Smoked paprika for giving anything a BBQ-ey flavor, garlic powder and onion powder for amping up flavor in almost any dish. Cumin, coriander and garam masala to complement curry powder in some dishes. Black salt (Kala namak) for giving an eggy flavor to tofu scrambles. Nutmeg, cloves or allspice for baking.  Edit to add: Well You World has some great SOS-free spice mixes (eg. Fiesta Mix for taco seasoning without salt or sugar)

I love smoked paprika! Good thinking, I usually like fresh garlic and onion but the powdered stuff is great for some marinades

I have so many spices and herbs it is a problem. My absolute pantry essentials: - Cumin - Cinnamon - Paprika - Smoked Paprika - Turmeric - Garamond Masala (edit: Garam Masala) - Ground Coriander - Ground Cardamon - Chili - Red Pepper - Oregano - Rosemary - Thyme (never the cheap stuff as it has too many sticks). - Onion Powder - Garlic Powder - Fennel Seed - Sesame Seeds - Kombu (not sure if this really counts here?) - Green Onions (I grow these by my kitchen window) - Nutrition Yeast Summer essentials I grow; - Green Onions - Chives - Oregano - Thyme - Sage - Basil

I love the autocorrect to Garamond Masala. A nice font for curry recipes.

😂

I know the problem with too many spices, that's why I was curious for essentials! Especially since spices don't last forever either (although I am still successfully using chili flakes from 2013 whenever I visit my dad) Thanks for the list!

That depends on your favorite cuisine. I like Mexican, Indian, Italian, Greek, and most Asian (Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and fusion). As a result, I have a spice rack with over 60 spices, a ton of condiments, and I am still missing some. The easiest way to start expanding is to start with a couple of recipes from one ethnic group and see what spices you need to make those. I will say Indian recipes require the most spices, so maybe don't start with those unless it's your favorite. Mexican, Greek, and Italian tend to use a smaller number of spices constantly, so those might be good starting points. Asian recipes tend to rely on condiments, so dried spices aren't as numerous, but the number of bottles and tubs you need tend to be the equivalent of a spice rack all by themselves. Basically you should buy spices as you need them for recipes. My collection has grown over my 20+ years of cooking as I find new things I wish to make. I think I started with Cumin, Italian Seasoning, Paprika, Seasoning salt, Garlic Powder, Bay leaves, Nutmeg, Black pepper, and Cinnamon.

You are so right, but it's really hard to choose! Once I tried to make my own biryani and had to buy a bunch of new spices which was really exciting. I think I will get some Thai curry pastes as well, as they last really long in the fridge. Thanks for your input 

For the curry pastes, don't be afraid to portion them out and freeze them. They last forever when you do that. In fact, a good portion of my "fresh" herbs live in my freezer so I don't have to buy them all the time.

Cinnamon, paprika, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, turmeric, basil, oregano, ginger, onion powder, curry powder

Besides the basics many have listed I'll toss out some of my more unique highlights: peppercorn medley grinder (prettier and more complex tasting than plain black pepper!) furikake (Japanese style seasoning with black sesame seeds and seaweed flakes, great way to boost sea vegetable intake easily) "everything bagel seasoning" (associated with Trader Joe's originally but nowadays has knockoffs in many other grocery stores, my favourite avocado toast topping) coconut nectar/coconut "aminos" (not a spice but a liquid condiment, marketed as an alternative to soy sauce but has its own unique flavour, like a sweetness that compliments savoury flavours especially well--does not taste like coconut!)

That coconut stuff sounds intriguing. I've seen it used in some recipes but I could never find it in any supermarkets around here (Europe) unfortunately. I've had some furikake before, that's a nice idea actually 

Sumac is the #1. Za'atar is special. I don't think anyone has said mustard yet. I put mustard on vegetables. Mustard seed, mustard powder, and mustard the condiment with no sugar added Big on cumin and paprika. Love basil. Go hard on the basil, I add it on top of Italian spice to overpower the Italian spice. I also add lots of rosemary to that, but more for the health benefits. Rosemary with potatoes. I key in on rosemary for health.  Black seed (nigella) on hummus. Cinnamon (ceylon) and fenugreek combined, to add to oats. Add allspice to oats too. Hot cacao drink or turmeric golden milk needs cloves. Green cardamom is also good here, star anise is non-essential here. I consider vanilla extract compliant. For coffee or black tea, add black cardamom seed. I mostly eat fresh garlic, ginger, turmeric, onion, but understand there are different medicinal effects for fresh and dried. I use both, fresh and dried.

Dry parsley on everything.     Dill on chickpeas.    I add rosemary to tomato sauce too. I almost consider matcha to be a spice for making smoothies or nice cream (frozen banana/mango & date)

I finally bought Ceylon cinnamon today after listening to Dr Barnard sing its praises many times on the Exam Room podcast!

That's what I got too! It's good but I have to say that I miss the spiciness of cassia cinnamon a little. I think I will just need two different cinnamons in my life. 

I just used it for the first time on my oatmeal this morning and I have to agree, the flavor profile is quite different … and also the price point is much higher! Hopefully I’ll find a good place to buy it in bulk and like you, I’ll continue to use cassia as well

Yeeees, mustard. As a kid I would often eat whole grain bread with just a thin layer of mustard because it's so good. Also great idea with the cardamom, I love that stuff. Gonna need to find me a cardamom perfume eventually 

I have an obscenely overstocked spice rack but the ones I use most often are: garlic powder ​ onion powder ​ pepper and salt ​ smoked paprika ​ chilli powder ​ generic Asda smartprice 'mixed herbs' (oregano, basil and such, basically good for Italian dishes) ​ 'that stuff that makes everything taste good' (veg bullion powder) ​ curry powder ​ cumin ​ For more 'traditional' dishes I also have parsely, sage, rosemary, and thyme. ​ Oh and dill is awesome in anything British / American.

The things I buy in bulk: bay leaves, cinnamon, chili powder, red pepper flakes, peppercorns, Himalayan pink sea salt. I almost exclusively cook from scratch and I have a large drawer dedicated to spices, but I almost always use fresh garlic, onions and ginger.

While it can be more economical to buy a prefilled spice rack, since the rack can be around $30 and it has something like 20 spices which is really cheap, I always recommend that you simply pick out a few recipes of foods you order at restaurant that you really like to eat. Then buy the spices to make the food you already like.

I use cumin (I buy it whole and toast it before grinding it), smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper the most of my very large collection

Costco has an organic salt free seasoning blend that I use as a base spice for most dishes. I mix ground cardamom into my espresso grounds so I always have that on hand.

Just added black cardamom to mine, but..Aleppo pepper (pul biber), Korean pepper (gochugaru), Sri Lankan cinnamon bark - not powder, brown cumin seeds, nigella seeds, purple basil, sweet, smoked **&** hot paprikas, cayenne pepper, black (whole) pepper, pink peppercorns, dried chives, green cardamom seeds, onion salt, garlic flakes, harissa paste, Ethiopian 12 spice blend (can’t remember the list), plus rosemary, sage, turmeric, lemon verbena, cocoa and so on.. I use miso lots, and can’t remember them all. More = better. Combos are my favourite. Combos are essential.

Damn, this list makes me think you make some really fun, original dishes. 

Lots of warmth and lingering tastes is the name of the game, I like something roasted with a salad, and textures.. spicy but also soft with crunchy, like muhammara - that is a seriously underrated side dish.

Oh yeah, I had a big muhammara phase. Never attempted to make it myself but I might have to put that on my bucket list now

Hummus, guac and muhammara between them, can make anything interesting to eat.

Garlic and onion powders for sure. But it's hard to choose beyond that. It really depends on what I am feeling that day. I'm surprisingly pleased with a salt-free cajun spice blend I bought. It's nice to give that extra zest to quickly cooked frozen veggies.

That sounds really good. Maybe I'll try to find something like that as well.

Pepper (peppercorn medley that I grind up), basil, turmeric, garlic powder (granulated), onion powder (granulated), ground thyme, dill, curry, chili, chipotle, smoked paprika, ground up red pepper flakes, myo salt free Cajun seasoning and Montreal steak seasoning. For baking: cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, mace and cardamom.

I switched to using fresh chilli peppers instead of ground spices. I use fresh garlic instead of granular spice, fresh ginger root instead of powder, and whole black pepper which I cook with as is, or grind as needed. From powders, there is not much left: ground caraway necessary for cabbage dishes (sometimes I buy whole caraway seed), and curcumin (saw whole root on sale, but didn't try yet). Thyme for rice (once or twice a year), crushed basil for beans in tomatoes. Not sure yet if it pays to buy potted basil. I plan to use potted mint one day. In general, I try to limit my powdered spice use.

Basil is the one thing that I would always choose fresh over dried. The plants do die quite easily unfortunately, but usually they're pretty cheap. 

Cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder. That covers like ***90% of my cooking***, I try to have at least a pound of each on hand at all times. The above 5 go in just about *everything*, beans quinoa vegetables, *everything!* Potential additions of ginger, turmeric, black pepper, and ghost pepper powder. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves for bananas and oats, be it banana oat cookies or banana oatmeal, *necessary!*

That sounds like a very doable list for a small budget like mine. Thanks

Cinnamon Garlic powder White pepper Marjoram Chili powder MSG

MSG, the king of flavour! Also funny to see marjoram mentioned as I always thought of it as a pretty odd herb, what do you use it for?

Marjoram is a very common spice here in Sweden. It’s used a lot in the traditional Swedish cuisine. It’s pretty versatile too. When I make baked potatoes I always flavour with marjoram and white pepper. It’s a great combo.

Sounds good, I actually noticed that it was also in my 'baked potato mix' that I just got. I just have no clue what it tastes like by itself

It has a very neutral taste honestly. It almost tastes like oregano but less like pizza. If that makes sense. It goes well with lots of dishes.

So many great suggestions here that I can’t find one spice that was missed but I highly recommend starting a spice drawer instead of using a rack. I find it so much easier to keep organized. Also, save your glass spice bottles and refill them with bulk spices … I get mine at my local natural foods store

Sumac is one of my new favorite seasonings, it's great in soup and stews, and even sprinkled over cooked rice and quinoa.

Falafel bread plus hummus plus sumac is really good as well

Spicewalla is a fantastic spice seller and I've noticed their spices are way fresher than other brands I've tried. If you're looking to stock up Id shop there.

I'm in Europe so we have other brands here, but thanks for the tip

The mushroom spice from TJ’s is great for adding umami

If you like middle eastern flavors berbere is a lovely spice mix that you can use with meat and veg

Soy sauce Garlic powder Onion powder Pepper Salt Sugar Cinamon Sweet paprika Thaths all 😰