Top 20 Spices Every Kitchen Needs: Essential spices every home cook should have in their kitchen or walk-in pantry. Perfect for a beginner cook, a new homeowner, or someone looking to get organized!
With all of the different spices in the grocery store these days, it can be overwhelming to know where to start if you’re stocking your kitchen for the first time.
Spice rubs, spice blends, stand-alone spices… so many options. However, this list of basic pantry staples is a great place to start.
Must have spices in the pantry
If you’re a gourmet chef, you’ll probably already know or even have these spices on hand. However, if you’re like me, someone who is busy, and just wants simple and easy recipes to make for her family but loves flavor… then this list is for you!
They’re affordable, the most used spices in my kitchen, and versatile spices (meaning, they can go in so many different types of dishes) that you’ll want to put on your grocery list today!
Jump to:
What basic spices should every kitchen have?
You’ll want a range of spices for savory dishes and sweet dishes as a great addition to your kitchen for everyday cooking. Adding a little bit flavor with spices and dried herbs in to a variety of dishes will help give a lot of flavor to dishes such as main dishes, Italian dishes, vegetable dishes, Indian dishes, meat dishes, poultry dishes, and much more!
Get this printable spices list down below to use as a guide!
- Basil (although we sure prefer fresh basil in our recipes)
- Bay Leaves
- Black Pepper (or black peppercorns in a pepper grinder)
- Chili Powder (or cayenne pepper)
- Cloves
- Cinnamon
- Cumin Powder
- Garlic Powder (and/or Garlic Salt)
- Greek Seasoning
- Lemon pepper
- Nutmeg
- Onion Powder (and/or Dried Chopped Onion)
- Oregano
- Paprika (smoked or even regular sweet paprika)
- Parsley
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Rosemary
- Salt (table salt, kosher salt, sea salt flakes)
- Seasoned Salt
- Thyme
Organizing Spices
Depending on the space that you have, or plan to use for your spices, this can look different for each space.
However, one thing I’ve found that works for me, no matter what my space looks like, is that I absolutely adore putting all of my store-bought spices in to clear jars with labels. I also put them in alphabetical order so when it comes time to find the spice I’m looking for, it’s as easy as pie. (Or, pumpkin pie spice.)
Clear Glass Spice Jars
If you’d like to use the same jars that I used to organize my walk-in pantry, you can get them at my favorite online store but make sure to use code: FANTAB10 to get 10% off your own! Here are the Spice Jars and Labels that I use!
Wooden Can and Spice Jar Risers: I absolutely LOVE these for organizing my spices to create a spice rack!
FAQs
A pantry is a great place to store spices because it’s usually a dry space, out of direct sunlight. However, if you don’t have a pantry space, a spice cabinet or drawer will be great too, as long as it’s a dark place. Or, you can utilize the back of the door with an over-the-door organizer if needed.
Usually, 6 months is the lifespan for dried spices. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t use them past 6 months, it just may mean that spices aren’t as flavorful. A good way to test them is to smell them and if you no longer smell anything, it’s probably time to toss and replace them.
If you put them in early, in the cooking process, they can lose flavor. So it’s best to add them in about halfway or toward the end to really let the flavor shine!
Feel free to add other spices or your favorites to your spice collection if they’re not on this list! This is just a great starting point for your spice shelf!
💡 More Planning and Organizing Tips
You’ll also love this cheat sheet to keep in your kitchen for questions come up like “How many ounces in a gallon,” and more!
Top 20 Spices Every Kitchen Needs
Ingredients
- Basil
- Bay Leaves
- Black Pepper
- Chili Powder
- Cloves
- Cinnamon
- Cumin
- Garlic Powder (and/or Garlic Salt)
- Greek Seasoning
- Lemon Pepper
- Nutmeg
- Onion Powder (and/or Chopped Dried Onion)
- Oregano
- Paprika
- Parsley
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Rosemary
- Salt
- Seasoned Salt
- Thyme
Instructions
- Arrange spices in alphabetical order to keep things streamlined!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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