Homemade apple pie spice is one of those pantry staples that makes everything taste like fall the second it hits the bowl. My version blends warm cinnamon with ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice, then adds two things you won’t find in most store-bought jars: a little brown sugar for a gentle caramel note and a touch of cardamom for a bright citrus, floral lift. It takes five minutes to toss together, and I make it in a small batch on purpose so it always tastes as fresh and fragrant as the day I mixed it.
If you love keeping homemade blends on hand, this one sits right next to my Pumpkin Pie Spice and Homemade Chai Spice Mix in my spice drawer. And if you want to branch out into savory blends, my Za’atar Spice Blend is just as easy and every bit as useful.
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Why You’ll Love this Apple Pie Spice
This blend tastes like warm apple pie: sweet cinnamon up front, a gentle hint of ginger and nutmeg, a little depth from cloves and allspice, and a fresh citrusy floral finish from the cardamom. The brown sugar rounds it all out, so it tastes delicious straight from the jar.
It’s also practical. You need only seven pantry ingredients and a small bowl, and it’s ready in five minutes. Because it’s a small batch, you’ll use it up while it’s at its peak freshness instead of letting a big jar go dull in the cupboard. It costs a fraction of a specialty blend, and you control exactly what goes into it.
Heather’s Expert Tips for the Best Apple Pie Spice Mix (Small Batch)
Drawing from 20 years of recipe development and my time co-founding a spice company, here’s what makes this recipe worth making exactly as written.
- Start with fresh ground spices. After years of co-founding Spiceology and working with spices every day, the biggest lesson I learned is that freshness beats everything. Ground spices lose their aromatic oils over time, so check the dates on your jars. If a spice doesn’t smell strong when you open it, it won’t taste strong in your blend.
- Make it small. This recipe makes just under 1/4 cup on purpose. A small batch gets used up faster, so the flavor stays fresh. When it runs out, mixing a new batch takes five minutes.
- Break up the brown sugar first. Brown sugar tends to clump, so press it through a small fine-mesh sieve or rub it between your fingertips before adding the spices. That keeps the blend even and stops sugary pockets from forming in the jar.
- Grate your own nutmeg if you can. Freshly grated whole nutmeg is noticeably more aromatic than pre-ground. A microplane does the job in seconds.
- Let the cardamom shine, but don’t overdo it. Cardamom is what makes this blend taste a little different from the grocery store version. Measure it carefully, because a little goes a long way.
Equipment Needed
- Mixing bowls and measuring spoons
- Small whisk or spoon
- Microplane or nutmeg grater (optional, for whole nutmeg)
- Small airtight glass spice jar
Ingredients for Homemade Apple Pie Spice
This recipe calls for pantry staples and comes together in just a few minutes.
- Ground cinnamon – use a good quality bakers-grade cinnamon for the most flavor.
- Brown sugar – light or dark brown sugar, packed
- Ground ginger – apples love ginger.
- Ground cardamom – adds a slight citrus note to the spice blend and is perfect for baked goods.
- Ground cloves – nothing screams holiday baking quite like the smell of cloves.
- Ground nutmeg – grating nutmeg fresh will provide the most optimal flavor.
- Ground allspice – allspice is a dried berry, not a mixture of spices, but derives its name because the taste is similar to cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
Recipe Variations & Substitutions
- Sugar-free apple pie spice: Leave out the brown sugar for a pure spice blend that works in savory dishes and in recipes where you want to control the sweetness separately. Or use a natural sweetener like monk fruit or stevia.
- Maple twist: Swap the brown sugar for an equal amount of maple sugar for a deeper, woodsy sweetness.
- No cardamom on hand: Leave it out and add a little extra cinnamon. The blend will taste more classic and a bit less floral.
- Extra warmth: Increase the ginger to 3/4 teaspoon for a spicier, zippier blend that’s great in cookies.
- Whole spice upgrade: Toast whole cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice berries, and cardamom seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant, cool completely, then grind them in a spice grinder for the most aromatic blend possible.
How to Store Apple Pie Spice
- Airtight is non-negotiable: Store the blend in a small glass jar with a tight-fitting lid to keep out air and humidity.
- Keep it cool and dark: A cupboard or drawer away from the stove, oven, and dishwasher protects the flavor. Heat and light fade spices quickly.
- Use within 3 to 6 months: It won’t spoil, but the flavor is at its best in the first few months. That’s exactly why I make it in a small batch.
- Shake before using: The brown sugar and spices can settle or clump a little over time. A quick shake or stir brings it back together.
- Skip the freezer: Freezing isn’t necessary, and moving the jar in and out of the cold can cause condensation, which makes the brown sugar clump.
How to Use Homemade Apple Pie Spice
- Classic apple pies: Toss 1 to 2 tablespoons with your sliced apples, then bake in a flaky crust made with my Basic Pie Dough.
- Apple turnovers: Use it in place of the pumpkin pie spice in my Pumpkin Spiced Apple Turnovers for a pure apple pie flavor.
- Fruit crisps: Sprinkle a teaspoon into the fruit filling of a Mixed Berry Crisp, or make it with apples and pears in the fall.
- Cookies: Roll Soft Snickerdoodles in a mix of sugar and apple pie spice instead of plain cinnamon sugar.
- Quick breads and muffins: Add 1 teaspoon to the batter of Bourbon Banana Bread or stir a pinch into the crumb topping of Banana Crumb Muffins.
- Breakfast: Sprinkle it over Quick Oatmeal with Fruit and Nuts, yogurt, pancake batter, or French toast custard.
- Savory dinners: Rub a pinch onto pork with salt and pepper before cooking. It’s lovely with Grilled Pork Chops with Apple Parmesan Salad.
- Drinks and snacks: Sprinkle on top or stir it into hot coffee, warm apple cider, or whipped cream, or toss it with hot buttered popcorn, roasted sweet potatoes, or butternut squash.
Frequently Asked Questions
Apple pie spice is a blend of warm baking spices, usually cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger, sometimes with cloves. My homemade version also includes cardamom for a floral note and a little brown sugar for a light caramel sweetness.
Apple pie spice is cinnamon-forward and lighter, while pumpkin pie spice leans harder on ginger and cloves for a bolder flavor. They’re similar enough that you can swap one for the other in a pinch, but each is balanced for its own kind of dessert.
Yes, you can use apple pie spice in place of cinnamon one for one in most recipes. Because this blend contains a little brown sugar, the result will be very slightly sweeter and have more layers of warm spice.
Homemade apple pie spice has the best flavor within 3 to 6 months when stored in an airtight jar in a cool, dark place. It stays safe to eat after that, but the aroma and flavor slowly fade, which is why I make a small batch.
Use 1 to 2 teaspoons of apple pie spice for a standard 9-inch apple pie. Start with 1 teaspoon if you like the apples to take center stage, and use 2 teaspoons if you want a bolder, spicier filling.
The clumps come from the brown sugar, which holds a little moisture. Break up the brown sugar before mixing, store the blend airtight, and give the jar a good shake or stir before each use.
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Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp brown sugar, packed
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
Instructions
- Break up the brown sugar by pressing it through a small fine-mesh sieve or rubbing it between your fingertips so there are no clumps.
- Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice to a small bowl.
- Whisk until the blend is completely uniform in color.
- Transfer to a small airtight jar, label with the date, and store in a cool, dark place.
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Notes
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Hi! I’m Heather
I’m Heather, a recipe developer and content creator based in Vancouver, Washington. I started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006 because I believed weeknight dinners shouldn’t be boring and gourmet shouldn’t mean complicated. I’m also the co-founder of Spiceology, so safe to say I think about food for a living. Stick around for recipes that actually make it into your regular rotation.