What Can You Use Instead of Cinnamon?

If you do not have cinnamon, the closest substitutes in sweet recipes are allspice or ginger; for savory meat dishes, cloves or prepared spice blends such as a four-spice blend (quatre épices) add a similar warmth.

What can replace cinnamon in rice pudding and custard?
Cinnamon sprinkled on rice pudding is for appearance as well as flavor. Sprinkling ground allspice instead gives a similar warm, sweet aroma, but allspice is sharper than cinnamon, so use half as much. If appearance is the priority, cocoa powder also gives a different but pleasant result.

What can replace cinnamon in cakes and cookies?
In recipes such as apple cake, ground ginger or grated nutmeg can replace cinnamon. Use half of a 4 ml measure of ginger in place of one 4 ml measure of cinnamon to keep the flavor balanced, because ginger has a sharper taste. These 2 spices may leave a slightly bitter aftertaste compared with cinnamon, so keep the amount of sugar in the recipe unchanged.

What can replace cinnamon in savory meat dishes?
In North African and Middle Eastern-inspired recipes such as lamb stew or tagine, a small amount of cloves can imitate cinnamon’s warm note. Cloves are much sharper, so 1/4 of the amount of cinnamon is enough. A prepared four-spice blend (quatre épices) (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice) can also be used directly in these recipes.

How to use ground cinnamon if you do not have a cinnamon stick
If you do not have a cinnamon stick to flavor a simmering liquid such as tea, fruit compote, or glögg, wrap ground cinnamon in a cloth tea bag or a piece of cheesecloth and simmer it in the same way. This prevents the powder from mixing directly into the liquid and making it cloudy. If adding the powder directly without a bag, use half as much and strain the liquid before serving.

Whichever substitute you choose, it will not perfectly reproduce cinnamon’s distinctive sweet-spice balance. Allspice and ginger are the closest options for sweet dishes, while cloves are closest for savory dishes.

What can replace cinnamon in chai or apple tea?
Cinnamon is generally used with cloves, cardamom, and ginger in spiced tea blends. If you are out of cinnamon, slightly increasing the cardamom and ginger in the blend can largely preserve its warming quality. In recipes such as apple tea, a pinch of grated nutmeg can fill the gap with a sweet-spice note. Spice freshness also directly affects flavor; if an opened container of cinnamon or a substitute spice has been open for more than 6 months, its aroma may have weakened noticeably and it may not give the expected result in a recipe.

Is it true that cinnamon can replace sugar?
There is a widespread belief that cinnamon reduces the need for sugar, but this effect is not measurable on its own. Cinnamon may simply create the perception of sweetness, making it feel as though a little less sugar can be used. Alternative spices may have a similar perceptual effect, but none truly replaces sugar.