Make your own Chai Spice Mix using ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen cabinet! Use this to season recipes or to make tea.
Yesterday, we shared a fantastic Chai Tea Smoothie recipe – made with this delicious, easy chai spice mix. Sure – you could easily buy a chai spice mix at most supermarkets these days. But chances are, you have most (if not all) of these spices already in your cabinet at home!
A spice blend like this is sometimes also referred to as Masala Chai – with the word ‘masala’ being the Hindi work for spice and cardamom being a key spice using in a masala blend. The word ‘chai’ means tea – so this is a wonderful spice mix very well-suited for mixing with black tea and milk.
In yesterday’s smoothie recipe, we used a teaspoon of this Chai Spice Mix along with several tea bags to create a strong concentrate that was then mixed with milk, yogurt, ice and a few other ingredients. But this Chai Spice Mix can be used for so much more: cookies, cakes, and other types of dessert, as well as savory dishes where you want to add an exotic spicy flavor!
Once blended together, store this Chai Spice Mix in a small, air-tight jar or container in your spice cabinet. The mix will keep for several months.
Adapted from Indiaphile.
Use our Chai Spice Mix in these delicious recipes:
PrintChai Spice Mix
Make your own Chai Spice Mix using ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen cabinet! Use this to season recipes or to make tea.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1/2 cup 1x
- Category: make your own
- Method: stir
- Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ginger powder
- 2 tablespoons ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, finely ground
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients together in a bowl.
- Store in an air-tight container in a dry, cool location.
Notes
Although we used mostly pre-ground jarred spices in our version of this Chai Spice Mix, for even better flavor and potency use whole spices and grind them yourself.
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Was looking for a chai tea recipe that I could choose amount of sweetener. Thanks.
You’re welcome Christine!
Loved adding this to a premade chai mix!
Thanks Kristen – great idea!
Very easy to make and use! Perfect!
Thank you Steve!
It’s more authentic than shop bought
Thanks Tania!
Great mixture!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
My personal secret ingredient to this recipe is Corriander. It makes the whole thing taste like Christmas. At the College I cook for, it goes into brown sugar and is added to the tops of cookies, pies, some puddings, and is used to make spice cake. I also sneak a pinch of the raw spice into whip cream and cake mixes to make them taste a little less like a box mix. A hefty pinch added to grahm cracker crusts sets off a cheesecake like nothing else. What do you guys sneak it into?
Thanks for the suggestions Lisa – In addition to some of the sweet recipes on our site (we have muffins, sugar cookie squares, and cupcakes), we also have a fried coconut chicken strips recipe on our site. (Just search chai in the upper corner of our site and you’ll see the recipes!)
How much per cup of tea
Hi Deb – I’d start with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per cup and add more if you like a strong tea.
Hi Martha, if I missed the instructions for making the smoothie I apologize. What are your recommended ways to use the chai spice once you’ve made it? Do you use milk, warm tea, etc.
Thank you!
Hi Karen – I just updated the post with a few links to recipes that can use this spice mix – the smoothie, chicken strips, desserts. (Links are just above the recipe in the post.) To make chai tea, you’d add a teaspoon (or more) of this spice mix with brewed black tea and milk. Hope that helps!