5 from 1 vote

Combine just 3 ingredients to create a cool and refreshing mint simple syrup, the most notorious of simple syrups. I'll show you how to keep the fresh mint bright green, and how to make the flavor extra sharp. The trick is to avoid heat!

Once ready, you have a soothing syrup for hot drinks, cocktails, mocktails, and all your baking needs.

Green liquid drizzling through a strainer into a glass mason jar.

Jump to:

🌟 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
🧾 Ingredients in This Recipe
👩‍🍳 How to Make This Recipe
🍵 Creative Ways to Use This Simple Syrup
🌷 Aromatic Syrup Flavors to Make
🌱 More Refreshing Mint Recipes
Mint Lemonade
Kiwi Bellini with Mint
Mint Matcha Latte
Citrus Salmon with Fennel, Citrus, & Mint Slaw
Mint Simple Syrup

🌟 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Flavor of fresh mint: Fresh mint is uniquely special in that it's herby but has a distinct chilling effect on the tongue and a fresh, almost crisp taste. It pairs well with the sweet sugar.
Versatile syrup: It's super helpful to have simple syrup on hand to use as a flavored sweetener in hot beverages like tea and coffee. You can also use it in baked goods, smoothies, cocktails, and mocktails. I personally love a Kiwi Bellini with Mint, a mint julep like this Matcha Mint Julep, or a Mint Sekanjabin.
Easy and cost-effective: Gourmet simple syrups can be expensive and may contain added ingredients such as food coloring or preservatives. Instead, this mint simple syrup recipe requires just 3 ingredients. Try this lavender simple syrup, rose simple syrup, and borage simple syrup for other botanical flavors.

🧾 Ingredients in This Recipe

Mint, water, and sugar sitting on a countertop.

Fresh mint leaves - Your mint can be store-bought or self-grown. Make sure to wash any mint before use. Trim the stems to isolate the leaves, but it's okay if a little bit of the tender stems are left behind.
Sugar - I use granulated, cane, turbinado, or brown sugar when making my simple syrups and each yields a different flavor profile. The classic option is granulated, and I often use turbinado as an alternative.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

⭐️ Want to use dried mint? ⭐️

Simply steep 2 tablespoons of the dried mint in the simple syrup right when it comes off the heat for 30 minutes. Then strain with a fine mesh strainer and store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

👩‍🍳 How to Make This Recipe

I tested three ways to make this simple syrup, with this recipe yielding the best results. If you do want a quicker version, head to the notes in the recipe card for a shortcut.

Sugar and water in a saucepan next to some mint leaves.

Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar completely dissolves (you can't see any sugar granules anymore).

Simple syrup in a saucepan with a skinny wooden spoon.

Turn off the heat and set aside to cool completely.

In the meantime, bring a pot of water to boil and remove all the stems from the mint. Blanch the mint in the hot water for 10 seconds.

Blanched greens in an ice bath in a glass bowl.

Next, immediately shock the mint in an ice bath for 30 seconds.

Blanched mint leaves on a white kitchen towel.

Pat the mint leaves dry and double check that all the stems have been removed.

Simple syrup and mint leaves in the bottom half of a quart mason jar.

Add the mint to the simple syrup in a jar that fits an immersion blender, or place in the blender itself.

Green liquid in a quart mason jar with the bottom of an immersion blender resting inside.

Blend until the mint pieces are very tiny and emulsified in the simple syrup.

Green liquid in a liquid measuring cup with a nut milk bag inside of it.

Strain using a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag to completely remove the tiny mint pieces. Give it a second strain before sealing and storing it in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

⭐️ Pro Tip ⭐️

I use a 1:1 ratio for sugar to water in the simple syrup. You can double the recipe or increase the quantities as needed to make more syrup. You can also scale up the mint amount for a more intense minty flavor.

🍵 Creative Ways to Use This Simple Syrup

As a sweetener: To sweeten hot or iced beverages like matcha lattes, iced teas, or lemonades.
To make mint-flavored mocktails: Mix this syrup with sparkling water or soda water and garnish with lemon for a refreshing drink.
Classic cocktails: Use this instead of muddled mint in classic minty cocktails like mojitos or mint juleps like this matcha mint julep. Minty flavors particularly complement rum, bourbon, and gin.
In baked goods: You can use mint syrup to flavor batters or icings. You can also brush it onto cake layers as a soak to keep cake layers moist.

Green liquid drizzling into a glass mason jar through a metal mesh strainer.

🌷 Aromatic Syrup Flavors to Make

With a basic mix of sugar, water, and an aromatic infusion, you can have a whole collection of indulgent syrups. Try these options:

🌱 More Refreshing Mint Recipes

If you have plenty of fresh mint, these recipes will make the most of your supplies.

Lemonade in a beer can glass with lemon slices and fresh mint.

Mint Lemonade

Kiwi Bellini with Mint

Mint Matcha Latte

Citrus Salmon with Fennel, Citrus, & Mint Slaw

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5 from 1 vote

Mint Simple Syrup

Combine just 3 ingredients to create a cool and refreshing mint simple syrup. Use this mint syrup in tea & coffee, cocktails or mocktails, and baked goods.

Prep Time10

Cook Time5

Resting TIme30

Total Time45

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: Persian

Diet: Gluten Free, Kosher, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 39kcal

Author: Candice Walker

Equipment

▢
1 small saucepan
▢
1 fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup water
▢ 1 cup sugar granulated white sugar or cane preferred
▢ ½ cup fresh mint leaves

Instructions

Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar completely dissolves (you can't see any sugar granules anymore).
Turn off the heat and set aside to cool completely.
In the meantime, bring a pot of water to boil and remove all the stems from the mint. Blanch the mint for 10 seconds.
Immediately shock the mint in an ice bath for 30 seconds.
Pat the mint leaves dry and make sure all the stems are removed.
Add the mint to the simple syrup and blend.
Blend until the mint pieces are very tiny and emulsified in the simple syrup.
Strain using a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag to completely remove the tiny mint pieces. Give it a second strain before sealing and storing it in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Notes

I've tested three ways to make mint simple syrup and each yields very different results. All versions start with making a basic syrup of sugar and water.

The more advanced version that yields the best result is the recipe featured above.

The easiest version yields good but not great results. For that version, follow these steps: Blanch the mint in boiling water for 10 seconds, shock it in ice water for 30 seconds, and then add it to the still-hot simple syrup. Steep the mint leaves in the syrup for 30 minutes, then strain and discard the mint leaves. You will be left with a pale green syrup that has a delicate mint flavor.

The second best version avoids heat completely by adding the mint to room-temperature simple syrup and steeping it in the refrigerator for 48 hours. This method works well, but it's not ideal if you want to use the simple syrup that same day.

Nutrition

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