Peppermint Oil substitute

Best substitute

Peppermint extract, used about 4 times as heavily

Use ½ tsp extract for every ⅛ tsp oil, roughly 4:1

Best for peppermint bark

Close match

Peppermint oil is pure aroma with no water in it, and the no-water part is the whole reason recipes call for it, because water makes melted chocolate seize and makes hot candy syrup spit. The best swap depends on what you are making. In chocolate, use peppermint extract stirred into the cocoa butter or cream rather than into bare chocolate, at about 4 times as much, so 1/2 teaspoon of extract per 1/8 teaspoon of oil, and accept a slightly softer set. In hard candy, crushed peppermint candy or 1 teaspoon of extract stirred in after the syrup comes off the heat both work. If you have neither, peppermint essential oil sold for food use is the same thing under a different label, but oils sold only for aromatherapy or diffusers are not, and should not go into food.

Other peppermint oil substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Finely crushed peppermint candy or candy canes
Different texture
Use 2 tbsp fine powder for every ⅛ tsp oil
Hard peppermint candy is peppermint flavour already suspended in sugar with no water at all, which makes it unusually well suited to chocolate work.
What changes
Best for
peppermint bark, chocolate coating and dipped cookies, frosting, ice cream and toppings
Prep. Grind to a fine dust in a food processor, sieve out any shards, and fold it in at the end.
It behaves in chocolate without seizing, which is its main advantage. What changes is sweetness and grit. You are adding roughly 4 teaspoons of sugar, and even fine powder will slowly dissolve inside a moist mixture and can make a set frosting weep after a day. Sieve out shards unless you want visible crunch. Red-striped candy will tint white chocolate pink.
3Food-grade peppermint essential oil
Close match
Use the same amount but start at half and taste
The identical substance to candy oil in most cases, just packaged and labelled for a different aisle.
What changes
What matters is whether the bottle is sold for consumption.
Best for
hard candy, chocolate work, mints and pastilles, high-heat candy syrups
Read the label rather than the marketing. A bottle that lists a food use, a supplement fact panel or the words food grade is usable. A bottle intended for diffusers, massage or topical use is not sold to food standards, may be diluted in a carrier oil you do not want to eat, and should stay out of your kitchen. Essential oil concentration also varies a great deal between suppliers, which is why you start at half the amount and taste your way up. Never scale up on the assumption that more is better; a single extra drop is genuinely detectable.
4Creme de menthe or peppermint schnapps
Different texture
Use 1 tbsp liqueur for every ⅛ tsp oil
A sweetened mint liqueur that delivers aroma plus sugar plus water, so it is only appropriate where the extra liquid does no harm.
What changes
Best for
grasshopper pie, mousse and frosting, cake soaks, hot drinks
This is the wrong choice for anything peppermint oil is normally used for. It will seize melted chocolate outright and it will make a hard candy syrup boil over and refuse to reach hard crack. Use it only in soft applications, and reduce the recipe's other liquid by the tablespoon you add. Green versions tint everything pale a mint green.
5Peppermint leaves steeped in the recipe's fat
Different taste
Use ½ cup packed leaves for every ⅛ tsp oil, infused into cream or butter
Real mint pulled into a fat, which keeps the mixture free of added water while still delivering flavour.
What changes
Best for
ganache and truffle centres, mint chocolate ice cream, whipped cream and mousse
Prep. Warm the leaves in the recipe's cream or melted butter until it steams, steep 30 minutes off the heat, strain and press hard, then chill the fat back down before using it.
The flavour is genuinely different, soft and grassy rather than cool and piercing, so a peppermint patty made this way will not taste like a peppermint patty. It cannot be used in hard candy at all, since there is no fat to infuse. It is worth doing in a ganache, where the result is arguably nicer than the bottled version, just not the same.

What is Peppermint Oil?

Peppermint Oil is Peppermint oil for cooking is a tiny bottle of concentrated oil-based peppermint flavour, sold as candy oil or flavouring oil, that carries no water and is used a drop or two at a time in candy and chocolate work where a water-based extract would cause problems.

Cooking tips

Only buy peppermint oil that is labelled for food or candy use. Bottles sold for aromatherapy, diffusers or skin are not made to food standards and some are pre-diluted in carrier oils, so they do not belong in food regardless of how strongly they smell of mint.
Measure it with a toothpick, not a spoon. Dip a clean toothpick in the bottle, stir it through the mixture, taste, then dip again if you need more. A poured drop is often twice what you meant and the difference between minty and medicinal is about one drop in a batch of bark.
The reason candy recipes specify oil rather than extract is heat and water. Extract is mostly alcohol and water, and stirred into a syrup at hard crack it spits, and if added early most of the flavour boils away. Oil survives the heat and adds no water. If you must use extract in hard candy, add a full teaspoon after the pan is off the burner.
In chocolate the same logic applies for a different reason. Even a small amount of water makes melted chocolate seize into a stiff dull paste. Oil blends straight in. If you only have extract, mix it into cream, butter or melted cocoa butter first so it is carried in a fat.
Peppermint oil is potent for a long time. Kept capped in a cool dark cupboard, a bottle stays usable for years, so if a recipe once sent you looking for a substitute it is worth buying a bottle for next time rather than working around it every December.

Frequently asked questions

What can I use instead of peppermint oil?

Peppermint extract, using about four times as much, so 1/2 teaspoon of extract for 1/8 teaspoon of oil. In melted chocolate, stir the extract into cream, butter or cocoa butter first so the water in it does not make the chocolate seize. In hard candy, stir it in only once the pan is off the heat, and use a full teaspoon because some of it will still evaporate.

What is the difference between peppermint oil and peppermint extract?

Extract is peppermint flavour diluted in alcohol and water, so it is weak and water-based. Oil is close to pure flavour with no water at all. That makes oil roughly three to four times stronger and means it will not seize melted chocolate or spit in hot candy syrup. Extract is cheaper, easier to find and perfectly fine for cakes, cookies and frosting.

Can I use essential oil peppermint in baking?

Only if the bottle is sold as food grade or explicitly labelled for consumption, in which case it is the same product as candy oil and goes in at roughly 1:1, starting with half and tasting. Oils sold for diffusers, massage or aromatherapy are not produced to food standards and are sometimes blended with carrier oils, so they should not be used in food.

Can I leave the peppermint oil out?

Yes, without any effect on how the recipe sets, hardens or bakes, since it contributes nothing but aroma. The catch is that in the recipes that call for oil rather than extract, such as peppermint bark, peppermint hard candy or after-dinner mints, the mint is the entire point, so what you make will be plain chocolate or plain candy instead.

How much peppermint oil equals a teaspoon of extract?

About 1/4 teaspoon of oil, and it is safer to start with 1/8 teaspoon and taste. Brands differ in strength, and overshooting peppermint cannot be corrected once it is in the batch. Add it with a dipped toothpick and build up rather than pouring from the bottle.

Related substitutes

More flavorings substitutes

Peppermint Oil substitute

Other peppermint oil substitutes

2Finely crushed peppermint candy or candy canes

3Food-grade peppermint essential oil

4Creme de menthe or peppermint schnapps

5Peppermint leaves steeped in the recipe's fat