Here’s a step-by-step to making pumpkin pie spice.
Start by gathering all your ingredients. You will need 3 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger, 2 teaspoons of freshly ground nutmeg, 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground allspice, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cloves.
Next, measure all the ingredients into a bowl and whisk them together (you can also use a fork to do this).
The last step is to transfer your pumpkin pie spice mix to a spice jar. Voila, you’re done!
What can you do with pumpkin pie spice?
You’ve learned how to make pumpkin pie spice. Woohoo! But...now what? Here are a few ideas for what to do with it.
- Brew some pumpkin pie spice-flavored coffee: Sprinkle onto your coffee grounds and brew as normal. Or, simply sprinkle it on the foam or whipped cream of your latte.
- Enjoy it sprinkled over ice cream: Treat your homemade spice blend as a topping for an ice cream sundae. (This is the best way to enjoy the spice well into the summer months!)
- Whip up a batch of pumpkin pie spice frosting: Fold the blend into vanilla frosting for cake or cupcakes—just be prepared for your family to ask for seconds.
- Stay healthy with pumpkin pie spice granola: Add to any basic granola recipe for a healthy treat with a warming flavor.
- Bake your neighbors a loaf of pumpkin pie spice bread: Toss into any pumpkin bread recipe (or any pumpkin dessert recipe, for that matter) instead of measuring out each spice individually.
- Don’t forget savory applications! Sprinkle on root vegetables, roast, then serve with lemon wedges and fresh cilantro. It’s also amazing on roast chicken and in a warming sweet potato and beef chili.
Can you substitute pumpkin pie spice for cinnamon, and vice versa?
Because pumpkin pie spice is a blend of many spices, not every dish will taste quite right if you substitute pumpkin pie spice for cinnamon. But because the main spice in pumpkin pie spice is cinnamon, for the most part you should be okay to proceed, typically with a one-to-one substitution. (In fact, replacing cinnamon with pumpkin pie spice in my favorite Cinnamon-Sugar Popovers recipe would be a delightful autumn twist.)
This works the other way around too. If you must, you can always swap ground cinnamon for pumpkin pie spice. For a more traditional, expected taste, I suggest mixing in a little nutmeg, too, if you have it on hand.
Is allspice the same thing as pumpkin pie spice?
This is a common misconception. The name “allspice” might lead you to believe that it’s a mixture of many different spices, but that’s not the case. Allspice is simply the dried fruit of a tree in the myrtle family, which is apparent when you use whole dried allspice berries for recipes like our Mulled Cherry Cocktail.
The allspice tree is native to Jamaica (and it’s sometimes called the Jamaica pepper), but it’s also now grown throughout Central America and the Caribbean.
The spice is called “allspice” because it does taste like a blend of cinnamon and other autumnal spices—and it’s true that it does resemble the flavor profile of pumpkin pie spice. While it’s not a perfect match, if you do need to substitute pumpkin pie spice for allspice or vice versa, you can do so without too much hesitation.
