What to use instead of mixed spice
Quick answer
The closest option is Cassia with Nutmeg and Allspice and Coriander seed, rated good. The coriander seed is the ingredient people leave out and the one that makes the reconstruction taste right — it is citric and sweet-warm here rather than savoury, and it is the clearest point of difference from every American equivalent. Without it this becomes apple pie spice, which is a perfectly good blend and not mixed spice.
It will not do for: Recipes that also call for coriander seed separately, which would double it.
All recorded options
Ranked by suitability. Ratios are given only where they are defensible, and always with their basis — by weight or by volume — because spice densities differ.
Cassia with Nutmeg and Allspice and Coriander seed
Good matchUse: ~1× by volume — Four parts cinnamon, two ground coriander seed, one nutmeg and one allspice, at the same total volume.
The coriander seed is the ingredient people leave out and the one that makes the reconstruction taste right — it is citric and sweet-warm here rather than savoury, and it is the clearest point of difference from every American equivalent. Without it this becomes apple pie spice, which is a perfectly good blend and not mixed spice.
| Flavour | Aroma | Colour | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| close | close | very close | n/a |
Works for
- Christmas pudding, mince pies, hot cross buns, fruit cake
- Anyone outside Britain following a British recipe
Does not work for
- Recipes that also call for coriander seed separately, which would double it
This is the substitution most people actually need: "mixed spice" is assumed without explanation in British recipes and means nothing on an American shelf.
Pumpkin spice
AcceptableUse: ~0.75× by volume — Rather less than the mixed spice called for. Pumpkin spice is punchier, mostly from ginger.
Works, and is noticeably gingery. Mixed spice is used generously in British baking — a teaspoon or more in a cake — and pumpkin spice at that quantity is assertive, so reduce it. The coriander lift is absent and the result is narrower.
| Flavour | Aroma | Colour | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| close | close | very close | n/a |
Works for
- Fruit cakes, buns and puddings where a warmer, gingerier result is acceptable
- An American kitchen following a British recipe
Does not work for
- Delicate baking where the ginger would dominate
- A recipe that also calls for ground ginger, which would compound
Where mixed spice stands in for something else
The reverse view of the same graph.
- Instead of Apple pie spice — good
- Instead of Pumpkin spice — good
- Instead of Chai masala — poor