This easy home made mint sauce recipe is perfect if you have fresh mint growing in the garden, or you get a great deal at the farmers market. In England it’s traditionally served with roast lamb.
Do you grow mint in your garden? If so, you need to have this super simple recipe on hand to turn your home grown mint leaves into this favourite condiment.
Mint sauce is traditionally served with a roast lamb Sunday lunch.
Mint is a well loved complementary flavour to lamb, and the addition of apple cider vinegar helps cut through the fattiness of the lamb.
And making home made mint sauce couldn’t be easier! Let me walk you through the simple recipe…
How to Make Home Made Mint Sauce
I’m using fresh mint straight from my garden. However you can certainly buy fresh mint at the store or farmers market if you don’t have any in the garden.
I used a bunch of about 4 large stems. I only used the leaves, the stems were put in my compost bucket. The amount of leaves I used weighed out to about 12g. If you’re buying them on the stem, I would aim to buy about 30g of fresh mint.
1/ prep your mint leaves
Rinse your stems of mint under cold running water to remove any bugs or dirt.
Shake dry then pat with a clean tea towel to remove all the water.
Strip the leaves from the stem, the stems can go into the compost. (Be careful if there are any roots on the stem – mint can be extremely invasive if it gets into your garden).
Finely chop the leaves with a sharp knife.
If you prefer a finer mint sauce, you can add all the ingredients to a food processor instead.
However, I prefer mine more rustic so use a knife.
(it’s also a lot less washing up!)
2/ blend the ingredients
Add the apple cider vinegar to the mint, along with the sugar.
Give it all a good stir, then let the flavours settle for about 30 minutes.
You can cover the bowl with a saucer or piece of cling film and just leave it on the kitchen counter.
When ready to serve, give another stir and use generously on roast, or BBQ lamb.
What do you serve mint sauce with?
- with veggies. If you’re not in the mood for cooking a full roast dinner, it’s also really good served alongside roast Mediterranean vegetables. My favourite veggies to serve it with would be roast sweet and regular potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and onions. A few black olives thrown in the tray to bake would be delish!
- with mayo. Another way you could serve it is swirled through some mayonnaise. Here you could have it as a fresh herby dip for crudités, or use it as a spread in a baguette with leftover lamb.
How long will fresh mint sauce last in the fridge?
If covered and stored in the fridge, the flavour of this home made mint sauce will be good for several days.
However you may notice the colour change after an hour or two. It’ll change from a vivid bright green, into quite a dull, almost muddy looking green.
Don’t worry, it’ll still taste fab though!
And to make it last for much, much longer, why not freeze any leftover mint sauce in ice cube trays.
You can just pop out and defrost as many as you need next time you fancy cooking a roast.
I hope you enjoy making this recipe! Feel free to tag me in any pics you share of it online, I love seeing my recipes made all around the world and try to share all that I see.
You can find me pretty much everywhere as @hedgecomber.
- 30 g mint
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar - white wine vinegar can also be used
- 1 tsp sugar
Strip the leaves from the mint & discard the stems.
Chop very finely with a sharp knife or place into a food processor.
Add the vinegar and sugar. Blitz or stir well.
Cover and leave for 30 minutes for the flavours to settle.
Taste and adjust the flavour if necessary by adding more vinegar or a little more sugar.
Optional: If you would like a thinner, runnier mint sauce, add boiling water straight from the kettle, one teaspoon at a time.
Stir well before adding another and continue until you each a consistency you like.
Cover and refrigerate until needed.
Karen says
Oh now I am sooooooo hungry! :-)
Jane Sarchet says
:)
Marisa says
Looks great! I’ve always wondered how to make my own mint sauce. So much nicer than the bought stuff especially when there is a surplus in the garden!
Jane Sarchet says
Absolutely Marisa, tastier, cheaper & better for you!
Thanks for taking the time to comment :)
Janie x
Tammy/Our Neck of the Woods says
Sounds delicious! I’ve never made my own mint sauce, but if I have enough mint this year I’ll give it a go!
Jane Sarchet says
You don’t need much Tammy, just scale the other stuff down until you find the flavour you like xx
Sarah Claxton says
Does anyone have a recipe for a mint sauce or mint jelly that includes chillies? I used to make a sauce but have lost the recipe!
Jane Sarchet says
I’ve never tried a chilli infused mint sauce before Sarah, I’ll have to give it a go next time!
Janie x
Karen says
I LOVE mint sauce Janie and only home-made is allowed on our table! GREAT recipe for Cooking with Herbs! Karen
Jane Sarchet says
Thanks Karen!
Janie x