Allspice Substitute: The 3-Spice Mix and 7 Other Swaps
The best allspice substitute is a quick homemade mix: for every 1 teaspoon of ground allspice, stir together 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves. Allspice got its name because it tastes like those three spices rolled into one, so blending them gets you remarkably close. If you'd rather grab one jar, pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice swaps in one to one.
Allspice is a strong spice, so getting the balance right matters more than with milder ones. The calculator below works out every swap for the exact amount in your recipe, whether that's a pinch in a pie filling or a tablespoon in a big batch of gingerbread.
Free calculator
Allspice substitute calculator
Pick how much ground allspice your recipe needs, then pick a swap to see the exact spoonfuls.
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What is allspice, anyway?
Allspice is not a blend, even though the name sounds like one. It's a single spice: the dried berry of a tree that grows in Jamaica and other warm parts of the Americas. The berries look like big peppercorns. When early traders tasted them, they thought they smelled like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves all at once, and the name stuck.
That's the whole secret behind the best substitute. If allspice tastes like those three spices, then mixing those three spices gets you very close to allspice. Cloves bring the strong, warm bite. Cinnamon brings sweetness. Nutmeg rounds it off. Allspice also has a slight peppery edge, which is why it shows up in savory dishes like jerk seasoning and in sweet bakes like gingerbread.
Allspice substitute chart
Every amount below replaces 1 teaspoon of ground allspice. Scale them to your recipe, or use the calculator above.
| Swap | Amount per 1 tsp allspice | Best in | How close |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homemade mix | 1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/4 tsp nutmeg + 1/4 tsp cloves | Everything | Closest |
| Pumpkin pie spice | 1 tsp | Pies, quick breads, spice cake | Close, milder |
| Apple pie spice | 1 tsp | Fruit pies, crisps, muffins | Good, softer |
| Cinnamon + cloves | 3/4 tsp cinnamon + 1/4 tsp cloves | Gingerbread, spice cookies | Close |
| Nutmeg + cloves | 1/2 tsp nutmeg + 1/4 tsp cloves | Custards, pumpkin bakes | Close |
| Cloves alone | 1/4 tsp | Dark, molasses-heavy bakes | Fair, sharper |
| Nutmeg alone | 1/2 tsp | Cakes, sweet potato pie | Fair, softer |
| Chinese five-spice | 1/2 tsp | Savory bakes, glazes | Fair, licorice note |
Notice the cloves never go above 1/4 teaspoon per teaspoon of allspice. Cloves are the strongest spice here by far, and too much makes a bake taste bitter and almost medicinal.
How to mix your own allspice
The homemade mix is a 2 to 1 to 1 ratio by volume: two parts cinnamon, one part nutmeg, one part cloves. That's easy to remember and easy to scale.
- Measure the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves into a small bowl.
- Stir with a fork or tiny whisk until the color is even, with no streaks.
- Use it exactly like ground allspice, adding it to the flour or sugar.
If you bake with allspice often, make a jar. Here's how the mix scales:
| Allspice you want | Cinnamon | Nutmeg | Cloves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 tsp | 1/4 tsp | 1/8 tsp | 1/8 tsp |
| 1 tsp | 1/2 tsp | 1/4 tsp | 1/4 tsp |
| 1 tbsp | 1 1/2 tsp | 3/4 tsp | 3/4 tsp |
| 2 tbsp | 1 tbsp | 1 1/2 tsp | 1 1/2 tsp |
| 1/4 cup | 2 tbsp | 1 tbsp | 1 tbsp |
Store it in a small airtight jar away from the stove, and label it with the date. Like any ground spice blend, it tastes best within about a year, because the oils in ground spices fade over time.
Whole allspice berries to ground
If you have whole allspice berries, you can grind your own and skip the substitute. A clean spice grinder or coffee grinder does it in seconds. A mortar and pestle works too, though the berries are hard, so give them a good crush first. Sift out any big bits.
As a loose guide, about 6 to 8 whole berries grind down to roughly 1 teaspoon of ground allspice. Berries vary a lot in size, so the reliable way is to grind a few more than you think you need and then measure the powder with a spoon. Freshly ground allspice is stronger than the jar kind, so a level spoonful is plenty.
Whole berries are also handy for steeping. Toss a few into warm cider, a fruit compote, or the syrup for a poached pear tart, then strain them out before serving.
Worked example: gingerbread cookies
A typical gingerbread cookie dough uses 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon allspice and 1/4 teaspoon cloves. You're out of allspice. Here's what to do:
- Homemade mix: 1/4 tsp cinnamon + 1/8 tsp nutmeg + 1/8 tsp cloves. Add it with the other spices.
- Shortcut: since the dough already has cinnamon and cloves, you can add just 1/4 tsp nutmeg and an extra 1/8 tsp cloves. It ends up almost the same.
- One jar: 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice.
The dough, chilling time and bake time don't change. If you're building a house rather than cutting cookies, the swap works the same way, and our gingerbread house size guide covers panel sizes. For the dark, rich color, molasses does more work than any spice. If you're short on it, see our molasses substitute guide.
Baking guideGingerbread House Size Guide: Panels and ProportionsSee the sizes →
Baking guideMolasses Substitutes for Baking: 6 Swaps by FlavorPick a substitute →
Allspice in holiday baking
Allspice is one of the quiet workhorses of Thanksgiving and Christmas. You'll find it in pumpkin pie, mincemeat-style fruit fillings, spice cake, gingerbread, fruitcake, apple butter and plenty of spiced cookies. Its clove-like warmth is what makes those bakes taste deep and cozy.
- Pumpkin pie: pumpkin pie spice or the homemade mix. Both blend right in.
- Fruitcake and fruit breads: the homemade mix. If you're baking for someone with a nut allergy, our fruitcake without nuts guide has the swaps.
- Molasses and gingerbread cookies: cinnamon + cloves. If you want them soft instead of snappy, our guide on chewy vs crispy cookies explains which levers to pull.
- Apple pie and crisps: apple pie spice.
Baking guideFruitcake Without Nuts: Swaps That Keep the TextureFind my swap →
Baking guideHow to Make Cookies Chewy or Crispy: The 8 Real LeversRead the guide →
If you're baking spiced cookies ahead for the holidays, the swap doesn't change how they keep. Dough balls can go in the freezer the same as always. Our guide on how to freeze cookie dough walks you through it.
Baking guideHow to Freeze Cookie Dough: Flash Freeze, Then Bag ItGet the proofing tips →
Mistakes to avoid
Swapping cloves one to one
This is the big one. Cloves smell the most like allspice, so it's tempting to use the same amount. Don't. A full teaspoon of cloves in place of allspice will overpower everything else. A quarter of the amount is the most you want.
Forgetting the recipe already has those spices
Many recipes with allspice also use cinnamon and cloves. If you add the full homemade mix on top, you'll end up with more cinnamon and cloves than intended. That's usually fine in gingerbread, but in a delicate cake it can taste heavy. Adjust if the recipe already leans heavily on them.
Using a savory blend in a sweet bake
Chinese five-spice and jerk seasonings can contain star anise, black pepper, chili or garlic. They're not sweet swaps. Keep them for glazes, savory muffins and meat dishes.
Not mixing the blend first
If you add three spices separately into a wet batter, you can get pockets of clove. Mix the spices together, then whisk them into the flour.
Tasting and adjusting your swap
Spice jars vary a lot. One brand of cinnamon can be twice as strong as another, and a jar that's been open for three years might have half the punch it started with. So it's worth a quick taste test before you commit.
Here's an easy way to check without tasting raw batter. Mix your swap into a spoonful of sugar or soft butter and taste a tiny bit. You're looking for warm and sweet up front with a gentle bite at the end. If it's mostly bite, there's too much clove, so add a pinch more cinnamon. If it's flat and only sweet, add a tiny pinch more clove or nutmeg.
A few signs your spices are past their best: the color looks faded, the smell is faint when you open the jar, or you have to rub a pinch hard between your fingers to smell anything. Ground spices are at their best for roughly 2 to 3 years, while whole berries and whole cloves keep their flavor longer. If your jars are tired, use a slightly heaped measure rather than doubling up, since old spices can also taste dusty.
Once you've found a balance you like, write it on the recipe card. Next time you won't need to think about it.
Savory uses and swaps
Allspice isn't just for sweets. It's a key part of jerk seasoning, some pickling spice mixes, and many meatball, chili and stew recipes. For savory food, the cinnamon and cloves swap still works, but go lighter on the cinnamon and add a pinch of black pepper to cover allspice's peppery side. Chinese five-spice also works well in savory dishes at half the amount. For a holiday ham glaze or spiced cranberry sauce, the cinnamon and cloves swap is a natural fit, since both already lean on those flavors.
Storing what you bake
A spice swap never changes the shelf life of a bake. Spice cakes keep a few days well wrapped at room temperature, and our guide on how to store cake has the details for frosted and unfrosted cakes. Pumpkin pie and any other custard pie needs to go in the fridge once it has cooled, within 2 hours of baking. For a full list of other swaps, from eggs to brown sugar, see the baking substitutions chart or our brown sugar substitute guide, since spiced holiday recipes often call for both.
Baking guideHow to Store Cake: Counter, Fridge and Freezer RulesRead the storage guide →
Free toolBaking Substitutions: Exact Ratios for 41 IngredientsDo the math for me →
Questions people ask
What is the best allspice substitute?
A homemade mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a 2 to 1 to 1 ratio. For every 1 teaspoon of allspice, use 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon cloves. Allspice tastes like those three spices combined, so this mix is very close in pies, cookies and cakes.
Is allspice a blend of spices?
No. Despite the name, allspice is one spice: the dried berry of the pimento tree, grown mostly in Jamaica and Central America. It got its name because it smells like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves together. That's why mixing those three makes such a good substitute.
Can I use pumpkin pie spice instead of allspice?
Yes, one to one. Pumpkin pie spice usually contains cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves or allspice, so it covers the same warm flavors. It's a little milder and has more ginger, which suits pies, spice cake and quick breads well. In savory dishes, use cinnamon and cloves with a pinch of black pepper instead.
Can I use cloves instead of allspice?
Yes, but use much less. Cloves are far stronger, so use only 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves for every 1 teaspoon of allspice. If you have cinnamon, add 1/2 teaspoon of it too, to cover the sweet side of allspice. A full teaspoon of cloves will make the bake bitter.
How many allspice berries make 1 teaspoon ground?
Roughly 6 to 8 whole berries, ground, give about 1 teaspoon of ground allspice. Berries vary in size, so the most reliable way is to grind a few extra and measure the powder with a spoon. Freshly ground allspice is stronger than jarred, so a level spoonful is plenty.
Can I use allspice instead of the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a recipe?
Yes, this works the other way around too. If a recipe calls for small amounts of all three, you can replace them with allspice. Use about 1 teaspoon of allspice in place of 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon cloves. If the recipe uses a lot of cinnamon, keep the cinnamon and only swap the other two.
Can I just leave allspice out?
In many recipes, yes. If allspice is one of several spices and the amount is small, like 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon, leaving it out won't affect texture. The bake will taste a little less deep. Add a pinch more cinnamon and a tiny pinch of cloves if you have them to fill the gap.