Common Kitchen Spices with 20+ Amazing Recipes (2024)

Kitchen spices have been used throughout the years to flavor foods, but also used to make perfumes. to embalm bodies and in religious ceremonies. Using spices, even several in the same dish is the key to making vegetarian and vegan meals taste amazing! You can use this guide to learn more about different kitchen spices and then cook up one of the 20+recipes from the collection here that feature many of these amazing spices.

This post and recipe collection was originally published in February 2019. It has been updated for photos and content.

Why You Will Love Cooking with Spices

Kitchen spices provide you with an easy way to add flavor to recipes.

Cooking meals with a variety of kitchen spices helps you create unique and enjoyable meals.

Most recipes, including vegetarian and vegan recipes simply taste better when made with kitchen spices.

Cooking with spices introduces you to the delicious and interesting flavor combinations such as curry and garam masala in this Instant Pot Lentil Curry recipe or the cinnamon, pepper and cacao combination in Cinnamon, Chili Cacao Chia Pudding.

What Spices Your Kitchen Must Have

There are tons of spices out there and many of us likely don’t have room in our kitchen cabinet for them all. Many cuisines also have their own spices that are unique to the flavors most commonly used, so of course everyone’s kitchen cabinet will look a little different depending on the foods and recipes they cook.

What are Spices?

Spices are generally considered to be from the root, stem, bark, fruit or seed of the plant. A great way to see the difference is to consider the spice coriander and herb cilantro. These two ingredients are form the same plant, but coriander is the same given to the seeds and the green leaves are referred to as cilantro.

Essential Kitchen Spices

In my opinion, these are some of the essential kitchen spices that any home cook should have in their cabinet for basic cooking. This list is by no means all the spices I’d recommend, but simply the basics to get you started.

• Onion: While many recipes are made with fresh onions, onion powder which is made by grinding dehydrated onions is a pantry staple to use in a variety of meals to add flavor. Most frequently the powder is used in sauces, stews or chili and dressings.
• Cumin: Cumin is used in the preparation of many different cuisines including Latin America, Asias, Indian and Middle Eastern.
• Paprika: Paprika is made by grinding sweet red peppers and the flavor ranges from mild to hot, though most grocery stores carry the mild, sweet version of this spice. If you want to buy the best paprika, look for sweet Hungarian paprika which is thought to be the best quality and flavor.
• Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon is used in both sweet and savory cooking. Cinnamon provides a sense of sweetness to foods and works great to add to recipes and foods when trying to cut back on sugar. In savory cooking, it’s most commonly used in stews and curries.
• Cayenne pepper: A very spicy powder made from several different dried chilies. It’s also called red pepper and cayenne contains quite a bit of heat, so a little goes along way.
• Crushed Red Pepper: A dried spice that contains the seeds and dried skin of the red pepper. Crushed red pepper is most famous as a topping to sprinkle over pizza. It’s very spicy and an easy way to add some heat to sauces and stews.
• Chili powder: Chili powder is actually a blend of spices made from dried chili peppers, garlic, oregano, cumin, coriander and cloves. Mild and spicier versions of this spice blend are available depending on how spicy you like your food.
• Garlic: While I love cooking with fresh garlic, my pantry always contains a bottle of both minced garlic and garlic powder. I like having garlic powder handy for quick, pantry based soups, stews and dressings. The minced garlic is great for dressings or to make spice blends and rubs where you want the flaky texture of the minced garlic.
• Ginger: Both fresh ginger root and dried ginger powder are used in cooking. I cook more frequently with fresh ginger because I really like the flavor it brings to my food. Dried ginger powder has a very different flavor than fresh and can’t easily be used as a substitute. More frequently the powder is used in baking cookies, breads and other recipes.

Other Recommended Kitchen Spices for Your Pantry

• Turmeric: A bright yellow orange spice that’s well known for adding flavor but also for being a powerful antioxidant. Most commonly in the US, turmeric is found dried though in many other countries around the world, the fresh root is used often.
• Curry Powder: Curry powder ranges from mild to hot and is a blend of up to 20 spices. Blends vary wildly and are unique to specific areas of the world. I cook most frequently with a Caribbean curry powder which is slightly spicy and also a Madras curry powder which is mild.
• Smoked Paprika: Smoked paprika is the Spanish version of paprika which smokes the peppers before grinding it adding a lovely smoky flavor to the spice. Most commonly found in mild versions, they do also come in spicier versions.
• Nutmeg: A seed from the nutmeg tree, this spice is commonly used in baking, custards and white sauces. In the US it’s most commonly found in the grocery store as ground nutmeg in a bottle but buying the whole nuts and grating it yourself, the flavor is far better.

How to Buy and Store Spices

The biggest problem with dried, ground kitchen spices is that they don’t keep their flavor forever. Six months is about the suggested time limit for keeping dried spices around. After that point, they begin to degrade and don’t bring as much flavor or punch when added to recipes.

Tips for Storing and Preserving Kitchen Spices:

• Buy your kitchen spices in the smallest quantity possible whenever you can.
• Buy quality kitchen spices and if possible from place that grind and sell spices in small batches.
• Make sure the lids on your spices are tightly secured.
• Store kitchen spices in a dark, cool place.
• Buy whole kitchen spices and grind them in a spice or coffee grinder as you need them in recipes to help your spices retain more flavor. The whole spices retain flavor longer than the pre-ground versions.
• If your kitchen spices are a bit on the old side, you can try to heat them on the stovetop or in the oven for 3-5 minutes. Heating the spice, activates the oils in the spice and may reinvigorate the flavor.

Expert Tips on Cooking with Spices and FAQS

Buy quality kitchen spices in smaller amounts if at all possible. I particularly enjoy buying kitchen spices from the Savory Spice Shop, where they grind spices in batches so your spices are fresher when you first get them and you can buy most spices in as small as half cup portions.

Make your own spice blends or salt blends to use up individual kitchen spices and save some money. I make homemade taco seasoning, blackening spices and other seasonings on a regular basis. This uses up kitchen spices I have on hand and saves me the extra money for spice blends.

Buy whole seeds such as cumin seeds, coriander and peppercorns. You can use a spice grinder or pestle and mortar to grind them up in small amounts. The flavor of whole seeds last much longer than ground spices.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with new flavors. Explore new recipes and cuisines as a way to introduce new spices into cooking.

Add kitchen spices during the cooking process. This allows the flavors in the dish to mix together and infuse the other ingredients. However, the flavors of some kitchen spices may cook off a bit when cooked for long periods of time, so in some recipe you will want to add a spice right at the end makes the spice more prominent in the flavor of the dish.

Start tasting food as you are cooking and adjust the seasonings to your taste. You can always add a little more or a little less of any spice than a recipe recommends.

More Vegetarian Recipe Collections to Explore

If you try any of thees recipes, why not drop a review in the comment section further down the page and tell me how it went. I always appreciate your feedback. And don’t forget to tag me @cookeatlivelove in your photos on social media so I can see your creations.

20 Amazing Recipes Starring Spices

This recipe collections features a variety of recipes from the blog with contributions from other amazing recipe bloggers as well. The list is broken down by spices but note that in many cases there is overlap as spice aren’t often used on their own.

Cooking with Ginger

Flavors: Ginger may feel a little bit sweet, sour and hot all at the same time. Its flavor is pungent and its scent is aromatic. It’s commonly used in Asian and Indian cuisines.

Pairs with: Garlic, lemon, cilantro, soy sauce, curry, carrots, lime, sesame, peanuts

Cooking with Cumin

Flavors: Cumin, the second most popular spice worldwide, has an earthy profile that is both sweet and bitter. A common ingredient in chili and curries and a prominent spice in many different cuisines.

Pairs with: Black beans, lentils, cilantro, lime and garlic.

Cooking with Turmeric

Flavors: Turmeric has an earthy and very pungent flavor that is both bitter and sweet. Most commonly it is found in Indian cuisine and is the main component of curry powder.

Pairs with: Cauliflower, rice, ginger, lemon, chickpeas, cinnamon, cumin, coriander

Cooking with Cinnamon

Flavors: The flavor of cinnamon is sweet, earthy and very aromatic. If cinnamon is overcooked the flavor changes from sweet to bitter. It is most commonly used to flavor baked goods but also is a prominent flavor in various cuisines.

Pairs with: Apples, chocolate, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, vanilla and sugar

Cooking with Garlic

Flavors: The flavor of fresh garlic is mostly pungent and the older the garlic the more pungent it gets, almost taking some spiciness. Its flavor can be softened by roasting in the oven.

Pairs with: Basil, olive oil, lemons, ginger, beans, parsley, pasta, dressings, tomatoes and a wide range of vegetables

Cooking with Chiles and Red Pepper

Flavors: Flavors of chilies will vary wildly from fruity to more earthy flavors. The spicy notes of chilies also ranges from mild to ultra hot. Red pepper’s flavor is hot and it gets hotter the longer it cooks.

Pairs with: Beans, chickpeas, chocolate, lentils, lime, garlic, cilantro and tomatoes

Learning more about the flavors of food and trying new kitchen spices is the key to creating more flavorful and delicious vegetarian and vegan meals. I hope you enjoy cooking up these fantastic recipes and experimenting with new flavors!!

In addition to my own experience cooking with kitchen spices, I used two sources for the information on spices. They are both amazing books which I’d recommend for any beginner cook who wants to learn more about food and flavors.

The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

The Vegetarian Flavor Bible by Karen Page