The Best Substitutes For Cardamom Are Already In Your Pantry

You can use cardamom to add warmth and sharpness to everything from Indian curries to Swedish buns and cakes to coffees and teas. But since it's one of many uncommon spices you should start cooking with, it's not surprising if you find your pantry bare of this unique spice. Fortunately, you likely already have the substitutes on hand. 

A member of the ginger family, cardamom has a complex sweet and peppery flavor with notes of citrus, eucalyptus, and mint. Cardamom pods are the seeds found within the fruit born by the leafy plant of the same name, which grows primarily in India, Sri Lanka, and Guatemala. There are two varieties: the more commonly used green cardamom, which is the milder of the two, and black cardamom, which has a smoky and minty taste. Depending on which variety you plan to use, you can substitute ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, allspice or a combination thereof to replicate the largely Southeast Asian spice's flavor and heat. Or you can opt for spice mixes like apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice.

Cardamom has a complex flavor that can be difficult to replicate. For something sweet, a mix of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove works well. You can also capture cardamom's sophisticated flavors with a blend, like pumpkin or apple pie spice or even a single spice with layers like allspice. 

For savory dishes, keep it simple with cardamom's closest cousin, ginger, or a blend of ginger and cinnamon, for an extra little kick. If the recipe calls for black cardamom, you can replicate the smoky flavor with dry chipotle chili powder. If you can't find it in your local grocery store, you can buy a resealable pouch of Spice Appeal chipotle chili powder on Amazon. 

Or you can just start keeping cardamom in your pantry. You can buy it already ground or in whole pods. Grinding the pods with a mortar and pestle releases the essential oils that make cardamom so aromatic. When it comes to storing spices for the longest-lasting flavor, pods are also superior. Your grocery store (or a local Indian grocery store) is actually more likely to carry cardamom, but if it isn't there, you can buy both green cardamom pods and black cardamom pods on Amazon. But before you use it, take one simple step to get more flavor from your spices: Toast the cardamom to bring out its pungency.