8 Spices You’ll Want to Cook with This Fall

Keep your kitchen cozy and warm with wonderful fall spices (and a few helpful tips).

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Spoonfuls of allspice, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom
Taste of Home

Toasty cinnamon, spicy clove, pungent ginger—these are some of the fall spices that make you wish for crisp days, rustling leaves, baked goods fresh from the oven and hearty soups and stews. You can also use them while trying your hand at sweet potato desserts. But which spices should you use when? Find out which spices make poultry, cakes, meats and veggies really shine—and your kitchen smell delicious!

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Close-Up Of Ground Allspice In Measuring Spoon Wooden Table
Michelle Arnold / EyeEm/gettyimages

Allspice

Available whole or ground, allspice combines the flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. This spice complements stews, carrots, pork or poultry, squash, cakes, cookies and some breads.

Don’t have allspice on hand? Try this 1-teaspoon-sized substitution: 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves.

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raw and crushed cardamom/cardamom/spice
wentus/Shutterstock

 Cardamom

This warm and aromatic spice is a staple of Indian cuisine and is flavorful in baked goods like shortbread and gingerbread. Cardamom pairs well with cinnamon, cloves and chocolate. Try it in these cardamom recipes.

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Cinnamon

With its mildly-sweet-to-bittersweet flavor, cinnamon is a nice addition to many dishes. There are plenty of ways to bake with cinnamon, but it also works well in stews, curries, fruit, squash, oatmeal, pork and beef.

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Small bowl with Cloves on vintage wooden background
HandmadePictures/Shutterstock

Cloves

Found both whole and ground, cloves go well with sweet breads, carrots, onions, potatoes, chocolate, fruit—even coffee!

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Ginger on wood. Food; Shutterstock ID 782571577; Job (TFH, TOH, RD, BNB, CWM, CM): TOH Fall Spices
Lleistock/Shutterstock

Ginger

Ginger’s pungent flavor adds zest to both sweet and savory dishes. Use it in baked goods (gingerbread, anyone?) or add it to stir-fries, curries, hot tea and seafood. It pairs particularly well with garlic.

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Making nutmeg powder process. Nuts silver grater. Kitchen still life photo. Shallow depth of field, aged brown rusty background. Selective focus.; Shutterstock ID 1059835649
Besjunior/Shutterstock

Nutmeg

The warm, sweet and spicy flavor of nutmeg enhances baked goods like pies and custard as well as white sauces, spinach and squash. It can be bought whole or ground. Grate fresh nutmeg for the best flavor.

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Pumpkin Pie Spice

Pumpkin pie spice is a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and mace that’s great in pumpkin dishes and baked goods like cookies, muffins and bread—and of course, pumpkin pie.

Don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand? Try this 1-teaspoon-sized substitution: 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger + 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg + 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice

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Star Anise

Generally sold whole, star anise is actually the fruit of an evergreen tree native to southern China. It adds a subtle licorice flavor to soups, stews, braised meats, sauces and some baked goods. These are our best recipes with star anise.

Emily Racette Parulski
Emily has spent the last decade writing and editing food and lifestyle content. As a senior editor at Taste of Home, she leads the newsletter team sharing delicious recipes and helpful cooking tips to more than 2 million loyal email subscribers. Since joining TMB seven years ago as an associate editor, she has worked on special interest publications, launched TMB’s first cross-branded newsletter, supported the launch of the brand's affiliate strategy, orchestrated holiday countdowns, participated in taste tests and was selected for a task force to enhance the Taste of Home community. Emily was first mentioned by name in Taste of Home magazine in 1994, when her mother won a contest. When she’s not editing, Emily can be found in her kitchen baking something sweet, taking a wine class with her husband, or making lasagnas for neighbors through Lasagna Love.