Food and Recipes Seasonings Herbs 18 Ways To Use Fresh Mint That Go Way Beyond a Julep By Jenna Sims Jenna Sims Jenna is a Digital Editor for Southern Living and joined the team in 2014. She writes, produces, and assigns content with a focus on email growth and commerce content. She covers a range of topics in the lifestyle space from holiday gift guides to new product launches to tips for cooking with your air fryer. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on June 9, 2021 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Mint is an easy-to-grow herb that also multiplies quickly. Once you add a mint plant to your herb collection, you'll have plenty on hand to use whenever you need it. If you already have a mint plant in your garden, we're here to share our best fresh mint recipes so you can make the most of your bounty. If you don't yet have one, these recipes using fresh mint just may convince you to buy one the next time you're at the flower shop. While we'll never turn down a classic Mint Julep, it's just one of the many recipes you can make with the fresh herb. From drinks to main dishes to desserts, there are plenty of ways to incorporate fresh mint into your cooking. 01 of 18 Fresh Mint Chocolate Pie Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Fresh Mint Chocolate Pie Instead of extract, this pie gets all of its flavor from the fresh herb. 02 of 18 Mint Margarita Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Recipe: Mint Margarita Mint gives an upgraded, fresh taste to traditional margaritas. 03 of 18 Cucumber-Chickpea Salad with Feta-Mint Vinaigrette Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Cucumber-Chickpea Salad with Feta-Mint Vinaigrette The homemade vinaigrette for this cucumber salad calls for 3/4 cup of fresh mint, plus other fresh herbs so it's a great recipe to showcase your homegrown ingredients. 04 of 18 Cucumber Mint Mojito Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Cucumber Mint Mojito Mint and cucumber come together to create a cool, refreshing flavor. 05 of 18 The SL Mint Julep Photo: Hector Sanchez Recipe: The SL Mint Julep Our take on the classic Kentucky Derby drink that's worth enjoying year-round. 06 of 18 Mint Chocolate Chip Cake Southern Living Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Cake We turned the classic ice cream into a decadent layer cake. 07 of 18 Watermelon Slushies with Key Lime-Mint Sugar Recipe: Watermelon Slushies with Key Lime-Mint Sugar The Key lime and mint sugar can be stored for up to three months in an airtight container. 08 of 18 Blackberry-Mint Sparkler Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Blackberry-Mint Sparkler Make the most of fresh blackberries and mint in this fruity, fizzy cocktail. 09 of 18 Warm Radish-and-Potato Salad with Smoked Trout and Radish Leaf-and-Mint Pesto Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Warm Radish-and-Potato Salad with Smoked Trout and Radish Leaf-and-Mint Pesto Mint leaves are used in the salad and pesto to give this potato salad a refreshing finish. 10 of 18 Strawberry-Mint Tea Alison Miksch; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Recipe: Strawberry-Mint Tea Refreshing on its own or as a mixer, you can't go wrong keeping a pitcher of this mint tea in your refrigerator all summer long. 11 of 18 Zucchini-Mint Pasta Becky Luigart-Stayner Recipe: Zucchini-Mint Pasta You can easily add your choice of protein to turn this side into a main dish. 12 of 18 Aperol and Blood Orange-Mint Spritz Peter Frank Edwards Recipe: Aperol and Blood Orange-Mint SpritzJust four ingredients and a few stirs are needed to make this Aperol Spritz. 13 of 18 Mint Oreo Icebox Cake Time Inc. Video Studio Recipe: Mint Oreo Icebox Cake This impressive icebox is much easier to make than it looks. 14 of 18 Mint-Champagne Shrub Hector M. Sanchez Recipe: Mint-Champagne Shrub Plenty of mint balances out the tart vinegar flavor of this shrub cocktail. 15 of 18 Mint Julep Sweet Tea Jennifer Davick; Styling: Lydia DeGaris Pursell Recipe: Mint Julep Sweet Tea Two classic Southern drinks come together to create an iced cocktail that's begging you to sit on a porch with a glass in hand. 16 of 18 Lemon-Mint Sparklers Hector Sanchez; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham Recipe: Lemon-Mint Sparklers The Lemon-Mint Syrup used to make this cocktail can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator for up to a week. 17 of 18 Mint-and-White-Chocolate Milk Punch Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck Recipe: Mint-and-White-Chocolate Milk Punch Mint is a quintessential taste of the holiday season, and this milk punch delivers plenty of minty flavor. 18 of 18 Watermelon-Mint Margaritas Southern Living Recipe: Watermelon-Mint Margaritas Frozen watermelon creates a slushy texture for margaritas. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit