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What spice can I substitute if I don’t have the correct spice on hand? 6 Comments

Nov 2, 2009

Cooking with spices is fabulous, that is, until you don’t have the spice you want or need. If you’re mid-way through a recipe and realize you’re missing a key spice, you can often substitute other spices in its place and get a similar flavor.

Here’s a list of common spices and the substitutions that will replicate their flavor.

No more abandoned recipes or groveling to your neighbor about needing a ½ teaspoon of a seldom-used spice.

For a comprehensive list of popular spice questions posed by readers check out our resources section.

Spice Substitution
Allspice cinnamon, cassia, dash of nutmeg, mace or a dash of cloves
Aniseed fennel seed or anise extract
Cardamom ginger
Chili powder dash of bottled hot pepper sauce plus oregano and cumin
Cinnamon nutmeg or allspice (use ¼ the amount)
Cloves cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger
Cumin chili powder
Ginger allspice, cinnamon, mace or nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh chopped ginger ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Mace allspice, cinnamon, ginger or nutmeg
1 tablespoon prepared mustard 1 teaspoon ground mustard (in cooked dishes)
1 tablespoon prepared mustard ½ teaspoon ground mustard plus 2 teaspoons vinegar (in cold or uncooked dishes)
Nutmeg cinnamon, ginger or mace
Saffron dash of turmeric
1 teaspoon apple pie spice ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon plus ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg plus ⅛ teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon plus ¼ teaspoon ground ginger plus ⅛ teaspoon EACH ground cloves and ground nutmeg

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Spice Tips

6 Comments

Great post! I think I might print this out and put it on my fridge.

Stephanie - Wasabimon, 4 months ago

This is a great chart that everyone who cooks and doesn't remember to stock up on spices needs to have.
Thank you.

Jill, The Veggie Queen, 4 months ago

This is so helpful. Thank you!

Tesia - FlavorDiva.com, 4 months ago

What a useful post! Whenever I try and cook anything a bit different (admittedly from a recipe book!) I invariably don't have the right spices to hand. With this info I'll at least have an idea what to use instead. Thanks.

TobyH, 3 months ago

Thank you for the suggestions! I never seem to know what to do with spices and this is a great substitution list. I need to stock up my spice rack!!

—Kirsten, 2 months ago

this is a HUGE help! thank you so much! no more buying $5 bottles of a spice i'll never use again. thank you!

—aleasa, 28 days ago

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