Spice Substitution Chart: Swap Any Spice & Herb 2026

Out of a spice? Swap it, don't skip it

The recipe calls for a spice you do not have. The answer is almost never to leave it out — it is to swap in something that plays the same role. The chart below gives the standard substitution for 15 common spices and herbs, with the exact amount: 1 tsp of allspice becomes ½ tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp cloves, because allspice tastes like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves together. The scaler works the same way for every row: substitute = base ratio × amount / base amount, so 2 tsp of allspice need 1 tsp cinnamon + 1 tsp cloves, and ¼ tsp of allspice needs ⅛ tsp cinnamon + ⅛ tsp cloves. Three rules run through the whole chart. First, dried herbs are three times as strong as fresh — the 3:1 rule: 1 Tbsp of fresh herbs becomes 1 tsp of dried herbs, and 1 tsp of dried herbs becomes 1 Tbsp of fresh herbs. Second, ground ginger is far stronger than fresh: 1 Tbsp of fresh grated ginger is only ⅛ tsp of ground ginger, and the other way round 1 tsp of ground ginger is 8 Tbsp of fresh ginger. Third, the units stay in the substitute's natural unit — the chart never converts tsp to Tbsp in the output, and 3 tsp = 1 Tbsp where it matters. Substitutions are for flavour, not chemistry: they get the taste close, they do not reproduce the original, and spice strength varies by brand and age, so taste and adjust.

At the default — allspice, ground, 1 tsp — the substitute is ½ tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp cloves. The chart is the standard culinary substitution table: every row is a ratio the cookbooks agree on, and the scaler multiplies the ratio by the amount you need. Amounts show as Unicode fractions when they are exact — ⅛, ¼, ⅓, ½, ⅔, ¾ — plus whole numbers; anything that is not an exact eighth or third shows as a decimal to 2 places.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: allspice, ground, 1 tsp.

Line 1 — the row. Allspice, ground: 1 tsp → ½ tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp cloves.

Line 2 — the ratio. Each substitute is half the amount: cinnamon 1/2, cloves 1/2.

Line 3 — the scale. Substitute = base ratio × amount / base amount: ½ × 1 / 1 = ½ tsp each.

Line 4 — the answer. ½ tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp cloves replaces 1 tsp of allspice.

Line 5 — the scaling. 2 tsp of allspice need 1 tsp cinnamon + 1 tsp cloves; ¼ tsp of allspice needs ⅛ tsp cinnamon + ⅛ tsp cloves.

Reverse: 6 Tbsp of fresh herbs need 6 tsp of dried herbs (exact). ½ tsp of garlic powder needs 4 cloves of fresh garlic (exact). 2 tsp of allspice need 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of cloves (exact). 4 Tbsp of fresh ginger need ½ tsp of ground ginger (exact). 3 tsp of vanilla extract need 3 vanilla beans (exact).

Every row, checked

Allspice, ground, 1 tsp: ½ tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp cloves. Allspice tastes like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves together, so the two halves rebuild it.

Apple pie spice, 1 tsp: ½ tsp cinnamon + ¼ tsp nutmeg + ⅛ tsp cardamom. The blend is mostly cinnamon, with nutmeg and a pinch of cardamom behind it.

Pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp: ½ tsp cinnamon + ¼ tsp ginger + ⅛ tsp allspice + ⅛ tsp nutmeg. Cinnamon leads, ginger follows, allspice and nutmeg finish it.

Cinnamon, ground, 1 tsp: ¼ tsp nutmeg. Nutmeg is stronger than cinnamon, so a quarter does the work of a whole teaspoon.

Nutmeg, ground, 1 tsp: 1 tsp cinnamon. The swap runs one-to-one the other way: cinnamon is milder, so it takes the full teaspoon.

Cloves, ground, 1 tsp: 1 tsp allspice. Allspice carries the clove note, so it replaces cloves one-to-one.

Ginger, fresh grated, 1 Tbsp: ⅛ tsp ground ginger. Ground ginger is far stronger than fresh — a tablespoon of fresh is only an eighth of a teaspoon ground.

Ginger, ground, 1 tsp: 8 Tbsp fresh ginger. The other way round takes a lot of fresh ginger: eight tablespoons to match one teaspoon of ground.

Herbs, fresh, 1 Tbsp: 1 tsp dried herbs. The 3:1 rule: dried herbs are three times as strong as fresh.

Herbs, dried, 1 tsp: 1 Tbsp fresh herbs. The same 3:1 rule in reverse: a teaspoon of dried herbs is a tablespoon of fresh.

Garlic, fresh, 1 clove: ⅛ tsp garlic powder. One clove is an eighth of a teaspoon of powder.

Garlic powder, 1 tsp: 8 cloves fresh garlic. One teaspoon of powder is eight cloves — a lot of garlic.

Onion powder, 1 Tbsp: 1 medium onion, chopped. A tablespoon of onion powder is one medium onion, chopped.

Mustard, dry, 1 tsp: 1 Tbsp prepared mustard. Prepared mustard is mostly water and vinegar, so it takes a tablespoon to match a teaspoon of dry.

Vanilla extract, 1 tsp: 1 vanilla bean (1-inch piece). Scrape the seeds from a 1-inch piece of vanilla bean for each teaspoon of extract.

Reverse — the other way round: 6 Tbsp of fresh herbs need 6 tsp of dried herbs; ½ tsp of garlic powder needs 4 cloves of fresh garlic; 2 tsp of allspice need 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of cloves; 4 Tbsp of fresh ginger need ½ tsp of ground ginger; 3 tsp of vanilla extract need 3 vanilla beans.

What the chart assumes

The chart assumes the ratios are the standard culinary ones — the ones the cookbooks agree on — and that the substitute scales linearly with the amount: twice the spice, twice the substitute. It assumes the same herb for the herb rows: fresh basil becomes dried basil, not dried oregano. It assumes the vanilla bean is a 1-inch piece per teaspoon of extract, and the onion is a medium one. It leaves out the chemistry: a substitution gets the flavour close, it does not reproduce the original — ground ginger is hotter and less bright than fresh, dried herbs are duller than fresh, and prepared mustard brings vinegar that dry mustard does not. With an amount of 0, every substitute is 0. With ¼ tsp of allspice, the substitutes are ⅛ tsp cinnamon + ⅛ tsp cloves — the fractions render as Unicode fractions, never as 0.13 decimals. Spice strength varies by brand and age, so taste and adjust: start with the chart amount, taste, and add a pinch more if the dish needs it.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The cook mid-recipe with no allspice: they learn 1 tsp of allspice is ½ tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp cloves — so they know the swap takes thirty seconds, and they check the pumpkin pie spice row (½ tsp cinnamon + ¼ tsp ginger + ⅛ tsp allspice + ⅛ tsp nutmeg) before baking the pie.
• The cook with fresh ginger and a recipe that calls for ground: they learn 1 tsp of ground ginger is 8 Tbsp of fresh ginger — so they know the swap needs a lot of fresh ginger, and they check the reverse (1 Tbsp fresh = ⅛ tsp ground) before using a whole teaspoon of ground by mistake.
• The cook scaling a recipe from fresh herbs to dried: they learn 3 Tbsp of fresh herbs are 3 tsp of dried herbs — the 3:1 rule — so they know the dried amount is a third of the fresh, and they check the reverse (2 tsp dried = 2 Tbsp fresh) before doubling the recipe.
• The baker out of vanilla extract: they learn 1 tsp of extract is 1 vanilla bean (1-inch piece) — so they know to scrape one inch of bean per teaspoon, and they check the 3-teaspoon reverse (3 vanilla beans) before starting a triple batch.

Accuracy & limitations

The ratios are the standard culinary substitution ratios, the ones the cookbooks agree on: allspice 1 tsp = ½ tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp cloves; apple pie spice 1 tsp = ½ tsp cinnamon + ¼ tsp nutmeg + ⅛ tsp cardamom; pumpkin pie spice 1 tsp = ½ tsp cinnamon + ¼ tsp ginger + ⅛ tsp allspice + ⅛ tsp nutmeg; cinnamon 1 tsp = ¼ tsp nutmeg; nutmeg 1 tsp = 1 tsp cinnamon; cloves 1 tsp = 1 tsp allspice; fresh ginger 1 Tbsp = ⅛ tsp ground ginger; ground ginger 1 tsp = 8 Tbsp fresh ginger; fresh herbs 1 Tbsp = 1 tsp dried herbs; dried herbs 1 tsp = 1 Tbsp fresh herbs; fresh garlic 1 clove = ⅛ tsp garlic powder; garlic powder 1 tsp = 8 cloves fresh garlic; onion powder 1 Tbsp = 1 medium onion, chopped; dry mustard 1 tsp = 1 Tbsp prepared mustard; vanilla extract 1 tsp = 1 vanilla bean (1-inch piece). What the chart cannot do is guarantee the flavour: check the taste, because spice strength varies by brand and age, and check the chemistry, because a substitution gets the flavour close and does not reproduce the original — ground ginger is hotter and less bright than fresh, dried herbs are duller than fresh, and prepared mustard brings vinegar that dry mustard does not. It assumes the same herb for the herb rows and the ratios scale linearly. It is a flavour reference, not a recipe: for how long the spices keep, see the food storage times chart; for the measurements themselves, see the kitchen measurement chart.