most Christmas baking. Peppermint oil runs roughly three to four times stronger than extract, so ½ teaspoon of extract becomes about 1/8 teaspoon of oil. Measure oil off a toothpick, not a spoon.
- For melted chocolate, use oil rather than extract or candy. Any water-based flavouring, including extract, can make chocolate seize into a grainy paste. If extract is all you have, stir it into the butter or cream in the recipe first and never straight into bare melted chocolate.
- Peppermint and spearmint are not the same plant and taste noticeably different. Peppermint reads cool and sharp because it is high in menthol, spearmint reads sweet and softly herbal. A bottle labelled only mint extract is usually closer to peppermint and is a fair 1:1 swap, but spearmint in a candy cane bake will taste like chewing gum.
- Add extract off the heat and late. Its aroma compounds are volatile and boil away, so stir it into a hot syrup or custard after you pull the pan off the burner, not while it simmers, or you will lose most of what you paid for.