Homemade Pumpkin Spice (Pumpkin Pie Spice)
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You need only four simple spices to make this easy homemade Pumpkin Spice blend. Use it in pies, cookies, breads, and lattes all season long! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Fall’s Favorite Spice
If you have ever found yourself craving a batch of pumpkin cookies only to realize you’re out of pumpkin spice, this recipe is for you! It uses just four pantry staples and takes seconds to whip together. You’ll never need the store-bought version again!
Pumpkin pie spice is a blend of warm, sweet spices, including cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and (sometimes) cloves. Many people are surprised to learn that this spice blend doesn’t actually contain any pumpkin; instead it gets its name because it pairs so well with pumpkin. It’s such a winning combination that you’ll find it has permeated nearly every single household item– from candles to sodas and even dog food! Of course, you’ll also find it in many of my pumpkin recipes.
Why you should make your own:
- Versatile: can be used just like the pre-made stuff.
- Scales easily: make a double or triple batch so you have plenty for the whole season.
- Giftable: such a cute homemade gift, especially with my free gift tags (linked in the recipe)!
- Cost effective: so much cheaper than buying the store-bought version!
- Quick & easy: just measure your spices and whisk them together.
What You Need
You only need four basic pantry spices to make this easy recipe:
- Ground cinnamon. A true fall spice, cinnamon is an essential part of this seasoning.
- Ground ginger. Ginger adds warmth and a touch of sweetness. You know how this spice tastes in baked goods if you’ve made my gingerbread men–yum!
- Ground nutmeg. Nutmeg is SO important here! It adds a freshness and woodsy note that complements the other spices so well. I love adding this to my baked donuts to give them a bakery flavor.
- Ground allspice. Many people think this is a blend of spices when it’s not. I clear this up in the FAQ section below!
SAM’S TIP: Some recipes also include ground cloves, but I found them to be too overwhelming. I felt they created more of a gingerbread flavor. If you really love the flavor of cloves, you can add up to 3/4 teaspoon to your seasoning, but I feel that the best version is a pumpkin spice without cloves!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice to a bowl.
- Whisk together until combined.
- Use in your favorite fall recipes (like my pumpkin muffins!).
SAM’S TIP: I like to store my homemade spices and seasonings (like my cinnamon sugar!) in these Weck 762 tulip jelly jars (affiliate link) from Amazon. They have wide mouths for easy filling and tight-fitting lids to keep out moisture. If you’d like to add a cute tag to yours like below, you can find the link for the (free) tags in the recipe card!
Frequently Asked Questions
Pumpkin spice is an abbreviated form of pumpkin pie spice. Knowing its full name gives you a clue as to why there’s no pumpkin included–it’s meant to flavor pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake or pumpkin cupcakes, and other pumpkin recipes.
Many of you have asked me this question, so I’d like to clear it up. Pumpkin spice is a blend of several spices (including allspice!), while allspice is a singular dried, unripe fruit from Mexico and Central America. They are NOT the same thing and should not be substituted for one another!
Absolutely! You can sprinkle some on top of your whipped cream or froth it with your steamed milk for that traditional PSL flavor.
Besides the obvious pumpkin pie, this spice is great in my pumpkin coffee cake, pumpkin biscotti, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin bars, pumpkin muffins, and more! Scroll pst the recipe below for even more suggestions.
Happy fall baking season!
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Pumpkin Spice Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
Instructions
- Combine cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice in a small bowl.1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1 ¾ teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- Stir or whisk until well combined.
- Use in recipes that call for pumpkin spice or pumpkin pie spice (use the amount called for in the recipe that you are following).
Notes
Storing
Store leftovers in an airtight container, pumpkin pie spice will keep for months.Filling the Weck Jars
If you’d like enough pumpkin spice to fill the container linked to above, you’ll need to increase the recipe 5x (this usually gets me through the season).Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Hi Sam – I’ll be making your pumpkin cheesecake recipe tomorrow and I intend to make the pumpkin pie spice using your recipe as well and use the quantity you specified in your cheesecake recipe. My question is: can I substitute let’s say a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of juice from freshly ground ginger root for the ground ginger?
Hi Andrea! I’m not sure how that would work. I haven’t experimented with it.
Why use allspice and not cloves? Just curious…
Hi Maria! You wouldn’t get quite the same flavor without adjust other spices if you just used cloves. 🙂
I tried the pumpkin spice this morning in a cappuccino. I am unable to find the printable gift tag. format for the pumpkin spice. How can I get it? BTW, loved the mixture because it was not overpowering or too sweet! Thank you.
Hi Janet! I’m so sorry for that! I have added it in the equipment section. 🙂
I love this! I bought the adorable jars for gifting (and keeping a few for myself!!) and printed out the labels (thank you!!) along with a couple of your pumpkin dessert recipes to go along with the gifts. I found that using the measurements above times 5 made a really good level per jar (left a little room for measuring without losing any of the inside goodness. Thanks for all of this!
You’re welcome, Gwen! 🙂
I LOVE making my own spice mixes….taco, cajun, and now pumpkin spice. Thank you!
How would I measure this to fit in a small jar?
Hi Nyaziah! This recipe makes 2 tablespoons of pumpkin spice, so depending on the size of your jar, you may need to triple or even quadruple it. Hope that’s helpful!
THANK YOU, Sam! I was looking for this recipe and you had it! Now I can make my muffins, etc! Smalls divine!
You’re welcome! Enjoy! 🙂
Thank you for sharing! This was very helpful this weekend as I made pumpkin muffins.
I am so glad it helped you out!