Allspice substitutes
Allspice substitutes — 7 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Also called Allspice Seasoning, Jamaica pepper, allspice berries, ground allspice, myrtle pepper, pimenta, pimento, whole allspice
Use Cinnamon + nutmeg + cloves
Per 1 tsp allspice
½ tsp cinnamon + ¼ tsp nutmeg + 1/8 tsp cloves
Per 1 tsp of ground allspice, use ½ tsp ground cinnamon plus ¼ tsp ground nutmeg plus 1/8 tsp ground cloves. Not equal parts — cloves are far stronger than the other two and equal parts is why homemade allspice usually tastes medicinal. If you would rather open one jar, pumpkin pie spice works teaspoon for teaspoon in sweet baking, and about 6 whole allspice berries ground gives 1 tsp.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- The tweak —
- Mix them into the sugar or flour before any liquid, because cloves clump and one clumped spot tastes medicinal
- Best for —
- any recipe, sweet or savoury, when you want the closest match
- Pantry —
- Likely in your cupboard
Checked 23 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
But first: what’s the allspice doing?
Pick your caseIs the allspice going into something sweet, something Caribbean and savoury, or a pot of brine?
Build the blend — ½ tsp cinnamon plus ¼ tsp nutmeg plus 1/8 tsp cloves per 1 tsp of allspice — or use pumpkin pie spice teaspoon for teaspoon, which is close enough that most people would not spot the swap in a pie. There is more detail at complete guide.
Notes on cinnamon + nutmeg + cloves or pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp cinnamon + ¼ tsp nutmeg + 1/8 tsp cloves per 1 tsp allspice
Do not reach for pumpkin pie spice here — its ginger and heavy cinnamon read as dessert on meat. Use the cinnamon, nutmeg and clove blend, or ½ tsp of garam masala per teaspoon if the dish is already savoury and heavily spiced. In jerk specifically, allspice is the defining flavour and a substitute will not pass.
Notes on cinnamon + nutmeg + cloves or garam masala
½ tsp cinnamon + ¼ tsp nutmeg + 1/8 tsp cloves per 1 tsp allspice
Whole berries are not interchangeable with ground by volume — reckon on about 6 berries per teaspoon of ground. Ground allspice in a clear brine clouds it and cannot be strained out, so use whole cloves and a cinnamon stick instead, or tie the ground spice in muslin.
Grind them. Six berries give roughly 1 tsp of ground allspice, and freshly ground is noticeably stronger than an old jar, so start with two thirds of the amount. Berries are hard; use a spice grinder or crush them in a mortar rather than trying to chop them.
Decide first whether the dish is sweet or savoury. For sweet baking, either mix ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg and 1/8 tsp cloves per teaspoon, or use pumpkin pie spice teaspoon for teaspoon. For Caribbean and Middle Eastern savoury cooking, use the same blend but avoid any pre-made sweet blend, because their ginger reads as dessert on meat. For a brine or mulled drink, use whole spices you can strain out. And if you are making jerk, allspice is the dish rather than a seasoning in it.
Allspice is aroma doing three spices' work at once — clove sharpness, cinnamon sweetness and nutmeg's woody note in one berry — which is why replacing it takes a blend, not a swap.
Aroma & flavor identityprimary
Its dominant compound is eugenol, the same one that makes cloves pungent, which is why allspice tastes clove-led and why any homemade version that uses equal parts cloves ends up tasting like a dental surgery.
Every option, one card
Ranked · per 1 tsp allspice| # | Substitute | Instead of 1 tsp allspice | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cinnamon + nutmeg + clovesany recipe, sweet or savoury, when you want the closest match | ½ tsp ground cinnamon + ¼ tsp ground nutmeg + 1/8 tsp ground clovesTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | Pumpkin pie spicepumpkin pie, apple pie, spiced muffins and quick breads | 1 tspTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Mixed spiceBritish baking: fruit cake, hot cross buns, mincemeat, Christmas pudding | 1 tspTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Cinnamon + cloveswhen there is no nutmeg in the house | ¾ tsp ground cinnamon plus 1/8 tsp ground clovesYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Nutmeg + cloveswhen there is no cinnamon, or the recipe deliberately avoids it | ½ tsp ground nutmeg plus 1/8 tsp ground clovesYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Ground cloveswhen cloves are the only warm spice you own | ¼ tspYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 7 | Garam masalasavoury braises, meatballs, koftas and rice dishes | ½ tspYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
Cinnamon + nutmeg + cloves
very close
The three spices allspice tastes like, in the proportions allspice actually tastes of them: cinnamon-led, nutmeg behind it, and only a little clove.
- Covers
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Amount
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon + ¼ tsp ground nutmeg + 1/8 tsp ground cloves for 1 tsp ground allspice
- Then
- mix them into the sugar or flour before any liquid, because cloves clump and one clumped spot tastes medicinal
- Best for
- any recipe, sweet or savoury, when you want the closest match, when you have all three jars and 30 seconds, Caribbean and Middle Eastern dishes, where a sweet blend would be wrong
- Taste
- very close. Slightly sweeter and slightly less peppery than real allspice, which has a faint black-pepper edge none of these three has
- Texture
- identical, all fine powders
- Look
- no visible difference in a batter; a fraction lighter in colour than ground allspice
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free
- Not equal parts. An eighth of a teaspoon of cloves per teaspoon of allspice; a full third would take over the whole dish.
- If the recipe already lists cinnamon, add only the nutmeg and cloves and increase the existing cinnamon by half a teaspoon per teaspoon of allspice.
- Scale it up and keep a jar: 4 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp nutmeg and 1 tsp cloves makes about 7 tsp of allspice replacement.
Equal parts is the standard advice on the internet and it is wrong: cloves are several times stronger than cinnamon, so 1:1:1 gives you a clove blend rather than an allspice one.
Nothing to limit at these proportions. The only failure mode is guessing the ratio instead of measuring it.
Pumpkin pie spice
gingery and sweeter, with less of allspice's peppery bite
Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves already mixed, which covers allspice well in anything sweet and brings a ginger note allspice does not have.
- Covers
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Amount
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice for 1 tsp ground allspice
- Best for
- pumpkin pie, apple pie, spiced muffins and quick breads, when you want one jar and no measuring, autumn and holiday baking
- Texture
- identical, both are fine powders
- Look
- very slightly darker and browner
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- Match it teaspoon for teaspoon in a sweet bake.
- Halve the recipe's own cinnamon, ginger and cloves if it lists them; the blend contains all three.
- For a savoury dish, use ½ tsp per teaspoon of allspice and add a pinch of black pepper, or the ginger will make the meat taste like a dessert.
Apple pie spice behaves the same way. Mixed spice, sold in UK shops, is closer still because it is usually allspice-led with less ginger.
Sweet baking at a full teaspoon; savoury dishes at half, and not in jerk seasoning at all.
Mixed spice
almost identical in a fruited bake
The British blend, usually built on allspice itself with cinnamon, nutmeg and coriander seed, which makes it the closest single jar to allspice on any shelf.
- Covers
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Amount
- 1 tsp mixed spice for 1 tsp ground allspice
- Best for
- British baking: fruit cake, hot cross buns, mincemeat, Christmas pudding, when the recipe is already using dried fruit and dark sugar, when you can find it — it is standard in the UK and uncommon in the US
- Taste
- almost identical in a fruited bake, with a faint citrus note from the coriander seed
- Texture
- identical, both are fine powders
- Look
- no visible difference
- Pantry
- Special trip
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- Match it teaspoon for teaspoon; the blend is milder per spoon than pure cloves but similar in strength to allspice.
- Check the ingredients list. Some brands are ginger-forward, in which case treat it like pumpkin pie spice and use it in sweet dishes only.
Mixed spice and pumpkin pie spice are not the same blend, though they get treated as interchangeable: mixed spice usually contains allspice and coriander seed, pumpkin pie spice leans on ginger.
Read the label first. Blends vary between brands more than the name suggests.
Cinnamon + cloves
close but flatter, missing the woody middle note nutmeg provides
The blend above minus the nutmeg, for the very common case of owning cinnamon and cloves and nothing else.
- Covers
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Amount
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon plus 1/8 tsp ground cloves for 1 tsp ground allspice
- Then
- mix into the dry ingredients rather than into liquid
- Best for
- when there is no nutmeg in the house, dark bakes: gingerbread, fruit cake, sticky toffee, mincemeat, mulled wine and spiced syrups
- Texture
- identical, both are fine powders
- Look
- slightly redder-brown, from the higher proportion of cinnamon
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- An eighth of a teaspoon of cloves, measured rather than shaken. Cloves at ¼ tsp dominate a whole cake.
- Add a scrape of nutmeg if you find any — even a small amount fills in the woody middle this blend is missing.
Two spices at the right ratio beats three at the wrong one, which is why this row sits above the equal-parts advice you will find elsewhere.
Fine in dark, sweet, heavily flavoured bakes. Less convincing in a pale cake or a custard, where the gap is easier to notice.
Nutmeg + cloves
less sweet and more savoury-woody, which suits meat better than cake
For the other common gap — no cinnamon — this keeps the clove and woody notes and loses the sweetness.
- Covers
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Amount
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg plus 1/8 tsp ground cloves for 1 tsp ground allspice
- Then
- grate the nutmeg fresh if you have a whole one; two thirds of the amount will then be plenty
- Best for
- when there is no cinnamon, or the recipe deliberately avoids it, savoury uses: meatballs, sausage mixes, cream sauces, braised red cabbage, custards and milk puddings, where cinnamon would dominate
- Texture
- identical, both are fine powders
- Look
- paler than allspice, with visible nutmeg flecks in a light batter
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- Keep nutmeg to ½ tsp per teaspoon of allspice; more than that tastes soapy, and nutmeg has a genuine upper limit for safety as well as taste.
- An eighth of a teaspoon of cloves, no more.
The old version of this row said '1:1', which for a two-spice blend means nothing — one teaspoon of each, or half a teaspoon of each? These are actual amounts.
Half a teaspoon of nutmeg per teaspoon of allspice is a ceiling, not a starting point. Nutmeg should never be scaled up freely.
Ground cloves
sharper and more medicinal, with none of allspice's sweetness or pepper
The single closest jar in the cupboard, because allspice and cloves share their dominant aroma compound — and also the easiest to overdo by a factor of four.
- Covers
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Amount
- ¼ tsp ground cloves for 1 tsp ground allspice
- Then
- stir it through the sugar or flour first; clove powder clumps and a clump tastes medicinal
- Best for
- when cloves are the only warm spice you own, dark, sweet, molasses-heavy recipes, mulled drinks and poaching liquids
- Texture
- identical as a powder, but clove clumps if tipped straight into liquid
- Look
- darker specks in a pale batter
- Pantry
- Likely in your cupboard
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free
- A quarter of the amount. Cloves are several times stronger than allspice, and this is the number that keeps them out of dental-surgery territory.
- Add ¼ tsp of cinnamon or a scrape of nutmeg alongside if you can, to round it out.
Worth knowing why this works: allspice's main aroma compound is eugenol, which is the compound cloves are famous for. Allspice is essentially a milder, rounder, more peppery version of the same note.
A quarter of the amount, and not in a delicate custard, ice cream or cream sauce.
Garam masala
earthier and savoury from the cumin, and much less sweet
Warm and complex in the right general direction, but with cumin and coriander in it, so it works on meat and fails in a pie.
- Covers
- Aroma & flavor identity
- Amount
- ½ tsp garam masala for 1 tsp ground allspice
- Then
- add it late in the cooking, in the last five minutes
- Best for
- savoury braises, meatballs, koftas and rice dishes, when the dish is already cumin-heavy, stews rather than baking
- Texture
- identical, both are fine powders
- Look
- browner and darker in a pale dish
- Suits
- vegan, gluten-free
- Use half the amount, because you are adding cumin, coriander and pepper as well.
- Leave out the recipe's cinnamon and cloves if it lists them; garam masala has both.
The earlier advice here was garam masala at 1:1 for any use, including baking. In a dessert that is not a substitution, it is a different recipe.
Savoury dishes only. In pumpkin pie, fruit cake or mincemeat the cumin is unmistakable and the pie is not salvageable.
Don’t swap it here
4 cases- Jamaican jerk chicken or pork, or any Caribbean dish where allspice is the named spice.Use the cinnamon, nutmeg and clove blend at the ratio above, and accept that it will be close but not right. If allspice is central and you have none, cook something else today.
- Mixing your own allspice from equal parts cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.Use ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg and 1/8 tsp cloves per 1 tsp of allspice. Measure the cloves rather than shaking them in.
- A clear pickling brine, a consommé or a poaching syrup that says whole allspice berries.Use whole cloves and a piece of cinnamon stick, or tie about ¼ tsp of ground allspice in muslin and lift it out after ten minutes. Reckon on 6 berries per teaspoon of ground if you need to convert.
- SafetyChanging the vinegar, salt or water in a tested pickling or canning recipe while you swap the spices.Swap spices as you like, and follow the tested recipe exactly on acid, headspace and processing time.
Safety
1 note- Canning
Whole allspice is a standard pickling spice, and the spices in a tested canning or pickling recipe may be varied. The acid may not: never change the amount or strength of the vinegar, and never reduce it. Follow a tested recipe for the acid, the headspace and the processing time.
Source — National Center for Home Food Preservation (opens in a new tab)
If it went wrong
3 fixes- The cake or pie tastes sharply medicinal, like a dentist's surgery.Too much clove — usually from mixing homemade allspice in equal parts instead of 4:2:1.If the batter is unbaked, double it with an unspiced batch and split it between two tins. If it is already baked, serve it with cream, custard or ice cream: fat and sugar mute eugenol more than anything else will. You cannot remove it.
- The jerk marinade or meatball mix tastes like a dessert.A sweet baking blend went in — pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice, both of which are cinnamon and ginger-led.Push it back to savoury: add salt, black pepper, garlic, thyme and something acidic like lime juice or vinegar, plus more of the base meat if you have it. Next time use the cinnamon, nutmeg and clove blend, which has no ginger in it.
- The pickling brine or mulled wine has gone cloudy and gritty.Ground allspice was used where whole berries were called for. Powder never settles out of a brine.Strain through a coffee filter or a double layer of muslin, which will clear most of it. Next time tie ground spice in muslin, or use whole cloves and cinnamon stick, which lift straight out.
Measure it
6 measures- Whole berries to groundabout 6 whole allspice berries = 1 tsp groundWhole and ground allspice are not 1:1 by volume. Grind the berries, then measure the powder.
- 1 tsp ground allspiceabout 2 gFreshly ground from berries is noticeably stronger than an old jar, so start at two thirds of the recipe amount.
- Homemade allspice, per teaspoon½ tsp cinnamon + ¼ tsp nutmeg + 1/8 tsp clovesRoughly 4:2:1 by volume. Scale it up — 4 tsp, 2 tsp and 1 tsp — and keep a jar.
- Allspice is one spicea single dried berry, Pimenta dioicaNot a blend, despite the name. The name comes from tasting like several spices at once.
- Why cloves are the closest single jarboth are eugenol-dominantWhich is also why cloves go in at a quarter of the amount: allspice is the milder, rounder, more peppery version of that same note.
- Pimento confusiontwo different ingredientsAllspice is sold as pimento or pimenta in Jamaica and the UK. The red pepper stuffed into olives is also called pimento, and Spanish pimentón is paprika. Check what you are buying.
Questions
6 questionsIs allspice a blend of other spices?
No. Allspice is one spice: the dried unripe berry of the Pimenta dioica tree, grown mainly in Jamaica. The name comes from the fact that it tastes like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves at once. That is also why replacing it takes a small blend of those three rather than a single swap.
What is the best substitute for allspice?
Per 1 tsp of ground allspice: ½ tsp ground cinnamon plus ¼ tsp ground nutmeg plus 1/8 tsp ground cloves. Roughly 4 parts cinnamon to 2 nutmeg to 1 clove. Do not use equal parts — cloves are several times stronger than cinnamon and equal parts is why homemade allspice usually tastes medicinal. In sweet baking, pumpkin pie spice works teaspoon for teaspoon if you would rather open one jar.
What is the difference between allspice and pumpkin pie spice?
Allspice is one berry; pumpkin pie spice is a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and usually cloves. They overlap enough that pumpkin pie spice substitutes well in a pie or a cake, teaspoon for teaspoon. The difference shows up in savoury cooking, because pumpkin pie spice contains ginger and a lot of cinnamon, and on grilled meat that reads as dessert.
How many whole allspice berries equal a teaspoon of ground?
About 6. Whole and ground are not interchangeable by volume, because the berries hold air between them, so grind the berries and then measure the powder. Freshly ground allspice is also stronger than a jar that has been open a year, so start with about two thirds of what the recipe says.
Can I use garam masala instead of allspice?
In savoury dishes, at half the amount — braises, meatballs, koftas, rice. Not in baking. Garam masala contains cumin and coriander, which are unmistakable in a pumpkin pie or a fruit cake and cannot be taken back out.
Is pimento the same as allspice?
Usually yes. Allspice is sold as pimento or pimenta in Jamaica and parts of the UK, which is where jerk seasoning's 'pimento wood' comes from. Confusingly, pimento also means the mild red pepper stuffed into green olives, and Spanish pimentón is paprika. Check the ingredients list rather than the front of the jar.
Tips for substituting allspice
6 tips- Allspice is a single berry, not a blend. That is worth knowing before you substitute it, because it means there is no jar that contains 'the same thing' — you are rebuilding a flavour from three spices.
- If you mix your own, use ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg and 1/8 tsp cloves per teaspoon of allspice. Equal parts is the most repeated bad advice about this ingredient: cloves are several times stronger than cinnamon.
- About 6 whole berries grind down to 1 tsp of ground allspice, so a teaspoon of whole berries is not a teaspoon of ground. Grind first, then measure.
- Whole allspice berries are hard and will blunt a pepper mill. Use a spice grinder, or crush them under a heavy pan or in a mortar.
- Allspice works on savoury food as well as sweet — jerk seasoning, Middle Eastern meatballs, braised cabbage, sausage mixes — so a sweet substitute blend with ginger in it will feel wrong in those dishes.
- In a brine or a mulled drink, use whole berries so you can strain them out. Ground allspice clouds the liquid permanently.
Source — National Center for Home Food Preservation (opens in a new tab)