How to Make Homemade Gingerbread Spice Mix

Homemade Gingerbread Spice is perfect for holiday baking projects, as a DIY gift idea, sprinkling atop oatmeal, and more. Plus, it’s so easy to customize! 

Making Gingerbread Spice Mix

Around the holidays, gingerbread spice doesn’t last long in my house. From baking traditional gingerbread men to sprinkling it over my morning bowl of oats, it sneaks its way into pretty much everything I prepare. 

Although pre-made gingerbread seasoning blends are easy to find at the grocery store, I much prefer making my own. Store-bought blends each have differing ratios of the gingerbread spices, which means that my batches of gingerbread all taste slightly different — even if I use the exact same recipe! 

Making gingerbread spice mix from scratch ensures that my baked goods come out tasting exactly how I want them to, every time. 

Plus, if I need the gingerbread spice for just one or two recipes that season, it’s nice to know I can scale down the batch and avoid having leftovers on hand until the next holiday season. 

What Is Gingerbread Spice Mix? 

When I say “Gingerbread Spice,” I’m referring to a blend of spices that’s most commonly used to make American-style gingerbread. 

Gingerbread spice is made with a blend of ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg. 

The recipe I’m sharing with you today also uses a pinch of cardamom as well as ground black pepper. Both add extra oomph to the spice blend without overshadowing the gingerbread flavor. 

What Does Gingerbread Spice Mix Taste Like?

When mixed together, the blend of gingerbread spices tastes warm, fragrant, and slightly spicy. It definitely has a ginger overtone to it — no surprise there! 

It’s a difficult spice blend to describe because it’s a complex flavor. 

Is Gingerbread Spice the Same as Pumpkin Spice? 

Nope! Although the two spice blends share common ingredients — cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves — pumpkin pie spice has a distinctly cinnamon flavor to it, whereas gingerbread spice is much more ginger-forward. 

Tools Needed to Make Gingerbread Spice Mix

Making homemade spice blends is very easy and can be done with just a whisk and a bowl. However, I recommend getting a few extra kitchen tools to make preparing and storing the spice blend easier. 

• Measuring spoons — Don’t eyeball the ingredient ratios, measure them correctly! 
• Whisk — You can also use a fork, in a pinch. 
• Mixing bowl — You’ll need a small mixing bowl for this recipe. 
• Funnel — Foolproof way to transfer the spice blend to a jar. 
• Storage container — I prefer using small mason jars or spice jars to store my homemade seasonings, but any airtight container will work. 

What Spices Are in Gingerbread Spice? 

This homemade gingerbread seasoning uses my tried and true blend of spices. Give your spices a whiff to make sure they’re all still “fresh” (i.e. have a strong scent). 

If any of the spices have a very weak smell, chances are they’ve been sitting in your pantry for too long and need to be replaced. 

Here’s what you’ll need to make gingerbread spice from scratch: 

• Ground ginger
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground cloves
• Ground allspice
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground black pepper
• Ground cardamom

For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions to make this Gingerbread Spice Mix, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FREE printable recipe card.

How to Make Gingerbread Spice Mix

I’m sure it won’t surprise you to hear that making gingerbread spice mix is incredibly easy! 

Just add the spices to a medium sized mixing bowl and mix together until well combined. I like to use a wire whisk to do this. 

Or, you can sift the spices together with a mesh strainer or flour sifter.

The above is simply a quick summary of this gingerbread spice recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.

Tips for Making This Recipe 

• Make sure your spices are still good before using — Spices don’t go bad unless they’ve been exposed to moisture and have developed mold. However, over time they lose their flavor. Sniff your spices to see if they’re still “fresh.” If they smell strongly, they’re good to use! If you can hardly smell anything, it’s time to toss them and buy a new bag. 
• Use whole spices, if possible — For the best possible flavor, buy whole spices (cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, whole nutmeg, etc.) and grind them using a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder. The flavor of your gingerbread seasoning will end up being much more potent! 
• Use freshly ground black pepper, if possible — It has so much more flavor than the pre-ground stuff, but of course use whichever is easier for you. 
• Store in an airtight container — This helps seal in the flavors and keeps the seasoning blend fresh. 
• Make only as much as you need — Don’t make a batch so large that you won’t use it all before it gets old and the flavor becomes less potent. 

How to Store Gingerbread Spice Mix

Store your homemade gingerbread seasoning in an airtight container. This will keep it “fresh” and prevent the flavor from leaching out. 

Store the jar in a cool, dry place. Direct exposure to sunlight will bleach the spices and make them less potent so don’t place them next to a window. 

How Long Will it Last? 

Up to 1 year! So long as the spices aren’t exposed to water, the seasoning blend will technically last … forever. 

However, over time you’ll notice that the smell of the gingerbread spices will dramatically decrease. This means the spice blend has gone “bad” — i.e. it’s lost a lot of flavor and isn’t very strong.  

Ways to Use Gingerbread Spice Mix

Have fun experimenting with your homemade gingerbread seasoning this winter! Although it’s perfect for making gingerbread (duh!), it works well in many kinds of recipes. 

Try adding gingerbread spice to the following: 

• Use it to rim winter drinks like Apple Cider and Mulled Wine (combine 3 tablespoons sugar + 1.5 teaspoons spice mix) 
• Use it to flavor your favorite waffles or pancakes 
• Use it any time a recipe calls for pumpkin pie spice
• Add gingerbread flavor to desserts like brownies, blondies, and vanilla cupcakes 
• Sprinkle the top of your vanilla ice cream 
• Add to a mug of hot chocolate
• Sprinkle some into your morning coffee
• Use it to create a winter simmer pot (add dried orange slices and 1-2 teaspoons gingerbread spice to a pot of water to simmer and scent your house!)

Try This Homemade Gingerbread Spice Recipe!

Next time you want to make gingerbread, give this homemade gingerbread spice a try! Did you think it was the perfect blend of spices? Leave a comment below and give it a review for others to see what you thought of this recipe.

On Instagram? Share your photo and tag me with @goodlifeeats and #goodlifeeatsrecipes. I’d love to see your photo of this homemade spice mix!

More Gingerbread Recipes:

Looking for a fun twist on the traditional salted caramel recipe? These Gingerbread Caramels are delicious and a great Christmas candy to add to your Holiday goodie making list. 

This recipe for Chocolate Gingerbread Cake takes the classic flavors of gingerbread cookies and pairs them with dark cocoa. This cake takes about 10 minutes to throw together and bakes up deliciously!

These Fresh Cranberry Muffins are flavored with classic gingerbread spices and molasses, making them the perfect holiday or Christmas muffin recipe!

For a unique twist on gingerbread cookies, try these Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies! They’re great for gifting and cookie decorating parties!

Get More Recipes via Email

Did you love this recipe? Sign up to receive Good Life Eats Email Updates and never miss another recipe!