Homemade Chai Spice is the ultimate warming spice blend for cool weather. My rule of thumb is to use it anywhere I use cinnamon (except cinnamon rolls – let’s just say it can be too much of a good thing). Though I’ve been making chai spice for years I recently bumped up the amounts of cardamom and white pepper for extra spiciness. We love it sprinkled on our breakfast yogurt, mixed with maple syrup over pancakes, or baked into cakes. In fact, we love it so much I’ve listed 30 ideas for how to use it below!
What Is Chai?
The word “chai” translates to tea, and the love for this spicy milk-based drink has spread across the globe. Masala chai – black tea steeped with spices like cardamom, ginger, peppercorns, star anise, and other spice variations – is most common in India. In North America, chai has come to mean a drink of milk steamed with a sweet spicy syrup concentrate.
30 Ways To Use Homemade Chai Spice
Breads
- Mix some into the batter of this Apple Cheddar Loaf Cake.
- Bake a White Chocolate Chai-Spiced Babka.
- Bake these Vegan Cinnamon Cardamom Buns.
- Add it to this Cinnamon Swirl Spelt Loaf.
Breakfast
- Add maple syrup to a small pot and warm gently. Stir in homemade chai spice to taste and serve warm over pancakes, French Toast, or a Cherry Almond Dutch Baby.
- Throw some in the slow cooker overnight with apples and brown sugar to make apple butter.
- Make your own version of this Whipped Brown Butter Spread With Cardamom And Vanilla. Your breakfast bagel will thank you!
- Roast pears with brown sugar and chai spice for a tasty oatmeal topping.
- Add a teaspoon or two to your favourite granola recipe.
- Add some to these Grain-Free Morning Glory Breakfast Cookies.
Drinks
- Heat some milk in a pot on the stove. Mix in homemade chai spice to taste with a splash of maple syrup for a homemade chai tea.
- Repeat step 15, then cool the chai tea, and pour over ice for a homemade iced chai latte.
- Mix into eggnog for a festive holiday drink!
Desserts
- Add chai spice to your favourite tea biscuit recipe and serve with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
- Bake my Toffee Apple Upside Down Cake.
- Make a delicious bread pudding with sourdough and fresh fruit.
- Use it in this Roasted Butternut Squash Pie Filling recipe. It’s better than pumpkin pie! Seriously!
- CARROT CAKE. Need I say more? This one is THE BEST.
- Mix it in, or sprinkle it on, rice pudding.
- Make this Rhubarb Cornmeal Cake and top it with maple chai-spiced whipped cream.
- Mix a teaspoon or two into your favourite pie crust recipe.
- Add one teaspoon to this frosting recipe and use on cakes or cupcakes.
- Try some in this Vegan And Gluten-Free Chocolate Chunk Ginger Cake.
- Substitute a teaspoon or two for the chai tea in this Chai Banana Cake With Brown Sugar Buttercream.
- Make this Rhubarb Apple Crisp and add some to the fruit or the topping. Your choice!
Treats
- Make my Chai-Spiced Rice Krispie Squares. They are legit!
- Make Chai-Spiced Apple Chips.
Other
- Bake sweet potatoes in the oven until soft. Cool and remove flesh. Place in a mixing bowl and whip with melted butter, brown sugar, and chai spice to taste. Thanksgiving turkey will never be the same!
- Swap out the cinnamon stick for 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of chai spice in this Plum And Citrus Jam.
- Make these Apple Fritters and add a 1/4 teaspoon to the batter.
Pin This Recipe For Later:
Homemade Chai Spice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon cardamom ground
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground
- 1 teaspoon ginger ground
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg ground
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper ground
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves ground
Instructions
- Mix together to combine. Store in an airtight container for up to one year. Use anywhere you like cinnamon.
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I really didn’t know that this Homemade Chai Spice can be interchangeable with things we put cinnamon on. I agree. It surely is perfect for the cool weather.
I’ve never made chai spice before, but I’ve always loved it. The aroma and taste just insist you relax. Great ideas for its use, thank for sharing and thanks for the shoutout!
It’s been on my to-try list for quite a long time, but I guess now that I’ve stumbled upon your post, it is finally time to change that. Really looking forward to it – so excited!
Love the creativity in this post! Love me some chai! One of my all-time favorite drinks. Especially excited about the chai egg nog, yogurt, and French toast! All wonderful ideas!
Your chai spice combo is really nice, instead of white pepper if you use whole black pepper it will become traditional version.
Oh ok that’s good to know, I will try that next time! Thanks so much Swathi!
So glad to have found this. I love making my own spice mixes and blends. I’m a little bit of a spice rack junkie. I never buy the blends because I have the individual spices in my spice rack and can mix and blend as needed.
Kelly! this is such an awesome post…so informative and wow, who knew there were so many ways to use chai? This is just the perfect autumn post.
Aw, thanks Bernice! I really so use it in almost everything this time of year! Making a batch of chai-spiced rice krispie squares this week. *drool*
This is definitely the time of year where I make a big batch of chai spice to have on hand for baking. I don’t think the recipe I follow has white pepper in it, so I’ll have to give your recipe a try! And thanks for including so many different recipes that can use chai. I hadn’t thought of adding it to my morning glory cookies, but I’m definitely trying it. Thanks for the shout out Kelly! Pinning. You’ve actually inspired me to create a new Pinterest board for fall baking!
Amazing, thanks so much for sharing Leanne! I found out through another comment that white pepper isn’t traditional but it gives me an excuse to use up the jar I have in my pantry! lol
Thanks so much for all your great ideas for using this spice mix! I’m inspired!
Hooray! Thanks so much for reading Elaine!
Homemade chai spice is the best!!! I used to look around for a chai blend but there was always so much sugar and other stuff in it that didn’t need to be there. This is way better and we use it all the time. I will be giving yours a try, because its always nice to switch it up now and again.
That’s awesome Kristen! It’s so hard to go back to store bought once you realize how easy it is to make it at home. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂