25+ Refreshing Mint Recipes You've Got to Try Today (2024)

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Credit: Caitlin Bensel; Prop Styling: Kay Clark; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners

This Sous Vide Rack of Lamb is extraordinarily tender, with a juiciness that extends far beyond the meat's center. The lamb itself takes on an aromatic flavor profile, thanks to adding butter in the bag, and the accompanying salsa verde is punchy and herbaceous, with a fabulous salinity from the capers and anchovy-think of it as a Mediterranean chimichurri. This lamb dish makes a lovely centerpiece for a spring dinner, especially paired with pinot noir.

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Credit: Aaron Kirk; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Julia Levy

This abundantly loaded salad is the ultimate love letter to summer. Featuring a colorful menagerie of seasonal gems-blueberries, tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, okra, and more-it's as gorgeous as it is delicious. Plus, this salad absolutely flexible. Consider this recipe a blueprint for bringing together everything that catches your eye at your own local farmer's market this week. But do yourself a huge favor-do not skip out on making the Vidalia Onion Ranch Dressing. This homemade dressing will keep you from ever going back to the bottled stuff. Shredded rotisserie or leftover grilled chicken would be a welcome addition to make for a heartier, main-dish salad.

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If you've been invited to a potluck and feel fresh out of recipe ideas, this is the dish for you. This stunning citrus salad will fit right in at nearly any occasion-holiday brunch, wedding or baby shower, breakfast with friends, office luncheon, church social, and more. It tastes great chilled or at room temperature, is made with a few ingredients, and is dairy-free and gluten-free, making it ideal for a mixed crowd that might have food allergies or dietary restrictions. We used four types of citrus (blood oranges, Cara Cara orange, Ruby Red grapefruit, and a navel orange) for a rainbow of colors, but you can also alternate two types of citrus for a pretty, simpler look. If you're not a fan of hazelnuts, use toasted almond slices or chopped, toasted pistachios. Whatever you do, don't skip the flaky sea salt and black pepper at the end. A little bit of seasoning brings out the flavors of the fruit and makes the whole thing look and taste impressive.

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Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Watermelon, mint, lime, and ginger come together to make this wonderfully refreshing pitcher drink. Ginger beer gives these mojitos a spicy kick and nice effervescence, but you can substitute ginger ale if you prefer something milder. The mint simple syrup can be prepared up to two days in advance and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.

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Credit: Caitlin Bensel; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners

This grilled scape salad is crisp, light, and refreshing-in other words, it tastes like summertime. Tomatoes, corn, cucumber, and other summer veggies covered in lemon-parsley dressing and fresh mint perfectly combine with a charred, juicy chicken thigh. Garlic scapes are in season in late spring and early summer. If you can't find them at your local farmers' market or produce stand, try an international grocery. Round everything out with a crusty loaf of bread and a glass of white wine.

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Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Torie Cox; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke

Perfect for birthdays, showers, or special get-togethers, this flower-topped layer cake is so pretty you won't want to cut it! Made with a lemon cake mix and Lemon Buttercream frosting, it's incredibly simple to make, even though it looks impressive. Top with a ring of edible flowers and prepare for compliments.

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Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Tina Stamos

Firm Halloumi cheese holds up well on the grill and provides a nice contrast to the tender layers of squash on these vegetarian kebabs. Use a Y-shaped vegetable peeler to shave the squash into long, thin strips. Turn these kebabs into a quick panzanella. Removing the cooked ingredients from the skewers and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, and toasted bread cubes.

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Credit: Caitlin Bensel

If you're a fan of Greek tzatziki, you'll love this version that gets nice briny flavor from feta cheese. Fresh mint rounds out the flavors and softens the garlic. Try it on lamb, chicken, or salmon.

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Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox

If you're tired of your usual watermelon salad, give this fantastic new recipe a try. Tomatoes and melon soak up the tangy lime-ginger-mint vinaigrette, making them extra juicy and flavorful. Goat cheese crumbles add a nice creamy note to the salad, but crumbled feta works well too. Serve this salad immediately after it is made so the fresh herbs stay bright and perky.

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Credit: Stephen DeVries

Ripe honeydew-normally reserved for the bottom of many a fruit salad-shines when shaved into ribbons and swirled with torn pieces of creamy burrata and slices of green tomato. This summery salad makes for an impressive dish at a barbecue, or enjoy as a Jadeite green breakfast bowl to liven up the first meal of the day.

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Credit: Stephen DeVries

Combine the summery wonders of summer's two greatest mascots-the mint julep and juicy watermelon-in this breezy sipper. Seek out sugar baby watermelons (a sweet mini melon) to balance out boozy bourbon.

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Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Fresh-cut summer melon is best, but pre-cubed melon will work in a pinch. Spoon this over grilled pork chops or fish, or serve it with tortilla chips for a twist on salsa.

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Credit: Jamie Vespa

Use this pesto on everything from pineapple to grilled fish.

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Credit: Jennifer Causey

The beauty of this quick-fix topping is its versatility. The simple, balanced flavors will perk up any savory dish, from grilled chicken to roasted fish-but it's subtle enough to help more delicate foods shine, like freshly shucked raw oysters. Mix it into softened unsalted butter for a fresh take on compound butter.

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Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Charring the squash in a skillet quickly adds smoky flavor without having to fire up the grill. Best served right away, this side pairs well with grilled chicken and brown rice.

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Credit: Greg DuPree

The shrimp is balanced with slight sweetness, bitter char, and tangy lime-a combination that complements the refreshing melon. Pick the ripest melons you can find; they should be firm but slightly soft and fragrant, especially near the stem end. Round out this dinner with your favorite grain or the Herb-Scented Rice Salad.

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Credit: Jennifer Causey

Fresh summer touches bring what is typically a cool-weather salad firmly into the season. Fresh cherries perform double duty, featuring in both the dressing (in which they're pureed) and the finished salad. Curly kale has a hearty, slightly tough texture, but massaging it with the salt tenderizes it nicely. If you'd rather use baby kale, you can skip the massage. If you have trouble finding watermelon radishes, any radishes will work beautifully.

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Credit: Jennifer Causey

These bites are a step up from classic prosciutto-wrapped melon and provide sweet, spicy, salty, tart, and meaty tastes. If you can't find serrano ham, use prosciutto; you also can use balsamic glaze in place of pomegranate molasses.

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Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Cutting the baby zucchini diagonally into 1-inch pieces adds fun to the finished vegetables. To keep this dish ultra-simple and kid-friendly, you can omit the turmeric and sauté the zucchini just with butter and salt. For a more forward flavored dish with a pretty golden hue, be sure to add the turmeric. The mint will turn brown quickly; for the prettiest presentation, stir it in just before serving.

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Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Sweet strawberries mingle with lime and nutty coriander in this fresh take on salsa. Try this vibrant sauce spooned over pan-seared halibut or sprinkled with feta over grilled pork-and-zucchini kabobs.

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Credit: Jennifer Causey

Thick asparagus stalks are best for this dish because they're easier to shave. The trick to this recipe? We cook the pasta in as little water as possible so the resulting pasta water becomes viscous with starch.Adding a littleof the water to the sauce makes it extra creamy and helpsit cling to the noodles. Pine nuts can be expensive-a good budget substitute is unsalted sunflower seed kernels.

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Credit: Greg DuPree

Our variation on dolmas (think Mediterranean spring rolls) bundles fresh tuna, crunchy peppers, and tender couscous stuffed into tangy grape leaves. Remember to gently remove the leaf bundles (available at most Mediterranean markets, Whole Foods, or Trader Joe's locations) from their jar, being careful not to tear the leaves.

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Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Muddle cucumber slices with mint and lemongrass in this garden-fresh, Thai-inspired Collins update. The result is cool as a…well, you know.

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Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Side dish size, centerpiece-worthy flavors-that's the name of the game with this bold and bright salad. Forgo a knife and lightly smash Persian or English hothouse cucumbers with a meat tenderizer. Then drizzle with a deep and toasty mélange of fish sauce, sesame oil, and Thai chiles.

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Credit: Victor Protasio

Be sure to pat the snap peas thoroughly dry before tossing with the creamy yogurt-feta dressing so the dressing coats the peas instead of slipping off. Fresh mint gives this dish a decidedly Greek flavor, but dill would also taste great. The peas are a perfect side for grilled lamb chops or oregano-garlic seasoned chicken.

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Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Pre-cut produce helps this staff favorite come together in a flash. Spiralized zucchini and summer squash are in the prepared produce section of many supermarkets; you can also spiralize your own or make ribbons with a vegetable peeler. Squash takes the place of noodles in these bowls, so you'll need a hefty amount for each serving. The zucchini noodles don't require cooking-they'll add freshness and crunch to the finished dish. Make the sauce while the tofu cooks and have the other vegetables at the ready so you can toss and serve immediately.

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Credit: Victor Protasio

Adobo is a revered Filipino dish that calls for chicken (or pork) stewed in a soy-vinegar broth, which is then reduced to a glaze and served with rice. Many Filipino recipes call for sugar in the stewing broth, but we've omitted it to avoid added sugar and because the recipe is still excellent without it. The finished dish is a flavor bomb of salty-sour goodness, the essence of simple, rustic cooking.

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Credit: Time Inc. Video Studio

Say "hello" to the ultimate summer sipper. For this cooling, boozy concoction, we took the idea of a sweet tea and vodka on the rocks to the next level by blending it into a delightful adult slushee. The recipe here serves 2, but is easily multiplied to produce more co*cktails for friends (you can't sip on one of these beauties and not share). You can use store-bought sweet tea, or make your own so that you can better control the level of of sweetness.

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Credit: Photo by Caitlin Bensel

Frozen, fruity, and boozy, this next-level margarita will be the star of any summer soiree or Fourth of July cookout. Roasting peak-season strawberries intensifies their sweetness and elevates the flavor. Aquafaba, the viscous fluid from canned chickpeas that you normally toss down the drain, has become the silver bullet to making plant-based whipped topping. The wonder ingredient has soared in popularity among the vegan culinary community. With results just as light and fluffy as traditional whipped topping, a generous dollop added to your frozen adult beverage only sweetens the deal. Bottoms up!

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