A vigorous soft-leaved herb whose cooling sensation comes from menthol and its relatives acting directly on cold receptors, independent of any actual temperature change.
What it does in a recipe: A cooling, sweet top note used raw or added at the end - in savoury cooking it balances chilli, fat and lamb. Pick the swap that covers that job - the ratios below are written so you can act on them without doing any arithmetic.
Basil and mint are close relatives in the Lamiaceae family and share a sweet, slightly cooling aromatic profile, which is why they trade places freely in Southeast Asian cooking.
MethodTear rather than chop, and add off the heat at the last moment.
Trade-offSweet and aniseed rather than cooling. The menthol lift is gone, which matters most in drinks and yoghurt sauces.
Raw / no-cookCookingSaucesVeganVegetarianGluten-freeDairy-freeEgg-freeNut-freeSoy-free
Dried mint
Reliable
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint = 1 tsp dried mint
The 3:1 fresh-to-dried conversion. Mint dries better than most soft herbs because menthol is comparatively stable.
MethodCrush it in your palm and, in Middle Eastern cooking, bloom it briefly in warm oil or butter to wake up the oils.
Trade-offEarthier and less cooling, with a tea-like quality. It is genuinely useful in Turkish and Levantine dishes but wrong in a mojito or a salad.
Parsley provides the green freshness and the zest provides the sharp lift, together standing in for mint's job of cutting richness even though neither is minty.
Trade-offRefreshing but not cooling. In a tabbouleh this works; in a mint sauce for lamb it does not.
Raw / no-cookSaucesVeganVegetarianGluten-freeDairy-freeEgg-freeNut-freeSoy-free
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint = 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil. Basil and mint are close relatives in the Lamiaceae family and share a sweet, slightly cooling aromatic profile, which is why they trade places freely in Southeast Asian cooking. Sweet and aniseed rather than cooling. The menthol lift is gone, which matters most in drinks and yoghurt sauces.
Can I use dried mint instead of fresh mint?
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint = 1 tsp dried mint. The 3:1 fresh-to-dried conversion. Mint dries better than most soft herbs because menthol is comparatively stable. Earthier and less cooling, with a tea-like quality. It is genuinely useful in Turkish and Levantine dishes but wrong in a mojito or a salad.
Can I use fresh flat-leaf parsley and a little lemon zest instead of fresh mint?
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint = 1 tbsp chopped parsley + 1/4 tsp finely grated lemon zest. Parsley provides the green freshness and the zest provides the sharp lift, together standing in for mint's job of cutting richness even though neither is minty. Refreshing but not cooling. In a tabbouleh this works; in a mint sauce for lamb it does not.
Can I use fresh thai basil instead of fresh mint?
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint = 1 tbsp chopped Thai basil. Thai basil carries both estragole and a trace of the same cooling volatiles, so it fills mint's role in a herb plate or a noodle salad. Liquorice-scented rather than cool. Convincing in Vietnamese dishes and out of place in anything Mediterranean.
Cooking around an allergy? Diet tags here describe the ingredient itself, not any particular brand. Processed products change formulation without notice and shared production lines are common, so read the label on everything you use. A severe allergy is a medical matter - confirm with the manufacturer or your clinician rather than relying on a substitution chart.