When fall rolls around and baking season is in full swing, we often find ourselves reaching for pumpkin pie spice.
While store-bought is convenient, it’s nice to make your own blend to save money, make it fresher, and customize the flavor by simply increasing your favorite spices and decreasing ones that aren’t preferred.
Let us show you how easy it is to make pumpkin pie spice at home!
What’s in Pumpkin Pie Spice?
The most common spices in pumpkin pie spice are:
- Ground cinnamon
- Ginger
- Clove
- Nutmeg
- Allspice
But we also throw in some optional black pepper and cardamom for even more flavor and a little bite / heat.
How to Make Pumpkin Pie Spice?
Simply add all of your favorite seasonal spices (like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice) to a jar and shake to combine.
The ratio of spices is really what makes DIY blends unique. We like to go heavy on the cinnamon, medium on the ginger, light on the clove and allspice, and include some (optional) black pepper for heat, plus cardamom for a floral quality and depth of flavor.
The result is a custom, quick, DIY pumpkin pie spice perfect for all your fall and holiday baking that will stay fresh up to 6 months!
We hope you LOVE this blend! It’s:
- Quick & easy
- Customizable
- Spicy
- Perfect for fall baking
Ways to Use Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Vegan Pumpkin Mac ‘n’ Cheese
- Pumpkin-Spiced Apple Pie
- Vegan Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Pie Oats
- Vegan Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream
- Pumpkin Pie Green Smoothie
- Easy Pumpkin Spice Latte
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground clove
- 1 pinch ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper (optional)
- 1/8 tsp ground cardamom (optional)
Instructions
- To a small bowl, add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, allspice, black pepper (optional), and cardamom (optional) and stir to combine.
- Taste test and adjust according to personal preference, adding more cinnamon for sweetness, ginger for spiciness, nutmeg for nuttiness, black pepper for spice, or clove, allspice, or cardamom for pungency.
- Store in a sealed container up to 6 months or in the refrigerator for longer.
Jill says
Hi!
The switch to metric is not working for me on this recipe.
Jill
Hey Jill! So sorry it’s not working. The only switch that will happen with the metric ingredients is that the cinnamon goes from 1 1/2 Tbsp to 4 1/2 tsp. Hope this helps!
Jill Paaso says
Hi!
Unfortunately metric means grams not Tablespoons to teaspoons.
Jill
Hey Jill! A teaspoon is metric but it is also 5ml if that’s helpful!
Jill Paaso says
Thanks for that trivia! It’s an obscure reference and by the way the metric option is still not working when I try to select it, but everything is now in teaspoons so that’s good.
Pix says
Thank you for the recipe!
I also added some turmeric and star anise.. smells amazing without those two as well!
Lovely! Thanks so much for sharing, Pix!
Cristina M says
This was the perfect mix of spices and it gives the breads and desserts a special touch.
Definitely add that black pepper and cardamom, just superb!!
We’re so glad you loved the recipe, Cristina. Thank you for sharing! xo
Georgia says
I’m confused as some recipes miss the all spice and a few have it. To get the perfect pumpkin pie flavour is it best to add it?
We think so!
Quana Alexander says
This is an amazing pumpkin pie spice! I love it! I use it for my pumpkin cinnamon rolls and of course pumpkin pie. Thank you! I love the unique addition of black pepper and floral notes of the cardamom. It’s all perfectly balanced.
Yum! We’re so glad you’re enjoying it. Thank you for sharing! xo
Elen Freelander says
Note for Dana at Minimalist Baker re. cardamom and black pepper for heat. First, I love the addition of these two! I want to share my own heat ingredient, a discovery born of my residing in central New Mexico, where red and green chile is not so much a seasoning as a staple. I have been making my bottle of cinnamon sugar (for cinnamon toast, etc.) with half cinnamon and half ground dried red chile powder for decades. They go so well together you can hardly tell that anything is different, just really good. I’ve also found that all of the sweet orange veggies – yams, butternut squash, pumpkin – love red chile in all its forms – dried ground, sauce or chopped roasted fresh. I know that everything in your spice blend would go well with the addition of red chile, with the possible exception to cardamom. I’d have to try that to be sure. Love from NM!
That sounds SO delicious, Elen! Thank you for sharing! xo
Liz says
I always have a container of this in the cupboard…this recipe has the right balance of spices…gives our homemade pumpkin spice granola the perfect spicy flavour. We use it year round!
Love that, Liz! Thank you so much for sharing! xo
Virginia D says
Alex Dec8 2020-
Pimento is another name for all spice. It is a whole spice and when ground to a powder it’s allspice.
I always grind my own spices when needed. Flavours of ground spices lose their intensity very quickly.
PABlues says
Wow. You nailed it! THE perfect blend.
Yay! Thanks for the lovely review! xo
Alex says
I’ve never seen Allspice in the UK, sadly:( is there an alternative I could use?
Hmm, you could probably omit it since it’s such a nominal amount!
anon says
I live in the UK, ground allspice exists in the spice aisles. Every big supermarket apart from Aldi or Lidl sell it :). I like schwartz as their quality is superior when compared to the supermarket brand (side by side comparison). You could also find allspice berries at Holland and Barett, and grind your own for ultimate fresh spices :)
Torina says
I usually buy Trader Joe’s spices but this year I couldn’t get my hands on a bottle of pumpkin pie spice. I’ll never buy it again. This is so easy and yummy! I made 14 servings which mostly fills my TJ’s bottle.
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Torina!
blackpurl says
What is 1.29 TB? I don’t have measuring spoons with 0.11 tsp engraved on them.
Thanks
Hi, it sounds like you may have modified the number of servings, which does require more estimation. If you change it back to 7 servings, you will see more precise measurements. Hope that helps!
anon says
I would round the numbers closest to 1/8tsp, 1/4tsp, 1/2tsp etc. and 3tsp = 1tbsp for a true estimate. So 1.29 tbsp would be 1 1/4tsp :)
Elen Freelander says
My math has the answer more like 1 Tbsp plus a scant tsp. Because if I’m reading it right, 1.29 Tbsp is 1Tbsp plus .29 Tbsp, which is nearly one third of 1 Tbsp, or 1 tsp.
Andy says
So, chai spice +black pepper
Jared says
Chai almost always includes black pepper ;)
Vesna says
I love how balanced this blend is. I love cardamom, so I was stoked to see you’ve included that. I used this spice in a pumpkin banana bread recipe that called for pumpkin pie spice, and today I used it in a creamy cold pumpkin smoothie! Both the loaf and the smoothie turned out amazingly with such a balanced flavour profile. Thanks for this recipe. Your recipes are so reliable, consistently good, and foolproof!
Thanks so much for your kind words and lovely review, Vesna! We’re so glad you enjoy our recipes!
Ghada says
Perfect ratios. Always keep this on hand to sprinkle on top of oatmeal!
Yum! So glad you enjoy it, Ghada! Thanks for sharing!
Valeria says
What is in all spice mix?
Hi Valeria, allspice is a single spice- it is a dried berry.
Loula says
Hi there! I plan to make this recipe soon but I wondered about the following: are you using fresh ginger or dried ginger powder? The first picture of the ingredients shows fresh ginger; In the picture of the ground ingredients it appears as if it is ground dried ginger. Which one is it? Thank you!
Dried
Manuela says
Making it for the second time today… I absolutely love it. Have been putting it in anything. Cookies, cakes, breads, energy balls, smoothies, lattes…. so easy and so good!! Thanks Dana for another great and easy recipe!!
Thank you for sharing, Manuela!
Fran says
I love pumpkin spice anything especially this time of year. Do you think I could make a latte with this mix and how much would you use for example an 8 ounce cup of milk?
Yes! We have a recipe coming soon! In the meantime, I’d say start with 1/2 tsp and work your way up from there.
Annie says
Do you think this spice would work with apple pie too?
Yes! We have a pumpkin-spiced apple pie recipe here if you’re interested. Enjoy!
Diane Toth says
I love cardamom! This is my new pumpkin spice mix! Thank you.
High fives!
Shelaki says
Love this combo! Perfect in my dandelion-tea oat-milk latte. I don’t care who rolls their eyes over pumpkin spice – it’s the best!! (and yes, cardamom is definitely not optional. Also freshly ground nutmeg is a must for me)
Whoop! Thanks for sharing, Shelaki! We agree – cardamom sends it over the edge.
Noélia says
Plan to use this recipe this week, but the ingredients are my favorites minus the pepper. From this recipe I now have a good idea on how much of each ingredient to start with. Very thankful to you for these details!
Noélia
Let us know how it goes! Black pepper is certainly optional. We just like the extra spice :D
Anneline says
Oooh I looove pumpkin pie spice! I just put it all together and it smells amazing. I love using it instead of cinnamon in cinnamon rolls, and I was planning on making some tomorrow, your timing is perfect!
Oh, and cardamom is definitely NOT optional! :)
Wonderful! Hope you love it, Anneline!