Top 5 Apple Pie Spice Substitutes and How Much to Use

Pumpkin pie spice is the closest apple pie spice substitute and works one for one in most desserts, or at three quarters of a teaspoon if the jar smells strongly of clove. Plain cinnamon at three quarters of a teaspoon is the safest single jar. In a homemade version, cinnamon should make up about two thirds of the mix, with nutmeg and allspice sharing the rest.

What is actually in apple pie spice?

Mostly cinnamon. A typical jar is cinnamon with smaller amounts of nutmeg and allspice, and some brands add ginger, cardamom or a trace of clove. None of them add sugar.

The base

Cinnamon, usually two thirds or more of the jar

The rounding

Nutmeg and allspice in roughly equal small amounts

Sometimes added

Ginger, cardamom or clove, depending on the brand

Not in it

Sugar, salt or any thickener

Its job

A gentle warm background that lets the apple lead

That last line explains every substitute on this page.

Apple pie spice is built to stay behind the fruit, so a replacement fails the moment it gets louder than the apples. Read the recipe before replacing anything, because many apple recipes already list cinnamon or nutmeg on their own lines.

Which pantry spices can fill an apple pie?

Five things on an ordinary spice shelf do the job. They differ mainly in how far each one pulls the dessert away from cinnamon.

• Pumpkin pie spice: closest ready-made overlap.
• Cinnamon: safest simple fallback.
• Allspice and nutmeg: concentrated supporting notes.
• Cardamom: brightest change of direction.

Pumpkin pie spice is the closest ready-made swap. It shares the cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice base, then adds ground ginger and clove that suit squash better than apple. In a cake or a crumble nobody notices the difference.

Plain ground cinnamon is the safest single jar. It supplies the aroma people recognize first.

The missing nutmeg and allspice rarely matter when the filling also has butter, brown sugar or caramel. Those ingredients fill the back of the flavor that the small spices would have covered.

Allspice, nutmeg and cardamom are supporting spices, and each one suits only the desserts that want its particular direction.

How do you mix one teaspoon at home?

Combine two thirds of a teaspoon of cinnamon with one sixth of a teaspoon each of nutmeg and allspice. That keeps cinnamon at twice the volume of the other two combined, which is the shape most commercial jars follow.

1. Measure level spoonsA heaped spoon of nutmeg or allspice doubles its share of the blend
2. Use an eighth plus a pinchMost spoon sets stop at an eighth of a teaspoon, and a small pinch on top makes up the sixth
3. Mix in a dry bowl firstStirring the powders together before they meet wet fruit stops pockets of allspice forming
4. Make three teaspoons at onceTwo teaspoons of cinnamon with half a teaspoon each of nutmeg and allspice is far easier to measure

• Cinnamon: two thirds of a teaspoon forms the base.
• Nutmeg: one sixth adds rounded warmth.
• Allspice: one sixth adds darker depth.
• Mix first: even distribution prevents concentrated pockets.

Freshly grated nutmeg is noticeably stronger than a jar of pre-ground. Grate it over a measuring spoon instead of straight into the bowl, and use a little less than the formula says. The same goes for whole allspice berries ground just before use.

For a brighter version to go with tart apples, swap half the allspice for ground green cardamom, the spice behind Swedish cardamom buns.

Is pumpkin pie spice close enough?

Usually yes, and in cake batter almost always. The real question is how much ginger and clove your jar carries, since those two show up fast in a thin layer of fruit.

• Cinnamon listed firstThe blend will behave much like apple pie spice at one to one
• Clove you can smell from the open jarStart at three quarters of a teaspoon instead of a full one
• Ginger near the front of the listFine in muffins and cake, noticeable in a shallow tart
• Recipe also lists ginger or cloveCut those lines, since the blend already supplies them
• A deep batter or crumbleFlour and fat spread the extra spice, so the full amount is safe

Brands vary enough that the smell of the open jar tells you more than the label does.

Labels list ingredients in order of weight but give no percentages. Two jars that both start with cinnamon can still differ a lot in how much clove sits behind it.

Pumpkin pie spice swapped into a crumble topping is almost never a problem. A single layer of sliced apples under a lattice is where ground clove gets noticed, and that is the place to use the lower amount.

Can you use other ready-made blends?

A few more jars work in a pinch, though all of them push further from apple than pumpkin pie spice does.

• Mixed spiceThe British baking blend, cinnamon-led with nutmeg, allspice and usually clove, ginger and coriander, and a good swap at three quarters of the amount
• Chai spiceCardamom, cinnamon, ginger and clove with black pepper, so use half the amount and keep it to cake, buns and oatmeal
• Gingerbread spiceGinger leads instead of cinnamon, which makes it right for a dark apple cake and wrong for a pale pie
• Cinnamon sugarMostly sugar, so it adds sweetness along with a small amount of spice and suits only toppings

Check whichever you use for sugar or salt. Chai blends sold for drinks sometimes contain sugar, and that changes a filling more than the spice does.

Does the dessert change how much you use?

It does, because each base spreads or concentrates spice differently. Apple filling loses water as it bakes, so a filling that smells right raw will taste stronger once it has cooked down.

• Filling: fruit juice concentrates as it bakes.
• Batter: flour and fat disperse the spice.
• Oatmeal: surface powder needs mixing into liquid.
• Cider: steam makes the aroma seem stronger.

The apples matter as well.

Firm tart varieties such as Granny Smith can carry more spice and take cardamom well. Soft, sweet apples lose their own flavor sooner, so stay at the lower end of every ratio with those.

What if the recipe already lists cinnamon?

Then you are only missing the small supporting spices, and a full substitute would double the cinnamon.

This happens more often than people expect. Home recipes often list the blend and then add extra cinnamon on top, and a one-to-one swap on both lines makes the filling taste of cinnamon candy.

How long does a homemade blend keep?

Ground spices lose aroma steadily, and the small ones go first. A homemade apple pie mix tastes best within a few months, after which the nutmeg and allspice fade and the jar starts to taste of cinnamon alone.

Keep it in a small airtight jar away from the stove, and bear in mind that storing spices well matters more for a blend than for a single spice.

How do you fix a filling that tastes too spiced?

Fix it before it goes into the crust, while you can still add more apple. Name the loudest note first, because each one points to a different cause.

• Dry and woodyToo much cinnamon, and more sliced apple is the whole correction
• Sharp or numbingClove from pumpkin pie spice or allspice, which sugar softens but never removes
• Dusty or perfumedToo much nutmeg, and plain fruit plus a short rest brings it back
• Floral and brightToo much cardamom, so dilute with apple and leave the cinnamon as it is
• Flat and sweetThe spice is fine, and a squeeze of lemon gives the apple its edge back

Adding more apple also adds more juice. Scale the flour, cornstarch or tapioca up by the same proportion, or the corrected pie will be runny. About one extra teaspoon of cornstarch for each added apple is a reasonable start.

Sugar is the wrong first move for every one of these. It hides a harsh spice on the first taste and leaves the aroma sitting above the pie, which is the same trap described in balancing a dish of any kind.

Once the pie is baked, the only repair left is serving it with something plain.