Apple Pie Spice Substitute: Best Swaps

Apple pie spice is a blend, and no regulator or standards body defines what goes in it. Read the labels and the common thread is clear: McCormick lists cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice,¹ King Arthur Baking describes the same three,² and The Spice House adds star anise, ginger and cloves.³ US rules require ingredients to be listed in descending order by weight,⁴ so cinnamon is the largest part of the McCormick and Spice House blends. Any good substitute is mostly cinnamon with a little of something warmer behind it. What works best depends on where the blend is going.

Quick answer

What the apple pie spice is doing	Best substitute	Starting amount	Treatment
Seasoning an apple pie or crisp	Your own mix: mostly cinnamon, a little nutmeg and allspice	1 1/2 teaspoons total for 6 medium apples	Attributed (amount), Method (proportions)
Warm spice in muffins, oatmeal, French toast	Pumpkin pie spice	Same amount as the apple pie spice	Method
Flavoring mulled cider	Whole cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, a clove or two	1 1/2-inch cinnamon stick for each teaspoon of ground cinnamon	Computed
On roasted sweet potatoes or squash	Pumpkin pie spice	Same amount	Method

How the ratios on this page are labeled

Computed: based on a measurable physical relationship, with the source named.
Attributed: a named source publishes this ratio. We quote it as theirs.
Disputed: named sources give different answers to the same swap. We show each one and do not average them.
Method: we found no published ratio. We give a direction and a cautious starting point, and say so.

Brand blends do not publish their proportions, so no one can give an exact recipe for a store-bought apple pie spice. The amounts below are the makers’ own usage guidance or our starting points.

If it is seasoning an apple pie or crisp

1. Make your own from single spices

How much in total (Attributed): McCormick says to use 1 1/2 teaspoons of its apple pie spice for a pie made with 6 medium apples.¹ King Arthur says to use 1 to 2 teaspoons of its blend in place of the spices called for in an apple pie filling.² Those two figures agree, so mix enough of your own blend to land in that range.

Proportions (Method): No maker publishes its ratio, and we found no credible tested recipe for apple pie spice itself. Since cinnamon is listed first, start with mostly cinnamon: for example, about 1 teaspoon cinnamon with 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon allspice for one pie. Add ground ginger or a small pinch of cloves if you want the sharper Spice House style.³ Taste a pinch in a little sugar before it goes in.

If you have whole spices, McCormick’s conversions help: a 1 1/2-inch cinnamon stick grinds to about 1 teaspoon, half a nutmeg to about 1 teaspoon, and 5 allspice berries to about 1 teaspoon (Computed, volume only).⁵

No allspice? Britannica says allspice is named because it tastes like a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves,⁶ so a little extra nutmeg and a pinch of cloves cover for it.

2. Cinnamon alone

Cinnamon is the backbone of every blend above, and it has a long history in apple desserts on its own terms. In Amelia Simmons’s American Cookery (1796), the apple pie is spiced with cinnamon and mace, and the apple tarts with cinnamon alone, plus rose-water and wine.⁷ McCormick even suggests using its blend in place of cinnamon in baked goods,¹ which is the same swap in reverse.

Ratio (Method): No source gives a ratio. Use the same total amount as the apple pie spice. If you have nutmeg or ginger, swap a quarter of the cinnamon for it.

3. Pumpkin pie spice

This is the nearest ready-made blend, but it is not apple pie spice with cloves added. McCormick’s pumpkin pie spice lists cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice, with no cloves,⁸ so next to McCormick’s apple pie spice the difference is the ginger. Recipes vary: the Oregon State University Extension Food Hero recipe uses 2 tablespoons cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg and 1 1/2 teaspoons cloves, with no allspice.⁹ Check your jar.

Ratio (Method): No source gives a ratio for this swap. Start with the same amount. If the ginger or cloves are too prominent for apples, cut the blend back by a quarter and make up the difference with cinnamon.

If it is warm spice in muffins, oatmeal or French toast

Among other uses, McCormick suggests its apple pie spice for oatmeal, French toast and sweet potatoes.¹ King Arthur suggests its pumpkin pie spice for pies, scones, muffins and cakes.¹⁰ In these, the blend is a background warmth, and either blend, or plain cinnamon with a pinch of nutmeg, does the job.

Ratio (Method): Use the same amount of pumpkin pie spice, or of cinnamon plus a pinch of nutmeg. No source tests this.

If it is flavoring mulled cider

King Arthur suggests its apple pie spice for warmed apple cider.² Whole spices can be strained out of a drink, so they are the practical choice here; that is kitchen judgment. See mulling spices for apple cider.

Ratio (Computed for the conversion): McCormick equates a 1 1/2-inch cinnamon stick with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 5 whole allspice berries with 1 teaspoon ground allspice.⁵ These are volume conversions for grinding, not measurements of how much flavor each gives up in a hot liquid. Steep, taste, and pull the spices when the cider tastes right.

If it is on roasted sweet potatoes or squash

McCormick suggests pumpkin pie spice on roasted sweet potatoes, carrots and acorn squash.⁸ For a savory-sweet vegetable dish, it is the closest swap.

Ratio (Method): Same amount, then taste.

Chinese five-spice powder, only here

Britannica gives the classic five-spice as fennel seeds, cassia, cloves, star anise and Szechuan pepper, with licorice base notes and the slightly numbing effect of the pepper.¹¹ Some versions add ginger or nutmeg.¹² Only the cassia and cloves overlap with apple pie spice, and the anise and Szechuan pepper are not what most people expect in a fruit pie. On roasted squash or sweet potatoes it can work.

Ratio (Method): No published ratio. Start with half the amount of apple pie spice and add cinnamon to round it out.

What isn’t known

No brand publishes the proportions in its apple pie spice, so no homemade recipe can be shown to match one.
We found no tested homemade apple pie spice recipe from an extension service, test kitchen or bylined cookbook author within this review.
No source gives a ratio for pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon alone or five-spice in place of apple pie spice.
Cardamom is sometimes said to be a usual addition to apple pie spice. None of the three blends checked here lists it.¹³²

McCormick Apple Pie Spice, product page, McCormick. mccormick.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
Apple Pie Spice, product page, King Arthur Baking Company. shop.kingarthurbaking.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Apple Pie Spice, product page, The Spice House. thespicehouse.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³
21 CFR 101.4, Food; designation of ingredients, eCFR. ecfr.gov · Regulator ↩
How to Grind Your Own Spices, McCormick. mccormick.com · Merchant ↩ ↩²
“Allspice”, Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com · Reference work ↩
Amelia Simmons, American Cookery, Hartford, 1796, Project Gutenberg. gutenberg.org · Reference work ↩
McCormick Pumpkin Pie Spice, product page, McCormick. mccormick.com · Merchant ↩ ↩²
Pumpkin Pie Spice, Food Hero, Oregon State University Extension Service. extension.oregonstate.edu · Reference work ↩
Pumpkin Pie Spice, product page, King Arthur Baking Company. shop.kingarthurbaking.com · Merchant ↩
Tony Hill, “Five-spice powder”, Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com · Reference work ↩
Five Spice Powder, The Woks of Life. thewoksoflife.com · Publication ↩

Apple Pie Spice Substitutes, From Your Own Mix to Pumpkin Pie Spice