Apple pie spice rewards a little know-how: how to choose it, cook it, store it, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 32 recipes to cook with it.

What is apple pie spice?

Apple pie spice is a ready-mixed blend of warm baking spices built to season apple desserts. Cinnamon dominates, joined by nutmeg and allspice, with some blends adding a little ginger or cardamom.

It is a convenience mix, not a single spice. The idea is to spoon one teaspoon into a pie or batter instead of measuring out three or four jars, and get a balanced, predictable flavor every time.

Despite the name, nothing about it is limited to apples. The blend is really just a sweet, cozy spice base that suits most fall baking.

How to Use Apple Pie Spice

Stir it into the sugar you toss with sliced apples for a pie or crisp, usually around one teaspoon per six cups of fruit. It also goes straight into muffin and quick-bread batter, where it warms the crumb without anyone tasting individual spices.

It seasons the fruit in Apple-Pineapple Strudel Pie and the streusel in WW Apple Crumb Muffins, and a pinch lifts the filling in Best Apple Cheesecake with Graham Pecan Crust.

Beyond apples it works on pears, peaches, pumpkin, and sweet potato. A teaspoon stirred into Paradise Peach Pie does the same job it does for apples.

Outside baking, whisk a little into pancake batter or oatmeal, or rim the foam of a latte or a mug of warm cider.

A quick stovetop bloom in melted butter before adding it to a batter wakes the spices up and deepens the flavor.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

It belongs with brown sugar, butter, vanilla, oats, and tart apples like Granny Smith. The cinnamon also makes it a friend to caramel, maple, and toasted pecans.

The biggest mistake is overdoing it. These spices are potent, and a heavy hand turns dessert soapy and medicinal, especially when the blend leans on allspice. Start with the amount a recipe gives for the mix, then taste before adding more.

The other slip is using a jar that has gone stale. Ground spices fade, and a tired blend tastes flat no matter how much you add. If you cannot smell it across the kitchen when you open the lid, it has lost its punch.

Substitutes

The easy swap is pumpkin pie spice, which is nearly the same blend with a touch more ginger and clove. Use it one for one.

You can also mix your own in seconds. For one tablespoon, stir together two teaspoons ground cinnamon, half a teaspoon ground nutmeg, and a quarter teaspoon each of ground allspice and ginger. Scale it up and keep a jar.

In a pinch, plain ground cinnamon alone covers most of the flavor, just without the rounder, deeper notes the full blend brings.

Buying and Storing

You will find it in the spice aisle near the cinnamon, often as a seasonal item that shows up heavily in autumn. Buy the smallest jar you will realistically use within a year, since pre-ground blends lose strength faster than whole spices.

Store it like any ground spice: in a tightly closed jar, away from heat and light and the steam of the stove. A cabinet shelf beats the spot right above the range.

Ground spice blends keep their best flavor for about a year, then slowly fade rather than spoil. Give the jar a sniff before each baking season and replace it once the aroma has gone quiet.

Quick facts

In Chinese

苹果派香料

British (UK) term

Apple pie spice

en français

la tarte aux pommes épices

en español

pastel de manzana de especias

Recipes using apple pie spice

There are 32 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 32 recipes