Sauces
Mint Sauce
The classic sharp-sweet sauce for roast lamb: finely chopped fresh mint dissolved with sugar in a splash of boiling water, then sharpened with vinegar and left to infuse.
- Serves 6
- Ready in 10 min
- Infuse 30 min
- Keeps 3 days in the fridge
- British
Method
Pick the mint (30 g) leaves from the stalks and discard the stalks. Pile the leaves on a board, sprinkle with the salt (pinch) and chop them very finely; the salt stops them bruising and turning black.
Put the mint and sugar (1 tbsp) in a small jug or bowl and pour over the boiling water (2 tbsp). Stir until the sugar dissolves and leave to cool for a few minutes; the hot water brings out the colour and flavour.
Stir in the vinegar (3 tbsp), taste and add a little more sugar or vinegar to balance it to your liking.
Leave to infuse for at least 30 minutes before serving with roast lamb.
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Chef’s notes
- Malt vinegar gives the traditional sharp, old-fashioned flavour; white wine or red wine vinegar is softer.
- Spearmint, the usual garden mint, is best; peppermint is too strong.
- For a thicker, brighter sauce, blitz the mint with the sugar and vinegar in a small food processor.
- Keep it covered in the fridge for up to 3 days; it loses its colour after that.
How this recipe was developed
We started from BBC Good Food’s mint sauce, the best-rated we found, and adjusted the method so the sugar dissolves fully.
- Three ingredients. BBC Good Food’s mint sauce (4.9/5 from 8 ratings) is simply a bunch of mint, caster sugar and red wine vinegar.
- Hot water first. We dissolve the sugar in a little boiling water before the vinegar goes in so it is not gritty and the mint turns a brighter green.
- Salt on the board. A pinch of salt while chopping keeps the leaves from bruising.
Sources we compared (ratings as shown on each site on 1 November 2026):
This is an original Cookeryonline recipe written in our own words. Ingredient choices and techniques are credited above; no source text has been copied.