The 6 Best Cinnamon Substitutes

Fellow Americans, we need to admit we have a problem with cinnamon. Along with vanilla, it’s the default spice for anything sweet. To be fair, this warm and fragrant spice is a match made in heaven for fall fruits like apples and pumpkin; cinnamon rolls have a treasured spot in my top ten baked goods of all time. But variety is the spice of life, and even I get bored with the stuff. What’s more, ground cinnamon has come under fire as an investigation from Consumer Reports found elevated levels of lead in certain brands. 

 Let’s think outside the cinnamon shaker and explore other delicious warming spices that are perfect for your fall and winter desserts. 

Ginger

When I think of another spice that warms me up like cinnamon, I go right to ginger. Its hot-spicy quality echoes the same notes of cinnamon, but with a brighter punch. As such, ginger works perfectly in almost any place where you’d use cinnamon. Switch up your apple crisp with chopped fresh ginger in the fruit filling and ground ginger in the topping; or swap the cinnamon 1:1 for ground ginger in your next pumpkin pie or carrot cake. 

Cardamom

A popular ingredient in chai and Swedish morning buns, cardamom adds a delectable warm-yet-cooling flavor to any baked good. In fact, I use cardamom so often that I have a dedicated cardamom grinder in my spice cabinet to have the freshly ground stuff at hand. While cardamom shines on its own or simply sprinkled over oatmeal, it also sings when paired with almonds, peaches, pears, or pumpkin. Don’t go overboard when you add cardamom to a dessert, however, because too much can make something taste medicinal.

Nutmeg

If you love a classic old-fashioned doughnut, then you love nutmeg. This underrated spice has a cozy, almost buttery aroma and flavor. Even a pinch of nutmeg can enhance the buttery flavor of a cake or cookie. Use it generously in a riff on snickerdoodles, try a heaping teaspoon in your next pound cake to evoke the taste of an old-fashioned doughnut, or use it to amp up the warm notes in pumpkin bread. It is also excellent dusted on top of holiday eggnog or a custard tart. 

Always, always use freshly ground nutmeg because the pre-ground stuff tastes like newspaper, in my opinion. As with cardamom, I have a dedicated nutmeg grinder. A small Microplane grater also does the job perfectly.

Cloves

I have a love-hate relationship with cloves. The pungent little spice can quickly overpower any other spice, but a dash can subtly elevate a mediocre dish into something sublime. Cloves pair incredibly well with tropical flavors, especially banana and orange. Add cloves in place of cinnamon — about a pinch of ground cloves for every teaspoon of ground cinnamon — to give your banana bread a spicier, but no less delicious, flavor.

Star anise

A controversial spice for some, this warm, licorice-like spice is probably the coolest-looking one out there, owing to the star shape of the pods. Use star anise instead of cinnamon when roasting plums or poaching pears. Add a bit of ground star anise to your next cinnamon roll, or try this complex spice in the batter for a pineapple upside-down cake. It makes a beautiful addition to the spice mix for gingerbread, too!

Vanilla bean

I’m guilty of adding a splash of vanilla extract to almost any dessert I make. But if you really want to bring vanilla to the forefront, opt to use a vanilla bean. Last Thanksgiving, the pie that stole the show was an apple and quince pie with vanilla bean, with nary a trace of cinnamon. I scraped the seeds of a plump Tahitian vanilla bean into my pie filling, and people fawned over it.

The luxuriously buttery, floral, almost almond-extract flavor paired perfectly with the tangy apples and aromatic quince. I’ve also swapped cinnamon for vanilla bean seeds in classic cinnamon rolls, and I didn’t get any complaints. Vanilla pairs well with apples, pears, quince, apricots, cherries, and even rhubarb without overpowering the fruit.