1
Ajwain
Trachyspermum ammi
Tiny ridged seeds with a powerful thyme-oregano punch — the digestive workhorse of Indian breads, lentils, and snack mixes.
If you've been searching for spices that start with A, you'll find 6 detailed spices below. We're not interested in giving you only a list of names — every entry on this page links to a full profile with the kind of detail you'd actually want to know.
For spices, that means origin, plant part, cuisines, flavor profile, and culinary uses.
Table of contents
| Ajwain | Aleppo Pepper | Allspice | Anise |
| Annatto | Asafoetida |
List of Spices That Start With A
2
Aleppo Pepper
Capsicum annuum
A coarsely crushed Syrian-Turkish chili with a soft fruity heat and salt-oil sheen — the finishing flake of choice for kebabs, hummus, and labneh.
3
Allspice
Pimenta dioica
The dried unripe berry of a Caribbean evergreen — tasting uncannily like a blend of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg in a single hard pellet.
4
Anise
Pimpinella anisum
Small comma-shaped seeds with a pronounced licorice sweetness, used from Mediterranean liqueurs to Christmas cookies.
5
Annatto
Bixa orellana
The deep red-orange seed of a tropical shrub — used as much for color as flavor in Latin American, Filipino, and Caribbean cooking.
6
Asafoetida
Ferula assa-foetida
A pungent, sulfurous resin harvested from giant fennel relatives — used in pinhead quantities to mimic the umami of onion and garlic in Brahmin and Jain cooking.
About spices starting with A
That's our current list of spices starting with the letter A. We add new entries every week — if you have a favorite spice starting with A that isn't on this page, let us know and we'll write it up.
Looking for more? Try spices that end with A, or contain A anywhere in the name.