The Top 10 Substitutes for Cloves

Cloves are strong-flavoured spices found in various sweet and savoury foods, spice combinations, and drinks. They’re the flower buds of Syzygiumaromaticum, an Indonesian tree native to the Maluku Islands.

The flower buds are red-brown, spike-shaped, and have a rounded top. They have a distinct sweet-bitter, astringent flavour that compliments nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon.

Sauces, rice dishes, soups, marinades, mulled wine, curries, pies, and meat dishes can all benefit from them, whole or ground.

Other spices can be used in place of cloves in sweet and savoury dishes if you don’t like the flavour of cloves or simply don’t have any on hand.

Ground cloves, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, pumpkin pie spice, mace, white or black peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, and five-spice powder are commonly used as clove alternatives.

Let’s take a closer look at each substitution.

Clove Substitutes of the Highest Quality:

The following list of clove alternatives may be useful in saving your recipe. They’ll have a flavour that’s extremely similar to cloves, so let’s take a closer look at each and choose one.

Ground cloves

Ground cloves can be substituted in a recipe that asks for whole cloves.

Because ground cloves have a stronger flavour than whole cloves, you’ll need to use fewer of them to get the same flavour.

In sauces, grains, soups, marinades, curries, and other sweet and savoury recipes, substitute 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves for one teaspoon whole cloves.

The only disadvantage is that they will change the colour of the mixture slightly and intensify the clove flavour.

Nutmeg

Because it has a similar flavour to cloves, nutmeg is a good replacement.

The dried and powdered seeds of the nutmeg tree are used to make this spice. However, the seeds can also be purchased whole. Nutmeg is used in pies, soups, sauces, vegetables, puddings, meats, cakes, beverages, and baked products because of its warm bittersweet, and nutty flavour.

In a 1:1 ratio, nutmeg can be used instead of cloves in your recipes.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice frequently combined with cloves and nutmeg in cooking. As a result, it can be used as a clove alternative.

Cinnamon is a spice derived from the cinnamon tree’s inner bark. It has a sweet, warming, somewhat spicy flavour and is commonly used in baked products, drinks, sweets, spice blends, and savoury dishes in several cuisines.

Because cinnamon isn’t particularly sweet, it can substitute cloves when combined with nutmeg. You can also use it in a 1:1 ratio on its own.

Allspice

The dried berries of the allspice tree are used to make allspice.

It’s a great substitution for cloves because it has overtones, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper. It is used as a vegetable, soups, seasoning for meat, stews, and baked products and is either whole or ground.

Allspice can be used in place of cloves in a 1:1 ratio.

Cardamom

Cardamom is a spice manufactured from the seeds of many ginger-related plants.

Cardamom comes in two varieties: black and green, and both are utilised in sweet and savoury cuisines. The flavour of cardamom is warm, sweet, and spicy, with overtones of mint and lemon.

It can be used in cloves in numerous sweets, meat meals, curries, rice dishes, baked products, and beverages in a 1:1 ratio.

Pumpkin pie spice

Ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice make up pumpkin pie spice. This spice blend is fantastic in pies, cookies, bread, cakes, and various other sweet and savoury meals.

Pumpkin pie spice has a well-rounded flavour that is mellow, earthy, and mildly spicy. As a result, you can use pumpkin pie spice instead of cloves in your recipes in a 1:1 ratio.

Mace

Mace is a spice created from nutmeg seeds that have been coated. It has a warm, woody, sweet, and slightly spicy flavour, comparable to a cinnamon and pepper blend.

It’s found in various spice blends, sauces, soups, fish and poultry dishes, rice, and baked products, among other things. It could be used as a clove substitute in the same amount as cloves in sweet and savoury foods.

White or black peppercorns

White or black peppercorns can be substituted for cloves to add a spicy and earthy flavour to your recipe. They both originate from the same plant, yet they have very different flavours.

White peppercorns have a gentler fragrant flavour and are used in light-colored foods, whereas black peppercorns have a stronger flavour.

White and black peppercorns, whole or crushed, can be used in a 1:1 ratio to replace cloves in soups, sauces, marinades, and other recipes.

Star anise

The seed pod of star anise is shaped like a star and usually contains eight peas. Both the pod and the seeds are utilised intact or crushed in several cuisines.

Star anise has a licorice flavour that is robust, warm, sweet, and spicy, akin to cloves. In a 1:1 ratio, star anise can be used to replace cloves in sauces, soups, marinades, pies, baked products, and other sweet or savoury recipes.

Five-spice powder

Ground spices such as cloves, cinnamon, fennel, star anise, and Szechuan peppercorns make up five-spice powder.

Other spices, such as turmeric, nutmeg, anise seeds, and cardamom, can also be used as five-spice powder ingredients.

The five-spice powder has a licorice-like flavour that is sweet, spicy, bitter, and warm.

Marinades and dry rubs for meats, fish, poultry, and other savoury foods and desserts are popular. Use this powder instead of cloves to give your cuisine a unique flavour. However, there will be undertones of cloves present.

In a 1:1 ratio, replace cloves with five-spice powder.

Cloves can be used instead of nutmeg

Cloves have a sweet, spicy flavour that is similar to nutmeg. They’re both utilised in many recipes to give the food a great flavour. As a result, they can act as each other’s stand-ins.

Because ground cloves have a stronger flavour than nutmeg, you only need a small amount to replace them. To create a good and balanced flavour, use 12 teaspoons of ground cloves for one teaspoon of nutmeg.

Cloves are an alternative to cloves in ham

Apples, oranges, onions, and ham are commonly pierced with whole cloves. The cloves, commonly used as a garnish, provide a sweet and spicy flavour that complements the ham.

If you don’t have gloves, you won’t replicate the flavour of whole cloves in ham with any other spice. Ground cloves can give the ham a clove flavour, but they will not be as decorative as whole cloves.

Cloves (whole) vs. Cloves (ground)

Cloves come in two forms: ground and whole. To obtain the greatest flavour from your cloves, acquire whole cloves and crush them at home shortly before using them in your meal.

However, don’t mill too many cloves at once because ground cloves lose flavour faster than whole cloves. Using ground cloves instead of whole ones will give the meal a slightly different colour and a stronger flavour.

As a result, you’ll have to substitute fewer ground cloves for whole cloves. Whole cloves are used to flavour pork, ham, curry, rice, and other meals and decorate them.

They must be removed from the plate before serving because they have a strong flavour and can numb your tongue if you bite them.

What spices are similar to cloves?

Cloves and allspice are related. Cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and pepper are all flavours that come to mind when thinking of this spice.

Is Nutmeg a Good Substitute for Cloves?

Nutmeg, which has a bittersweet, nutty flavour comparable to clove flavour, is one of the spices that can be substituted for cloves.

Is There a Difference Between Cloves and Allspice?

Cloves and allspice are not interchangeable terms. Cloves are the flower buds of the Syzygiumaromaticum tree, while allspice is a spice derived from the berries of the allspice tree.

Can I substitute peppercorns for cloves?

Instead of cloves, peppercorns can be used. They’ll give your dish a great spicy and earthy flavour.

Last Thoughts

Cloves are a popular spice that may be used in both sweet and savoury recipes and beverages. On a cold winter day, who doesn’t enjoy a baked ham laced with cloves or a cup of mulled wine spiced with gloves?

Cloves are a unique spice, but if you don’t like the flavour, try some substitutions in today’s post. They’ll offer your favourite recipes a comparable flavour to the cloves.