Ras el Hanout Substitutes, Ranked by the Job the Blend Is Doing

Ras el hanout’s name means something like “top of the shop,” and there’s no fixed recipe behind it.¹ Published versions run from Saveur’s eight spices to a 24-spice blend with lavender and roses, so the best stand-in depends on which style your recipe expects. For the whole seasoning in a tagine or couscous, mix cumin, coriander, ginger and cayenne. For warm, sweet-peppery spice, baharat or garam masala gets close, and curry powder covers the earthy, yellow kind.

Quick answer

How the ratios on this page are labeled

Every ratio carries one of four labels.

• Computed: based on a measurable physical relationship.
• Attributed: a named source publishes this ratio. We quote it as theirs.
• Disputed: named sources give different answers to the same swap. You get each one, side by side.
• Method: our starting point, based on how the two compare. Taste and adjust.

Why no single substitute matches

Ras el hanout varies so much that every substitute matches some versions better than others. Two published versions show the spread:

What no pantry swap can replace is the floral note of rosebud and lavender in the longer blends.¹³ The comparisons below are based on shared ingredients, not on measurements of the blends.

If ras el hanout is the whole seasoning

In a tagine, couscous or a rub, ras el hanout is often the only spicing. Saveur’s headnote says the mix goes into virtually every dish of the region.² Here you want something built on the same base.

1. A quick mix from single spices

Formula (Attributed): The Spice House suggests a simple stand-in of 2 parts cumin, 1 part ground coriander, 1 part ginger and 1 part cayenne pepper.⁴ It adds that a few more ingredients will make a more robust blend.⁴ Hultquist’s version is equal parts cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ginger and paprika, with a smaller amount of cloves and black pepper.⁵

Ratio (Method): Start with the same amount the recipe gives for ras el hanout, then taste.

Why it works: cumin, coriander and ginger are three of the Oxford Companion’s six standard ingredients.¹ Where it falls short: the Spice House formula has a full part of cayenne, so it can run hotter than a floral, cardamom-led blend. If your ras el hanout is mild, start with half the cayenne. Add a pinch of turmeric if you have it, for the yellow of blends that include it, and a pinch of cardamom.

For measured recipes, see ras el hanout, which compares published versions.

If ras el hanout is warm, sweet-peppery spice

In stews, rice and meat dishes built on a Saveur-style blend (allspice, cloves, cinnamon, pepper),² you’re after warmth with a peppery edge.

1. Baharat

Suzy Karadsheh of The Mediterranean Dish says there isn’t a great substitute for ras el hanout, but the next best thing is baharat. She warns the color will change.⁶ Hultquist lists it too.⁵

Why it works: Ottolenghi’s baharat lists pepper, cumin, coriander, clove, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, paprika, chilli and cayenne,⁷ which covers most of the Saveur blend and four of the Oxford Companion’s six standard spices.¹² Where it falls short: baharat usually has no turmeric, so the dish will be less yellow. Katzer also describes one common style as mostly black pepper and allspice,⁸ which leaves out the cumin and coriander base.

Ratio (Attributed): Hultquist says to substitute baharat 1 for 1.⁵

2. Garam masala, plus paprika and cayenne

The Spice House and Hultquist both name garam masala.⁴⁵ Its warm spices overlap with ras el hanout’s sweet side. Bong Eats gives the most basic Bengali garam masala as cardamom, cinnamon and cloves,⁹ and Madhur Jaffrey’s recipe in Saveur uses a quarter cup of cardamom seeds.¹⁰

Where it falls short: a basic garam masala has no turmeric, no ginger and no chile, and its versions vary as much as ras el hanout’s do. Saveur says there are as many versions as there are home cooks.¹⁰ A cardamom-heavy jar will taste more perfumed than most ras el hanout.

Ratio (Attributed): Hultquist says to substitute garam masala 1 for 1, and to add a pinch of paprika and a pinch of cayenne to bring it closer.⁵

If ras el hanout is an earthy, yellow base

If the blend you know is turmeric-colored and cumin-led, like the Oxford Companion’s standard list,¹ a curry powder covers more of it than the sweet blends above.

Curry powder

The Spice House lists curry powder as a substitute.⁴ The USDA’s purchasing specification says curry powder should include turmeric, coriander, fenugreek, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, ginger and cardamom.¹¹ That’s five of the Oxford Companion’s six standard ingredients (everything but nutmeg).¹¹¹

Where it falls short: fenugreek is on the USDA list but not on the Oxford Companion’s list or in Saveur’s recipe (World Spice’s label does include it),¹²³ and fenugreek brings a characteristic curry aroma.¹² Turmeric will turn the dish yellow, and the USDA list gives no proportions, so brands differ.¹¹

Ratio (Attributed): Hultquist says to use about 75 percent of the amount called for, so it doesn’t overpower the dish, and to add a pinch of cinnamon and allspice to bring it closer.⁵

A swap we don’t recommend: Chinese five-spice

Five-spice powder is a different animal. Britannica lists fennel seeds, cassia, cloves, star anise and Sichuan pepper, with licorice-like base notes and a slightly numbing effect from the Sichuan pepper.¹³ Cloves and cinnamon show up in some ras el hanout,²³ but the anise flavor and the numbing would take over a tagine, and there’s no cumin, coriander or ginger. We found no source that recommends it.

What isn’t known

• No pantry swap replaces the rosebud and lavender of the longer, floral blends.¹³
• You’ll see counts of 80 or 100 spices in ras el hanout all over the place. We found no source for them. The published versions compared here run from 8 to 24 spices.²³

Related

• Ras el hanout and ras el hanout vs. garam masala
• Baharat seasoning and baharat substitutes
• Garam masala and garam masala substitutes
• Curry powder, Chinese five-spice powder and Moroccan spices
• Cumin, coriander, ginger, cayenne pepper, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and paprika
• The master list of herbs and spices

Footnotes

1. Alan Davidson, “Ras-el-hanout”, The Oxford Companion to Food, 2014. app.ckbk.com · Reference work ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. “Ras el Hanout (North African Spice Mix)”, Saveur, 2012. saveur.com · Publication ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

3. “Ras El Hanout”, World Spice Merchants (product page). worldspice.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

4. “Ras El Hanout Substitute”, The Spice House, 2020. thespicehouse.com · Merchant ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

5. Mike Hultquist, “Ras El Hanout Recipe (Moroccan Spice Blend + Substitutes)”, Chili Pepper Madness, 2026. chilipeppermadness.com · Publication ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

6. Suzy Karadsheh, “What is Ras el Hanout?”, The Mediterranean Dish, 2024. themediterraneandish.com · Publication ↩

7. “Baharat”, Ottolenghi (product page). ottolenghi.co.uk · Merchant ↩

8. Gernot Katzer, “Paprika (Capsicum annuum)”, Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages. gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com · Reference work ↩

9. “Bengali Garam Masala”, Bong Eats, 2016. bongeats.com · Publication ↩

10. “Garam Masala” (Madhur Jaffrey’s recipe), Saveur, 2014. saveur.com · Publication ↩ ↩²

11. Commercial Item Description A-A-20001C, Spices and Spice Blends, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, 2023. ams.usda.gov · Regulator ↩ ↩² ↩³

12. C.S. Tawan and N. Wulijarni-Soetjipto, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). uses.plantnet-project.org · Reference work ↩

13. Tony Hill, “Five-spice powder”, Encyclopaedia Britannica. britannica.com · Reference work ↩

Also drawn on

• Turmeric: Usefulness and Safety (last updated April 2025), National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NIH). nccih.nih.gov