Cinnamon + Allspice
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 5,536 recipes, and they share 232 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Do cinnamon and allspice go together?
Yes. 5,536 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 232 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 1% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything allspice carries, cinnamon has too: 232 of allspice's 278 flavor molecules also occur in cinnamon. Among the shared key aromas are estragole (anise, licorice) and beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
What each one brings
cinnamon
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 12% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 9% for allspice. It carries 92 molecules allspice doesn't have.
allspice
The woody side. Woody notes make up 8% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 3% for cinnamon. It carries 46 molecules cinnamon doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Nutmeg: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 1% with allspice.
- Clove: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 1% with allspice.
- Cardamom: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 2% with allspice.
- Star anise: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon, top 3% with allspice.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with cinnamon and allspice
Mostly desserts: 252 of the 477 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (72% of cinnamon's and 83% of allspice's are shared). This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 232 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 92 only in cinnamon and the 46 only in allspice.
Cinnamon and allspice questions
Do cinnamon and allspice go together?
A proven pairing. Cooks put them together in 5,536 recipes, and they share 232 flavor molecules: the top 1% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do cinnamon and allspice taste good together?
Almost everything allspice carries, cinnamon has too: 232 of allspice's 278 flavor molecules also occur in cinnamon. Among the shared key aromas are estragole (anise, licorice) and beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
What goes with cinnamon and allspice?
Nutmeg is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with cinnamon and top 1% with allspice. Clove and cardamom also fit both.
What can you make with cinnamon and allspice?
Mostly desserts: 252 of the 477 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Garifuna Backyard Oven Allspice Cinnamon Buns, Allspiced Cider, Cincinnati Chili, Cincinnati-Style Chili.
Can I use allspice instead of cinnamon?
Fairly well, for flavor. Each carries most of the other's flavor molecules (72% of cinnamon's and 83% of allspice's are shared). This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Cinnamon vs Allspice. https://compkitchen.com/compare/cinnamon-vs-allspice. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_cinnamon_vs_allspice_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Cinnamon vs Allspice},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/cinnamon-vs-allspice},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.