4 Easy Substitutes for Cumin You May Already Keep in Your Pantry (2024)

Ground or whole, cumin is one of the most popular spices in the world. You'd be hard-pressed to find a spice that is used in more cuisines across the globe. If you're cooking a recipe that calls for cumin tonight, these swaps will come in handy if you find you don't have any on hand.

The Ultimate Guide to Cooking With Cumin

What Is Cumin?

Whole cumin is a seed shaped like a grain of rice, with a dark brown color and lines running the length of the pods. They look similar to both caraway and fennel seeds, cousins in the same family. There are other color varieties of cumin, such as white and black, but most recipes that call for cumin refer to the typical brown variety.

Though they share no flavor similarities, cumin is the seed of a plant in the parsley family. It's the backbone of many spice blends found in many cultures, such as curry powder, garam masala, taco seasoning, bbq rubs, Ras el Hanout, and more.

What Does Cumin Taste Like?

Cumin has a highly distinct flavor; nutty and toasty with a warm earthiness. Cumin is likely the flavor and aroma you associate with foods like shawarma, some curries, taco meat, and more. Cumin is used nearly exclusively in savory recipes and pairs well with warming spices like cinnamon and cardamom, but is most often used with coriander.

Best Cumin Substitutes

Coriander

Coriander and cumin have very similar flavor profiles and are in the same family, which makes coriander an easy swap for cumin. Plus, they're paired together so often, like in pork rubs and curries, that coriander is likely something you're already adding to the dish. This works for recipes that call for either whole or ground cumin; use half the amount of ground coriander as cumin in recipes and equal amounts of the whole spice.

Taco seasoning

If you peek at your taco seasoning ingredient list, you'll notice that cumin is one of the first ingredients. And, if the recipe you're working from also includes other spices on the ingredients list, taco seasoning can definitely save the day.

One thing to be aware of is that taco seasoning often contains a lot of salt, so cut down on the added salt and taste as you go to avoid over-seasoning. A 1:1 ratio should work in most cases.

Garam masala

Similar to taco seasoning, a glance at the ingredients list of your favorite garam masala will likely reveal lots of cumin as well. Here, it's paired with coriander, cinnamon, black pepper, and various other spices, especially warming spices.

Garam masala can vary from brand to brand, so what's inside will depend; you can even make homemade garam masala to have on hand if you prefer a specific profile. Use the same amount of garam masala as you would cumin.

4 Easy Substitutes for Cumin You May Already Keep in Your Pantry (2)

Get the recipe: Indian Chicken Curry (Murgh Kari)

Cinnamon

In brines, pickling liquids, or any dish where whole spices are used, cinnamon sticks can be substituted for whole cumin seeds. Cinnamon and cumin share an earthy and warming flavor, though cinnamon is spicier than cumin. This swap is best for recipes where the whole spices are used to steep or lightly flavor the dish and are taken out or not eaten, like in biryani.