Pumpkin Pie Spice Recipe

Forget to pick up some pumpkin pie spice? No problem! It’s quick and easy to make your own at home with a combination of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

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About Pumpkin Pie Spice Recipe

Baking is one of the simple joys of the holiday season, but nothing puts a damper on the festivities like forgetting a key ingredient.

And I don’t know about you, but I’ve found myself in that situation a lot. And many a time, it just happened to be pumpkin pie spice that I forgot at the store.

But fear not! This iconic spice can be whipped up from scratch with four ingredients you likely already have in your pantry.

What’s in pumpkin pie spice?

This fall-friendly seasoning has all of the best “warm” holiday flavors, such as:

• Ground cinnamon – Warm and soft, cinnamon is the main reason pumpkin pie spice is so comforting.
• Ground ginger – Add the slighest bit of spiciness to the mix.
• Ground cloves – A dash of strong, sweet, and spicy flavor.
• Ground nutmeg – Another holiday staple with a woody and nutty flair.

When to add pumpkin pie spice to pumpkin

When it comes to holiday treats, you’re going to be faced with two types of canned pumpkin in the baking aisle:

Pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling.

And while these types might seem interchangeable, there is a slight (yet significant) difference.

With pumpkin puree, the only contents are cooked and mashed pumpkin (or a variety of winter gourds), with no added flavors or spices. Pumpkin pie filling is made with cooked and mashed pumpkin, too, but it is also already flavored with pumpkin pie spice.

So while you’re baking, you can generally assume that if the recipe calls for pumpkin pie filling, you shouldn’t need to add pumpkin pie spice – unless the recipe really wants to kick up the flavor. And by contrast, recipes that use pumpkin puree will likely call for pumpkin pie spice (or will use their own combination of the spices to create a similar flavor.)

How long can spices be kept?

It doesn’t take long to accumulate a cabinet full of spices, but like all foods, they do have a “best buy” date. When determining how long to keep (or whether to use) a spice, these are the general rules of thumb:

• Whole spices (not ground) can stay fresh for four years.
• Ground spices stay fresh for two to three years.
• Dried herbs can be used for one to three years.

This pumpkin pie spice has a combination of ground spices, so it should remain fresh in a sealed container at room temperature for two to three years.

notes & tips for how to make pumpkin pie spice

• Many recipes out there for pumpkin pie spice include allspice, but this one doesn’t – and there’s a reason for that. Allspice has a flavor that’s very similar to a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, all of which are already present in the main ingredients of this recipe. It’s a matter of personal preference, but always I’ve liked the simplicty of using one less spice – and haven’t been able to taste the difference. The other ingredients in this recipe have been balanced to compensate for the lack of allspice.

More useful spice recipes

Delicious recipes with pumpkin pie spice

How to make pumpkin pie spice

This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and instructions, scroll down to Recipe Details.

Step 1 – In a small bowl (or a resealable container), mix together the ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg.

Step 2 – Use and enjoy!