20 Essential Spices Every Home Cook Needs

Imagine with us: You’ve just signed the lease on your first apartment. Of course, before even unpacking, you and your roommate have invited a few friends over for dinner—and then promptly realize the only spices you own are a many-years-old jar of garlic powder that seems to have solidified and a teeny-tiny tin of saffron you spent a full paycheck on because it smelled so good. Which means you’re likely ordering pizza tonight, but now it’s crystal clear: Every home cook needs a solid collection of essential spices. 

“Essential” means something different for every cook, so we decided to base our list around spices that are regularly called for in Bon Appétit recipes and that BA editors cook with on a weekly basis. Below you’ll find our go-to spices, including dried seeds, barks, fruits, and rhizomes as well as dried herbs. (We love to use fresh herbs whenever possible, but sometimes the fridge is bare and that dried oregano is clutch.) 

Before we dig in, we wanted to note a few things about our highly specific spice list. First, you’ll see we sometimes recommend the same spice sourced from different countries, like Anamalai nutmeg from the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Grenada Gold nutmeg from the Caribbean country’s St. Andrew region. There’s no superior choice; rather the same spices grown in different parts of the world have their own tasting notes but are fairly interchangeable (unless stark differences are otherwise noted). That said, if you’re cooking a dish from a certain culinary tradition, it makes sense to source spices from its respective country of origin, if possible. Looking at you, chicken paprikash.

Second, we love spice blends—hi za’atar, garam masala, and sazón!—but the beauty of building a reliable stable of individual spices first is that you can make your own blends in a pinch.

Third, if you find the list below overwhelming, don’t panic. Opt for a preselected collection like Spicewalla’s Kitchen Essentials, the Spice House’s Kitchen Starter Collection or Essential Spices, or the 6-, 9-, or 12-jar Fundamental set from Burlap & Barrel. 

Finally, while all (or at least most) of the listed spices should be available at your local supermarket, we prefer to shop from brands that pride themselves on equitably sourced, high-quality spices, which tends to make the price point higher. If you can’t swing that, look for jars labeled “fair trade” whenever possible. 

Our 20 Must-Have Spices & Herbs

Allspice

Lending fragrant warmth to sweet and savory dishes, allspice is not, as many think, a blend of “all spices.” Though complex in flavor and scent, allspice is a singular berry, dried and sometimes ground. With notes of clove, cinnamon, and black pepper, it’s smoky, nutty, and often found in Caribbean and Mexican cuisines. Try it in this Jamaican jerk-spiced chicken, or go sweet with BA’s Best Apple Pie. 

Brands we love: Burlap & Barrel sweet ground allspice; The Spice House Jamaican allspice berries

Cardamom

These floral seeds hiding inside pale green pods make appearances across Indian, Middle Eastern, and Scandinavian recipes, from meaty curries to delicate yeasted buns. Cardamom has a sweet, piney, almost menthol-y aroma and flavor, which sounds like it might overpower a dish but in moderation blends seamlessly with other spices, contributing a lovely mild perfume. You can either add the pods directly to whatever you’re cooking; crush them into a powder by grinding the whole pods; or crack the pods open, remove the seeds, and then pulverize them. About 10 whole pods or 100 seeds equals 1 teaspoon ground cardamom. Explore cardamon with this riff on molokhia or these speedy seekh kebabs, or lean sweet with a giant cardamom bun or simple carrot cake.