Ras el hanout
Also known as ras al hanout, rass el hanout, راس الحانوت
Quick answer
A North African blend whose name means "head of the shop" — the merchant's finest mix. It has no fixed composition by design: versions range from around ten spices to more than thirty, and no two shops make the same one.
In essentially every version: Green cardamom, Cinnamon (Ceylon), Coriander seed, Cumin, Nutmeg, Cloves, Black pepper, Dried ginger.
2distinct versions are recorded below. None of them is presented as the correct one, because there isn’t one.
What goes in it
The defining core first, then the versions. Roles are recorded so it is clear what each ingredient is doing.
| Ingredient | Role | How essential |
|---|---|---|
| Green cardamom (pod) | primary aromatic | usual |
| Cinnamon (Ceylon) (stick / quill) | primary aromatic | usual |
| Coriander seed (whole) | base | usual |
| Cumin (whole) | base | usual |
| Nutmeg (whole) | supporting aromatic | usual |
| Cloves (whole) | supporting aromatic | usual |
| Black pepper (whole) | heat | usual |
| Ginger (ground) | supporting aromatic | usual |
Ras el hanout is defined by its variability rather than despite it. A modest version has ten or twelve spices; an ambitious merchant's blend may have thirty or more, including rose petals, lavender, orris root, grains of paradise, long pepper, galangal and mace. Historically some blends included ingredients now prohibited or avoided, such as cantharides. Because the blend is a shop's signature, the honest position is that any published list is one example — and SpiceHQ presents it that way rather than asserting a canonical composition.
The versions
Each attributed, with how firm its proportions are stated plainly.
Moderate domestic version
contemporary commonCommon contemporary practice outside specialist spice shops · proportions representative · low confidence
A workable version built from spices most kitchens already hold. Deliberately modest: it is a starting point rather than a claim about what a Moroccan merchant would sell.
| Ingredient | Parts | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Coriander seed | 3 | 25% |
| Cumin | 2 | 17% |
| Dried ginger | 2 | 17% |
| Cinnamon (Ceylon) | 1 | 8% |
| Black pepper | 1 | 8% |
| Green cardamom | 1 | 8% |
| Turmeric | 1 | 8% |
| Nutmeg | 0.25–0.5 | 3% |
| Cloves | 0.25–0.5 | 3% |
| Cayenne pepper | 0–0.5 | 2% |
Explicitly one example among many. It is not offered as an authentic Moroccan formulation and should not be read as one.
Elaborate merchant's blend
regional traditionalMoroccan specialist spice merchants · proportions unspecified · low confidence
The character of a full merchant's blend: floral and resinous elements layered over the aromatic base, often with twenty to thirty components. SpiceHQ records the character and typical inclusions rather than proportions, because the proportions are the merchant's and are not published.
| Ingredient | Parts | Share |
|---|
No proportion recorded: Green cardamom, Cinnamon (Ceylon), Mace, Grains of paradise, Long pepper, Dried galangal, Dried rose petals, Lavender. These are left out of the arithmetic rather than given an invented amount.
Proportions deliberately omitted rather than invented. The ingredient list itself is indicative of the style and not exhaustive.
Using it
Rubbed onto meat before slow cooking, or stirred into the base of a tagine early so it has time to soften. Unlike garam masala it is generally a cooking spice rather than a finishing one.
Warm, complex and layered, sweet-aromatic rather than hot, with floral notes in the fuller versions. It is a blend of considerable depth and is easily wasted in a dish with too many competing flavours.
Generally mild. Some versions include chilli or grains of paradise and carry a little heat, but the blend is aromatic rather than pungent.
- Lamb tagine
- Chicken tagine
- Couscous
- Roast vegetables
- Rice dishes
- Meatballs (kefta)
Scaling: Scales linearly. Because the blend has no canonical composition, adjusting it to taste is not a compromise but the tradition working as intended.
What to use it on
Lamb
ClassicLamb tagine is the canonical application of the blend, and the long slow cooking gives the many components time to integrate.
If you have none
Baharat with Cinnamon (Ceylon) and Ginger
AcceptableUse: ~1× by volume — Mostly baharat with a pinch each of cinnamon and ground ginger.
A closer match than the garam masala route recorded separately, because both blends are built on the same Middle Eastern and North African aromatic vocabulary. What is still missing is the floral element — rose or lavender in some ras el hanout formulations — which nothing in baharat supplies.
| Flavour | Aroma | Colour | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| close | partial | close | similar |
Works for
- Tagines, stews, couscous and roast vegetables
- Lamb and chicken, where both blends are at home
Does not work for
- Formulations bought specifically for their floral character
- Dishes where the blend is the identifying flavour rather than a layer
Ras el hanout has no fixed recipe — the name means "head of the shop" and every merchant blends their own — so a substitute is being compared against something that does not exist in a single form.
Garam masala with Turmeric and Ginger
AcceptableUse: ~1× by volume — Mostly garam masala with a pinch each of turmeric and ground ginger. Add a little cinnamon if the ras el hanout was a sweet-leaning one.
Both are warm aromatic blends built on cinnamon, cardamom, cumin and coriander, so the overlap is real. What differs is the direction: ras el hanout leans floral and sometimes contains rose or lavender, garam masala does not. The result reads as North African-adjacent rather than as North African.
| Flavour | Aroma | Colour | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| partial | partial | partial | similar |
Works for
- Tagines, stews and roast vegetables, where the blend is one layer among several
- Couscous and grain dishes
Does not work for
- Dishes built around the floral note, which garam masala cannot supply
- Anywhere the blend is the identifying flavour rather than a background one
Cuisine: Moves a Moroccan dish towards a North Indian aromatic profile. The two traditions genuinely share a spice palette, which is why this works at all and why it is still noticeable.
Ras el hanout has no fixed recipe — the name means "head of the shop" and every merchant blends their own. Comparing any substitute against "the" ras el hanout is comparing it against something that does not exist.
Storage
Good for: 3–12 months (typically 6 months)
Cool, dark, dry, airtight.
A faded blend is a quality matter only.
Allergens and safety
Culture and origin
North Africa, principally Morocco, with related traditions in Algeria and Tunisia. The name refers to a merchant's signature blend rather than to a defined recipe.
Morocco
A merchant's signature blend, with reputation attaching to the shop rather than to a recipe. Buying ras el hanout traditionally means choosing a merchant, not choosing a formula.
Questions this page answers
- what is in ras el hanout
- ras el hanout ingredients
- how to make ras el hanout