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Gingerbread spice is one of those blends worth making yourself, because the ratio of ginger to cinnamon to cloves determines everything about the final flavor.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
This is a brief summary of the recipe. Jump to the recipe to get the full details.
Jump to RecipePrep Time
5 minutes
Total Time
5 minutes
Servings
13 teaspoons
Difficulty
Easy
Calories *
6 kcal per serving
Technique
Whisk all ground spices together in a single bowl until evenly combined and no color streaks remain.
Flavor Profile
Warm, spicy, aromatic, with balanced sweetness from cinnamon and allspice.
* Based on nutrition panel
I made this blend before starting my holiday cookie baking and used it in three different recipes across the week. The ratio of ginger to cinnamon is perfect! Assertive without being sharp, and having a pre-mixed jar ready saved me so much time. I will never go back to buying the pre-made stuff. Plus I add it to my yogurt and pancakes now! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Maryanne
Why This Recipe Works
- Consistent results every time. Premixed spice blends vary from brand to brand, but making your own means the ratios stay exactly the same batch after batch. Your gingerbread will taste the same in December as it did in October.
- Ready in under five minutes. Whisk the spices together and the blend is done. If you bake as often as I do, having a jar of this already mixed saves real time during the holidays, which I love.
- Versatile across dozens of recipes. One batch of this blend works in cookies, quick breads, cakes, and even hot drinks. My Old Fashioned Gingersnaps recipe uses the same ratio.
Table of Contents
I developed this blend after reaching for commercial gingerbread spice one too many times as a shortcut and finding the flavor profile never quite right. Having a dedicated blend on hand made my holiday baking more consistent.
This blend is what I use across my full range of gingerbread recipes, including my soft gingerbread cookies, and this apple gingerbread cake! Once you have a jar premixed, it is easy to scale up for gifting or to keep a backup batch in your pantry through the whole season, just like this pumpkin spice recipe or this apple pie spice!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Ground Ginger: This is the dominant spice in the blend, and the higher proportion is what makes it read as gingerbread rather than generic warming spice. Use fresh, high-quality ground ginger.
- Ground Cinnamon: Cinnamon rounds out the ginger with warmth and sweetness so the blend tastes full and aromatic rather than just hot. A strong cassia variety like Saigon or Korintje is the right choice here. It delivers the bold, familiar fragrance that makes gingerbread taste like gingerbread, and it works beautifully in everything from cookies to this spice cookies.
- Ground Cloves: Cloves give the blend its deep, dark, almost peppery backbone, which is what makes gingerbread taste rich and holiday-ready rather than simply spiced. The amount is small on purpose. Increasing it even slightly tips the blend toward bitter and medicinal.
- Ground Allspice: Allspice adds layered complexity with notes of clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a single spice, softening the edge of the cloves and rounding out the overall warmth. It helps the blend taste more complete, especially in recipes that do not call for separate nutmeg.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Ways to use Gingerbread Spice Mix
- Spice up Breakfast. I add it to my gingerbread oatmeal, or to my Overnight Oats in large batches to eat all week. Substitute it for the pumpkin spice in this pumpkin French toast or add it to your go-to buttermilk waffle recipe. Or replace the apple pie spice in this applesauce bread or add it to these sourdough cinnamon rolls!
- A turn towards Savory. This spice mix is delightful sprinkled on carrots and sweet potatoes before roasting, or used on acorn squash. You could add it to any cooking grain, such as quinoa or farro, for a subtle, warming side dish.
- Spiced Desserts. Of course, this gingerbread spice recipe is delightful in place of cinnamon in my sticky toffee pudding, as well as in this easy pumpkin pie, apple hand pies, or for added warmth in my pecan pie! Use it to flavor these pear upside-down cakes or spice this moist vanilla cake recipe!
- Snacks! Sprinkle it on peanut butter toast, then drizzle with maple syrup for a healthy snack! Add it instead of other spices in muffins or energy bars. Mix it with melted butter and a little brown sugar to toss with popcorn or a sweet snack. Or try it in applesauce or pumpkin butter.
Professional Tips
- Use fresh spices. Ground spices lose potency quickly, and gingerbread spice made with old ginger or cloves will taste flat no matter how accurately you measure. If a spice has been open for more than a year, replace it before making this blend.
- Measure by weight when scaling up. Volume measurements work for a single batch, but when doubling or tripling, small scooping inconsistencies compound across every spice. A kitchen scale keeps your ratios precise across larger quantities.
- Whisk until no color streaks remain. The blend is fully combined when the color is uniform throughout with no distinct pockets of dark clove or pale cinnamon. Rushing this step leads to uneven flavor distribution in whatever you bake, most noticeable in cookies and quick breads. My Chai Sugar Cookies are a good example of how evenly mixed spice blends change the flavor profile in every single bite.
- Store in an airtight jar away from heat. Light and heat accelerate the loss of volatile aromatic compounds. A cool, dark pantry shelf keeps the blend potent for much longer than storing it above or beside the stove.
How to Make Gingerbread Spice Recipe
Use these instructions to make a gingerbread spice blend that is perfectly balanced and ready in minutes.
Step 1: Measure and combine all spices. Add all of the spices to a small bowl and whisk them together until evenly blended. The mixture should look uniform in color with no visible streaks of any single spice. (photo 1).
Step 2: Store or use immediately. Transfer the finished spice blend to an airtight jar or container. It is ready to use right away, and the color and aroma will tell you everything you need to know: the blend should smell bright, warm, and complex, with the ginger cutting through the deeper base notes of cinnamon and clove.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
This is a great way to reuse those little glass jars that spices come in. Just choose a spice that is already IN gingerbread spice. You don’t want to put gingerbread spice into a jar that used to have curry powder, or your spice mix will taste like curry.
Recipe FAQs
Gingerbread spice is a blend of ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and occasionally nutmeg, with the ratios adjusted to keep ginger dominant. The proportion of ginger to the warmer, sweeter spices is what separates gingerbread spice from generic mixed spice or pumpkin spice. This homemade blend uses precise ratios so the flavor is assertive and consistent rather than generic.
Stored in an airtight jar in a cool, dark place, this gingerbread spice blend stays potent for up to six months. After that, the volatile aromatic compounds in the individual spices begin to dull, and the blend will taste progressively flatter. Label your jar with the date you mixed it so you know exactly when to make a fresh batch.
This blend works in any recipe that benefits from warming spices, including quick breads, cakes, muffins, hot drinks, and pancakes. It performs especially well in assertive bakes where ginger is meant to be the forward flavor rather than a background note. My Old Fashioned Fruit Cake is a good example of the kind of richly spiced bake where having a pre-measured, well-balanced blend makes a real difference.
Fresh ground spices have a strong, immediate aroma the moment you open the jar. If a spice smells faint, dusty, or like nothing in particular, it will not contribute meaningful flavor to the blend no matter how carefully you measure. As a general guideline, ground spices are at their best within twelve months of opening.
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Gingerbread Spice
Ingredients
- 7½ teaspoons ground ginger 2 tablespoons + 1½ teaspoons
- 4½ teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon + 1½ teaspoons
- ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅜ teaspoon ground allspice
Instructions
- Whisk all four spices together in a small bowl until fully combined and no color streaks remain. Transfer to an airtight jar.
Notes
Freshness check: Open the ground ginger before mixing. If it does not smell sharp and peppery, replace it before making the blend.
Yield: This recipe makes approximately 13 teaspoons of blended spice. Scale up and store extra for the full holiday season.
Use: Substitute 1 teaspoon of this blend anywhere a recipe calls for gingerbread spice, or adjust to taste in cookies, cakes, quick breads, and hot drinks.
Nutrition
Before You Go
If this gingerbread spice blend becomes a permanent fixture in your spice drawer, I would not be surprised. Browse more recipes to use it at Dessert Recipes try it in this speculoos spice mix recipe next!
