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This homemade Lebanese Seven Spice Blend is warm, fragrant, and deeply aromatic with cinnamon and allspice at the front. It takes five minutes to make, keeps for six months, and is the flavor backbone behind so many Lebanese dishes.
Some of my earliest food memories are built around smell. Walking into my grandmother’s kitchen and being hit with the warm, sweet, earthy scent of spices hitting a hot pan. Cinnamon in meat dishes. Cumin threading through rice. Coriander giving everything a slightly floral depth I could not name as a kid but always recognized. Growing up with Lebanese heritage, those warm spices were always around and are used in a Lebanese Seven Spice Blend.
Lebanese 7 spice, also called sabaa baharat, is the spice blend behind so many Lebanese dishes. The name simply means “seven spices” in Arabic and it shows up in everything from kafta and rice to soups, stews, and roasted vegetables. It is warm and aromatic rather than spicy, with a slightly sweet depth from the cinnamon and allspice that makes it unlike anything else in your spice cabinet. Once you have a jar in your pantry, you will reach for it constantly. And making it yourself takes in five minutes.
Why Make Your Own 7 Spice Blend?
Store-bought versions exist, but they are inconsistent. Some are heavy on cloves and taste sharp. Some have been sitting on a shelf long enough that the warmth is almost completely gone by the time you open the jar. Some include fillers, or additives.
Making your own Lebanese 7 spice blend means you control the ratios. You know exactly what is in it. And because you are mixing fresh ground spices together rather than buying a pre-mixed jar of unknown age, the aroma when you open that jar is noticeably better. You will smell the difference immediately. It also takes about two minutes, and the spices are almost certainly already in your cabinet.
The 7 Spices and What Each One Does
Understanding what each spice brings to the blend is what makes you a better cook with it, not just someone following a recipe.
- Allspice (the foundation): Allspice is the dominant spice in this blend for good reason. It tastes like a combination of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg all at once, which means it naturally ties the other spices together. The larger quantity is not an accident. It is what makes this blend taste unmistakably Lebanese.
- Black pepper: Adds dry, low heat that keeps the blend from going too sweet. Freshly ground is noticeably better here if you have a grinder.
- Cinnamon: This is the one that surprises people who are new to Lebanese cooking. Cinnamon in savory dishes sounds unusual until you taste it. It adds warmth and depth without sweetness, especially in meat dishes. Lebanese cooking uses far more cinnamon in savory applications than most western cooks expect.
- Coriander: Earthy, slightly citrusy, almost floral. It rounds out the sharper edges from the pepper and clove and gives the whole blend its complexity.
- Cumin: Warm, nutty, deeply earthy. It grounds everything else and adds that unmistakable Middle Eastern depth.
- Cloves: Intensely aromatic. A little goes a long way, which is why cloves are at half a tablespoon. Too much and you will taste almost nothing else. This ratio keeps them present without taking over.
- Nutmeg: Sweet, slightly woody, and almost perfumed. Like cloves, it is potent and the smaller amount is intentional. If you have a whole nutmeg and a microplane, freshly grated nutmeg is a genuinely noticeable upgrade.
Ground vs. Whole Spices
Ground spices are the everyday answer and what I use most of the time. If you already have these in your cabinet, this blend takes two minutes and will last you six months.
If you want to take it further, buy whole spices and toast them in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, shaking the pan, until fragrant and just starting to smoke. Grind them fresh and the difference in aroma and flavor is real. The blend smells more alive and the texture is slightly richer. My honest recommendation is to use ground spices for weeknight cooking and pull out whole spices when you are making something you really want to shine, like a special batch of Lebanese kafta or homemade kibbeh.
How to Make Lebanese Seven Spice
Making your own 7 spice blend is as simple as measuring and mixing, but a couple of details make the difference between a good blend and a great one.
Step 1: Check your spices first. Open each jar and smell it directly. Fresh allspice should hit you with warm complexity immediately. Fresh cumin should smell earthy and nutty. Fresh cinnamon should be sharp and sweet. If any of them smell like nothing much, replace them before mixing. Depleted spices will give you a flat blend no matter how carefully you measure.
Step 2: Measure into a small bowl. Add all seven spices. If you have recently ground whole spices, let them cool for a minute before combining so the residual heat does not cause clumping.
Step 3: Whisk to combine. Use a small whisk or fork and stir until the color is completely uniform with no visible streaks of individual spices. This takes about 30 seconds and matters more than it sounds.
Step 4: Transfer to a glass jar. A small funnel keeps this mess-free. Label the jar with the date so you know when to replace it.
How to Use Lebanese 7 Spice in Your Cooking
This is where most posts give you a generic bulleted list and call it a day. I want to actually show you how this blend works in your kitchen so you start reaching for it when cooking.
- In ground meat dishes: This is where 7 spice lives. Whether you are making Lebanese beef kafta, hashweh (the spiced meat stuffing used for grape leaves and stuffed zucchini), or a simple Mediterranean ground beef and rice skillet, start with 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons per pound of meat. Add it to the meat before any liquid so it has a chance to bloom directly in the fat as the meat browns. That first minute of contact with heat is where the flavor develops.
- As a dry rub for chicken: Combine 2 teaspoons of 7 spice with a generous pinch of salt and rub it onto chicken thighs before pan-searing or roasting. The cinnamon and allspice create a caramelized, deeply savory crust that is completely addictive. This is one of the easiest weeknight moves in my rotation.
- In rice: Add 1 teaspoon of 7 spice to your oil before you toast the rice. It perfumes the entire pot. Lebanese rice with vermicelli is the most obvious home for this, and the 7 spice is exactly what gives it that warm, distinct flavor.
- In lentil soup: Stir a teaspoon into lentil soup along with your other spices. It adds a layer of complexity that plain cumin alone cannot replicate. If you have never tried it this way, it is one of those small changes that makes a big difference.
- On roasted vegetables: Toss cauliflower, sweet potatoes, or chickpeas with olive oil and 7 spice before roasting at 425°F. The natural sugars in the vegetables caramelize alongside the warm spices and the result is something you will make on repeat.
- In a marinade: Add 1 1/2 teaspoons to olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic for an instant Lebanese-style marinade for chicken shawarma or lamb.
- On hummus: Drizzle your Lebanese hummus with olive oil and a light dusting of 7 spice instead of paprika. It is a small swap that reads as much more nuanced and is a great way to use the blend if you are not sure where to start.
Storage Instructions
- Stored in a glass jar in a cool, dark cabinet, your 7 spice blend will stay fragrant and flavorful for up to 6 months. After that the flavor starts to fade even if it does not smell off.
- A note on storage: keep it away from the stove. The cabinet directly above or next to your oven gets warm and humid every time you cook, which ages spices quickly. A pantry shelf or a cabinet across the kitchen will extend the life of your blend significantly.
- If you cook Lebanese food regularly, you may want to make a double or triple batch. You will go through it faster than you expect.
Recipe FAQ
They are closely related but not exactly the same. Baharat simply means “spices” in Arabic and can refer to several regional blends. Lebanese sabaa baharat is a specific version that is allspice-forward. Some store-bought baharat blends include paprika, which gives them a more orange color. They can generally be used interchangeably, but if a Lebanese recipe calls for 7 spice, this is the blend you want.
No. Lebanese 7 spice is warm and aromatic, not hot. The black pepper adds a mild background heat but nothing sharp or spicy. If you want more heat, add a pinch of cayenne separately.
In a pinch, yes. Ground allspice is the closest single-spice substitute because it naturally carries notes of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The flavor will not be identical but it works when you need something quickly.
Absolutely. The ratios scale perfectly and making a larger batch is worth it if you cook Lebanese food regularly.
More Lebanese Recipes
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Lebanese Seven Spice Blend
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ground allspice
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1/2 tablespoon ground cloves
- 1/2 tablespoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Add all spices to a small bowl and whisk until fully combined and the color is uniform.
- Funnel into a glass spice jar and label with the date.
- Store in a cool, dark pantry for up to 6 months.
Notes
- Cloves and nutmeg are potent. The smaller ratio is intentional. Taste the blend and dial back either one if you prefer.
- For a Beirut-style variation, stir in 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika.
- Start with 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons per pound of ground meat and adjust from there.
- Freshly ground black pepper makes a noticeable difference here if you have a grinder.
- To make a more complex blend, toast whole spices in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant, then grind fresh before mixing.
- Store in a glass jar rather than plastic. Plastic absorbs the essential oils from the spices and dulls the aroma over time.
- Keep the jar away from the stove. Heat and humidity shorten the life of your blend significantly.
- This recipe doubles and triples easily. If you cook Lebanese food regularly, a larger batch is worth making.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
An easy spice blend that makes Lebanese dishes better and more warm!