Learn how to make your own pumpkin pie spice blend with this quick and easy recipe. Once made, this fragrant blend can be used in a variety of fall recipes, including cookies, cakes, and pies. It also makes a great gift for the holidays and can be used year-round.
It's that time of year when recipes call for a combination of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, among other flavors.
For fall baking I decided to make my own spice blend, once I learn how easy it was to make this recipe I've used it in my pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cream cheese swirl muffins and banana pumpkin bread, along with several other fall recipes.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins
Banana Pumpkin Bread
Homemade vs. Store Bought
Store bought pumpkin pie spice is perfectly fine and tastes great, but I learned making my own tastes better because you control the amount of each spice that goes into the blend.
- Ginger: I like the peppery bite of ginger, so I add enough ground ginger that i can taste that subtle bite.
- Cinnamon. There are different types of cinnamon that affect the overall taste. I use Ceylon cinnamon for most of my baking since it has a sweet flavor, but I like Saigon for savory dishes.
Know what each spice does and how they tastes can lead you to create your own flavor profile.
If you do a lot of baking, you most likely have the base spices in your cabinet, so making this recipe will be easy and take just a few minutes.
Pumpkin Pie Spice Ingredients
- Ground Nutmeg: Has a warm, sweet, nutty flavor. I like using fresh ground nutmeg which has a stronger flavor, but you can also use nutmeg that is already ground.
- Ground Cloves: Even though I like the flavor of cloves, be careful not to use too much because it has a really strong flavor and too much can have a numbing effect on your tongue.
- Ground Allspice: Allspice is a spice that mimics a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
Pumpkin Pie Spice Ratio
If you want to make a bigger or smaller batch, my blend is 9 parts cinnamon, 4 parts ginger, 1 part nutmeg, 1 part allspice, and 1/2 part cloves.
One teaspoon per part (part = 1 teaspoon) gives you the batch in the recipe card below.
For giving as a gift, I recommend tripling the recipe, which will produce 1 cup of this spice blend.
How to Make the Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend
Step 1: Place the ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground allspice in a small bowl.
Step 2: Place the ground ginger in a fine mesh strainer and sift it into the bowl with the other spices.
Step 3: Whisk the ground spices together and store the spice blend in an airtight container.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Check the freshness of your ground spices. If you’ve had them for a couple of years, or they don’t have much of a smell replace them with a fresh jar.
- After you’ve made the recipe once, feel free to adjust the amount of individual spices to your taste. But don’t use too much clove as it can have a numbing effect on your tongue.
- I recommend using exact measurements the first time you make this spice blend, so that the next time you make it, you will know what to adjust depending on your own tastes.
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How to Make Pumpkin Pie Spice (5 Ingredients)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons (21 grams) ground cinnamon
- 4 teaspoons (10 grams) ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon (1 gram) ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon (2 grams) ground allspice
Instructions
- This recipe makes about 1/3 cup of spice blend.
- Whisk all of the ingredients, except the ground ginger together in a small bowl. Place the ground ginger in a fine mesh sieve and sift the ginger into to the same bowl. Whisk the ginger into the other spices.
- Spoon spice mixture into your desired jar that seals well. Using a wide mouth storage container makes this step easier.
- This homemade pumpkin pie spice mixture will last in a tightly sealed container until the individual spices’ expiration dates, which is typically 1–2 years. If you want to ensure equal freshness of the spices, by new spices for this recipe, especially if you're not sure how old your current spices are.
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