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Home » Spice Blends

Published: Sep 30, 2021 · Modified: Jan 11, 2025 by Kathy

Homemade Pickling Spice

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Spices in a glass jar with a white measuring spoon.

The fragrance from homemade pickling spice is warm and enticing. Made with different spice seeds, ground ginger, a cinnamon stick, and a touch of heat from a dried pepper.

Use pickling spice in homemade pickles or homemade pastrami.

A colorful dish filled with pickling spice.

Why make pickling spice?

Pickling spice is easy to buy at the store and it's already mixed up. So why make your own? The cost of a 4-ounce jar costs more than $4. If you only use it once, that might be worth it.

Lately, I've been using up the pickling spice and decided I needed to make my own. Not only am I saving money, I get to add exactly what I'd like. Not all pickling spices are the same.

I've use this spice mixture in pickled green beans, green tomato relish, and in homemade venison pastrami.

Spices needed for pickling spice

Spices for making homemade pickling spice.
  • Mustard seeds
  • Coriander seeds
  • Allspice
  • Cloves
  • Black peppercorns
  • Cinnamon stick
  • Bay leaves
  • Dried pepper - I used guajillo pepper, although any dried red chile pepper will work
  • Ground ginger

How to create pickling spice

  • Combine all seeds and ground ginger together in a bowl
  • Crush or snip bay leaves and dried pepper into small bits
Spices in a white bowl.
Snipping a dried chile pepper with scissors.
  • Crush the cinnamon stick. I place the cinnamon stick in a bag and then bang a meat mallet or rolling pin on the cinnamon stick.
  • Mix everything together and store in an airtight container until ready to use
A measuring spoon filled with a mixure of spices.

Variations

Because every pickling spice recipe has a bit of variety, this gives you some room to add or subtract different spices. You'll want to keep the mustard seeds, black peppercorns, bay leaves, and pepper as the base.

Some additional spices to add include:

  • Dill seed
  • Star anise
  • Juniper berries

You can also adjust the amount of spices in this recipe. Add another cinnamon stick or a couple more bay leaves.

Each time you make this mixture, play around with the ingredients and find your perfect blend.

Recipe Faqs

How long will pickling spice last?

Stored in an airtight container, pickling spice will last for several years. As long as it stays dry, it won't go bad, but the intensity of the flavors may begin to diminish.

More homemade spice blends

If you like making your own blends, you'll also want to check out these recipes:

  • Taco Seasoning
  • Fajita Seasoning
  • Homemade Onion Soup Mix
  • Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
Spices in a jar with a teaspoon.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop

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  • A glass jar filled with a red spice blend.
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A colorful dish filled with pickling spice.

Pickling Spice Recipe

Kathy Berget
A homemade blend of spices used for pickling foods or for making pastrami or corned beef
5 from 27 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved!
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 5 minutes mins
Course Spices
Cuisine American
Servings 1 Batch
Calories 197 kcal

Equipment

  • Measuring Spoons
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
  • 2 teaspoons whole allspice
  • 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
  • 2 teaspoons black peppercorns
  • ½ teaspoon whole cloves
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 2 bay leaves (dried)
  • 1 guajillo pepper (or other dried red pepper, 5 inches)
  • 1 cinnamon stick (3 inches)

Instructions
 

  • Place all seed and ground ginger in a bowl
    2 tablespoons mustard seeds, 2 teaspoons whole allspice, 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, 2 teaspoons black peppercorns, ½ teaspoon whole cloves, ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • Use kitchen scissors to cut bay leaves and guajillo pepper into small bits and add to spices
    2 bay leaves, 1 guajillo pepper
  • Crush cinnamon stick and add to spices
    1 cinnamon stick
  • Mix everything together and place in an airtight container

Notes

Recipe yields approximately ⅓ cup.
Additional spices to add include:
  • Dill seed
  • Star anise
  • Juniper berries
You can also adjust the amount of spices in this recipe. Add another cinnamon stick or a couple more bay leaves.

Nutritional Disclaimer:

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

Calories: 197kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 8gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 19mgPotassium: 533mgFiber: 12gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 1059IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 234mgIron: 5mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @BeyondTheChickenCoop or tag #beyondthechickencoop!

More Spice Blends

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    Jerk Seasoning
  • A glass crock filled with onion soup mix.
    Homemade Onion Soup Mix

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Valentina says

    October 16, 2021 at 2:09 pm

    I love homemade spice blends and this is one I know I'd use quite often. I also think it just looks so pretty. Time to get a big jar! 🙂 ~Valentina

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      October 16, 2021 at 3:27 pm

      It smells really good while blending it all together too!

      Reply
  2. Dawn says

    October 01, 2021 at 10:50 am

    5 stars
    Nothing like homemade spice blends, though I've never thought about making pickling spice! What a great idea! I love how I could mix things up with some spice add-ins, too.

    Reply
  3. David @ Spiced says

    October 01, 2021 at 4:39 am

    5 stars
    What an awesome idea, Kathy! I've always just purchased pickling spice at the store, and I've never thought about making my own. However, I have all of those ingredients in my spice cabinet already - next time, I'm going homemade!

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      October 01, 2021 at 4:49 am

      We were the same way, but so easy to make your own!

      Reply
5 from 27 votes (25 ratings without comment)

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I'm Kathy, and I love to create delicious recipes from scratch utilizing many ingredients that we grow and raise. I'm a recipe creator, food photographer, and cookbook author!

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