7 Best Substitutes For Berbere Spice

Berbere spice is a staple ingredient in Ethiopian cuisine, but it can be difficult to find in your local store. What happens when you run out or can’t find it? How can you create that same flavor profile?

What are the best substitutes for berbere spice? Spices with similar flavor profiles are Ras El Hanout, Barahat, and Garam Masala. Other easy-to-find substitutes include Tsire powder, Tandori Masala, Curry Powder, or even Jerk Seasoning. However, you may need to adjust the recipe if you want to use these spices as substitutes for berbere spice. 

Whether you’re looking for something spicy, smoky, or earthy, we’ve got you covered. So get cooking and bring the flavors of Ethiopia into your home kitchen!

What Is Berbere Spice? 

In Amharic, Ethiopia’s state language, barbare means “pepper” or “hot.” And indeed, the country is home to some of the spiciest food in the world!

Berbere is a popular spice blend in Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine.

It is made with a combination of chili peppers, garlic, ginger, fenugreek, and other spices. The exact ingredients and proportions vary depending on the region and the cook’s personal preference. 

Berbere is often used to flavor stews, giving them a rich and complex flavor.

It can also be used as a meat rub before frying or grilling. When used in this way, the spice blend helps to create a flavorful crust on the outside of the meat while keeping it moist and tender on the inside. 

When berbere is combined with oil and mead or red wine, it makes a paste called awaze. Awaze is served as a condiment at the table, and it can also be used as a marinade for meat or vegetables. 

Although the key ingredient of berbere is chili peppers, its flavor profile is quite complex thanks to the addition of other spices.

Berbere is a flavorful mixture of a variety of ingredients such as allspice, peppercorns, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, fenugreek, and cardamom. 

This unique blend gives berbere its signature spicy taste, as well as notes of citrus and a slightly sweet taste. 

Although this flavor profile is difficult to replicate, there are plenty of spices that share some of the same ingredients as berbere spice and, therefore, can be used as substitutes. 

Best Substitutes For Berbere Spice 

Let’s take a look at some great substitutes for berbere spice and how best to use them. 

1. Ras El Hanout

Ras El Hanout is a North African blend that has many of the same uses as Berbere spice, such as being used to flavor stew or as a meat seasoning. 

And no wonder — Ras El Hanout has a lot of the same ingredients as berbere spice, including black peppercorn, allspice, coriander and cumin seeds, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, chili peppers, cardamon, and turmeric. 

In addition to these spices, Ras El Hanout also includes other ingredients native to North Africa, like orris root, ash berries, and cubebs. 

These ingredients give Ras El Hanout a stronger, more intense flavor. If you want to use Ras El Hanout as a 1:1 substitute for Berbere spice, you can expect the flavors to be more intense than Berbere.

2. Baharat

Barahat is a spice that’s commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine. The flavor also resembles berbere spice thanks to the presence of coriander and cumin seeds, black peppercorns, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, turmeric, and cinnamon. 

However, the spice in barahat is sometimes created with paprika, which is not as spicy as your regular chili peppers. As a result, the flavor is often milder compared to berbere spice. 

Barahat is also a bit sweeter than berbere spice because of additional ingredients such as dried rosebuds and sumac, giving it a sweet note. 

If you are using barahat as a 1:1 substitute for berbere spice, make sure to adjust other ingredients so that your dish won’t be too sweet. You may also want to add a little bit more black pepper to the mix to raise the spicy flavors of the spice. 

3. Garam Masala

Garam Masala is a staple in Indian cuisine that is often used to flavor stews and curry, and you can easily find it in many grocery stores.

This is an amazing substitute for berbere thanks to a very similar recipe that includes coriander and cumin seeds, black peppercorns, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. 

However, Garam Masala’s spicy taste is created by Kashmiri chili powder, which is not as spicy as chili powder. If you use Garam Masala in place of berbere spice, you may want to add a little bit of chili powder to supplement the spicy taste. 

Garam Masala also doesn’t have the same earthy tone as Berbere; instead, the spice blend may create a warming effect that is more suitable for curries and stews.

If you are looking for a berbere substitute to use as a condiment, Garam Masala may not be a good choice. 

4. Tsire Powder

Tsire powder is another signature spice of African cuisine, and you may recognize its flavors from kebabs. It also has a warming, earthy flavor thanks to the presence of ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and chili peppers. 

However, Tsire powder has a signature nutty flavor because it contains peanuts and sesame seeds. These flavors can be overwhelming, so you definitely should halve the amount if you want to use Tsire powder as a substitute for Berbere. 

If the taste is a bit bland, you can add a little bit of allspice and chili powder to supplement the spicy, earthy tone. This mixture is most suitable when you use it as a dry rub for red meat.

If you want to use it in a stew, the powdery texture may not distribute evenly throughout the dish. As a result, you may want to mix it with a little bit of water to form a paste first and then add it to the stew to enhance the flavors. 

5. Tandoori Masala

Tandoori Masala is a great substitute for berbere spice if you are looking for a dry rub for meat and seafood. 

Tandoori Masala shares many of the same ingredients as berbere spice, including coriander and cumin seeds, fenugreek, cinnamon, ginger, black peppercorns, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom.

Similar to Garam Masala, Tandoori is an Indian spice blend that favors Kashmiri chili powder rather than regular chili powder. As a result, it’s not as spicy and won’t be able to work as a condiment. 

You can use Tandoori masala as a 1:1 substitute for berbere. If you want the dish to be a bit spicier, you may want to add a little bit of chili powder to bring the taste even closer to berbere spice.  

6. Curry Powder

Curry powder is another staple of Indian cuisine that has taken the world by storm. Chances are, you probably have curry powder in your spice rack — fortunately, it’s a great substitute for Berbere spice!

Recipes for curry powder vary wildly across the world, but the most basic ingredients are very similar to Berbere spice. 

You can use curry powder as a 1:1 substitute for Berbere spice if it contains coriander and cumin seeds, black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, fenugreek, and red pepper. 

However, curry powder will not be as spicy as Berbere spice. If you like spicy food, then add a dash of chili powder to make the flavors a little bit stronger. This is the perfect substitute if you are looking for a dry rub for meat and seafood. 

7. Jamaican Jerk Seasoning

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning is often used as a dry rub when you want to give your roast beef an intense, spicy flavor that’s signature of Caribbean cuisine. 

You can use Jamaican Jerk Seasoning in place of berbere spice if you are looking for a dry rub with a similar flavor profile.

Jerk seasoning actually contains a lot of the same ingredients as Berbere, including allspice, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, and black pepper. 

The spicy flavor is created by using cayenne pepper and hot chili peppers, so with the addition of dried herbs, the flavors may be a little bit too overpowering compared to Berbere.

As a result, we suggest monitoring the amount of Jerk Seasoning you use so that the flavors are just right.  

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