Apple Pie Spice is a warm and cozy seasoning mix that will take your fall baking to a new level. It is an easy blend of spices that will enhance your favorite apple recipes – and it couldn’t be any easier to make.
Making homemade spices is a great way to have access to your favorite spice mixes without having to run out to the store whenever you want to bake something delicious. Making your own spice mixes is also a great way to know exactly what is in your food.
Apple Pie Spice is filled with some of (in my opinion) the best-smelling ingredients. My husband pretty much hates pumpkin-flavored things but put an apple pie in front of him, and you have to be careful he doesn’t eat it all.
Apple Spice Mix is one of my favorite homemade spice blends because I love the way the house smells when we bake anything with it – sometimes, I just open the jar to get a nice whiff of fall. It’s a blend of warm spices that just smell like fall. If this exists as a candle, can someone tell me?
Table of Contents
🥘 Ingredient Notes
The great thing about making a homemade spice blend is that you can tweak the amounts of the ingredients and customize it to your taste. Love cinnamon? Add some extra. Hate cardamom? Use a little less. It’s really hard to mess up!
So what is in Apple Pie Spice?
- Ground Cinnamon – You can use Saigon cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon. (Saigon will have a stronger cinnamon flavor, whereas Ceylon has a warm, more subtle flavor. Here’s a little more information about the differences in the types of cinnamon that you can buy.)
- Ground Nutmeg – If your nutmeg is really old, the taste will get overpowered by the other ingredients, so I would recommend purchasing a new bottle for your fall baking. If you use freshly grated nutmeg, you may need to use less as it has a very strong taste.
- Ground Cardamom
- Ground Ginger
- Ground Allspice
Optionally, you can also add a teaspoon of ground cloves to add a lot of spice to this recipe. We don’t love the flavor, but I know some people do, and it is in a lot of apple pie spice recipes. I have also heard that people add a little cayenne pepper to their apple pie spice! Please let me know if you try either variation.
Making Your Own Fall Spice Blends
The fall season is when everyone gets obsessed with pumpkin spice and pumpkin recipes – we jokingly call it pumpkin season. At our house, we love all things apple. Cooking and baking with apple pie spice makes your house smell so delicious.
Being able to mix up a fresh batch of your own Apple Pie Spice mix in less than a minute with spices that you likely already have in your spice cabinet is a huge luxury – and it’s much more cost-effective as well if you buy bulk spices.
Homemade Apple Pie Spice also makes a great Fall or Christmas gift for a hostess. I love gifting cute spice jars of homemade spice blends to friends and family!
🥣 How to Make It
Easy Homemade Apple Pie Spice is incredibly easy to make! This batch will make about 1/3 cup, and you will use 1 – 2 teaspoons each time you use it.
Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well to combine. (Or add the spices directly to a jar and shake well to combine.)
Store them in an airtight container away from direct light.
(More detailed measurements can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.)
🥫 How to Store Apple Pie Spice
To maximize the shelf life of homemade spices, store them in an airtight container (I like to use small mason jars) in a cool place, like a dark cabinet. Try to keep them away from direct sunlight or heat (do not store them in the cabinet directly above your stove or on a windowsill in the sun.)
I love these cute little jars for storing spices – they look like mini mason jars (they are not real mason jars and are not safe for canning.)
🍳 Ways to Use Apple Pie Spice
This wonderful fall spice is a great addition to so many fall recipes. You can use it as a substitute in pretty much any recipe that calls for cinnamon or nutmeg to give it a unique punch of flavor.
We use our own homemade apple pie spice on just about every apple dessert, but we also use it when we make:
- Maple Bourbon Apple Butter
- Dutch Apple Pie
- Apple Hand Pies
- Apple Spice Cake
- Spiced Apple Cider
- Oatmeal Cookies
- In place of cinnamon on Instant Pot Glazed Carrots or Butter Roasted Carrots
- On Candied Pecans
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Crispy Apple Chips
- Trail Mix Cookies
Apple Pie Spice is also delicious with breakfast:
- Mixed into homemade yogurt topped with granola.
- Mixed into oatmeal with chopped-up dried apples and some chopped pecans.
- Sprinkled onto french toast.
- Mixed into pancake batter when making Apple Cinnamon Pancakes.
- In homemade granola bars.
What are your favorite ways to use apple pie spice?
Looking for an Apple Pie Spice Substitute?
If this is too much fanfare for you and you have a recipe that calls for apple pie spice, you can just use cinnamon.
It isn’t going to have as much flavor as the aromatic blend of spices in apple pie spice, but it is certainly easier and faster. You should also be able to purchase McCormick Apple Pie Spice at your local grocery store.
More Easy Spice Mixes
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Taco Seasoning
- Everything Bagel Seasoning
- Bayou Blast Cajun Seasoning
- Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
📝 Recipe
Apple Pie Spice
Equipment
- mason jar
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons nutmeg
- 1 ½ teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon allspice
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a mason jar or airtight container.4 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 1 ½ teaspoons nutmeg, 1 ½ teaspoon cardamom, 1 teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon allspice
- Mix or shake well to combine. Store in a cool, dark place.
Notes
🥫 How to Store Apple Pie Spice
To maximize the shelf life of homemade spices, store them in an airtight container (I like to use small mason jars) in a cool place, like a dark cabinet. Try to keep them away from direct sunlight or heat (do not store them in the cabinet directly above your stove or on a windowsill in the sun.) I love these cute little jars for storing spices – they look like mini mason jars (they are not real mason jars and are not safe for canning.)🍳 Ways to Use Apple Pie Spice
This wonderful fall spice is a great addition to so many fall recipes. You can use it as a substitute in pretty much any recipe that calls for cinnamon or nutmeg to give it a unique punch of flavor. There are many more ideas in the post above.Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
