20 Savory Cinnamon Recipes

Photo: Jen Causey; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland

Allow the warming aroma of cinnamon to wrap around you and fill every crevice of your home with these comforting recipes. While commonly associated with sweet treats and holiday baking, cinnamon can be a powerfully delicious flavor agent in savory dishes as well. Here are some of our favorite dishes that utilize a pinch of cinnamon in unexpected and mouthwatering ways.

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Spicy Veggie Hash

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Claire Spollen

Spicy Veggie Hash Recipe

Cumin, cinnamon, and red pepper add warmth to this Peruvian-inspired sweet potato hash.

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Warm-Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Claire Spollen

Warm-Spiced Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

Earthy, fragrant spices like allspice, cloves, and cinnamon make wonderful accents for the natural sweetness of butternut squash. Make sure to simmer the squash until very tender--the softer it gets, the silkier the puree.

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Pork Chops with Cinnamon Apples

Photography: Randy Mayor; Styling: Melanie J. Clarke

Pork Chops with Cinnamon Apples Recipe

Warm flavors like sage and cinnamon play up the contrast between the juicy pork chops and caramelized apples in this easy weeknight meal.

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Chicken with Dates, Olives, and Cinnamon

Photo: John Autry; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross

Chicken with Dates, Olives, and Cinnamon Recipe
This Moroccan-style chicken dish features chicken thighs simmered in a mixture of onion, olives, dates, cinnamon and ginger. Serve over couscous for a hearty meal.

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Speedy Cincy Chili

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Ginny Branch

Speedy Cincy Chili Recipe
Cincinnati chili is a unique style that includes sweet seasonings like cinnamon and chocolate and is served over spaghetti. If you like pungent touches, you can sprinkle some chopped raw onion on top.

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Roasted Spiced Carrots

Photo: Miki Duisterhof

Roasted Spiced Carrots Recipe
While roasting brings out the sweetness in carrots, this easy make-ahead side goes one step further to blend sweet and savory flavors. Large chunks of carrot are roasted with olive oil, cumin, and cinnamon and then tossed with raisins and parsley. Substitute baby carrots if you'd like.

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Moroccan-Spiced Baby Carrots

Photo: Johnny Autry; Styling: Mary Clayton Carl

Moroccan-Spiced Baby Carrots Recipe
Warm spices like cumin and cinnamon play deliciously off the sweetness of the carrots.

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Mediterranean Breakfast Couscous

Photo: Antonis Achilleos

Mediterranean Breakfast Couscous Recipe
Couscous goes from the dinner table to the breakfast bar with this easy Mediterranean recipe. Cinnamon, apricots and currants make it morning friendly.

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Cinnamon-Soy Braised Pork

Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Mindi Shapiro

Cinnamon-Soy Braised Pork Recipe

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Cinnamon-Apricot Glazed Salmon

Photo: Howard L. Puckett; Styling: Fonda Shaia

Cinnamon-Apricot Glazed Salmon Recipe

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Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Pine Nuts

Antonis Achilleos

Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Pine Nuts Recipe
This cinnamon-scented recipe is Yotam Ottolenghi and Rami Tamimi's take on a dish made by Elran Shrefler at Azura Restaurant.

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Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Pine Nuts

Antonis Achilleos

Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Pine Nuts Recipe
This cinnamon-scented recipe is Yotam Ottolenghi and Rami Tamimi's take on a dish made by Elran Shrefler at Azura Restaurant.

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Caldillo

Photo: Oxmoor House

Caldillo Recipe
Serve this spicy stew with peeled orange slices sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar. Bottled cinnamon-sugar can be found on the spice aisle of your local supermarket.

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Coffee-Brined Chicken Drumsticks

Coffee-Brined Chicken Drumsticks Recipe
Add rich flavor to chicken drumsticks by marinating them in a mixture of coffee, brown sugar, red pepper, cinnamon and chili powder. If you're serving this recipe to the kids, you can just leave out the red pepper.

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Spiced Basmati Pilaf with Garden Peas

Randy Mayor; Lydia DeGaris-Pursell

Spiced Basmati Pilaf with Garden Peas Recipe
This flavorful pilaf features an aromatic broth laced with sautéed onion, cardamom pods, cinnamon, and whole cloves. The spices are cooked along with the pilaf (they aren't meant to be eaten), but you can put them in cheesecloth as well.

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Singapore Turkey Stew

Leigh Beisch

Singapore Turkey Stew Recipe
Notes: If you can't find Chinese five spice, substitute equal parts ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger, and ground anise seeds.

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Lamb Tagine with Cinnamon, Saffron, and Dried Fruit

Photography: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell

Lamb Tagine with Cinnamon, Saffron, and Dried Fruit Recipe
Warm cinnamon and saffron combine with coriander and cumin to lend complex flavor to this Moroccan-style lamb tagine. This festive dish is served over couscous to soak up the delicious gravy.

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Instant Pot Kichidi

Photo: Jen Causey; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland

Instant Pot Kichidi Recipe

This comforting dish is nutty, earthy, and slightly lemony. It’s often given to people who are sick and is packed with nutrients thanks to the lentils, turmeric, and ginger. For optimal flavor, use cumin seeds rather than ground cumin, and temper them in ghee or oil. In a pinch, split yellow peas also make a good base.

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Cinnamon-Laced Chili

Greg DuPree

Cinnamon-Laced Chili Recipe

This take on Cincinnati chili forgoes the traditional spaghetti accompaniment, though you can serve it over hot cooked noodles if you like. While many cooks think of cinnamon only as a spice for baked goods and sweets, it’s fantastic in savory dishes—particularly roasted, braised, and stewed meats like beef, pork, and chicken.

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Instant Pot Rajma Masala

Photo: Jen Causey; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland

Instant Pot Rajma Masala Recipe

Rajma Masala is a popular dish in northern India with bright and fragrant qualities. It’s very flavorful, and the depth of flavor from pairing fresh ingredients and spices creates something that’s refreshing and comforting at the same time. Adding some yogurt at the end helps thicken the dish, but the most important ingredient you can use here is good quality vegetable broth. Serve over basmati rice with ghee, extra yogurt, herbs, pickles, and lime wedges on the side.

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20 Savory Cinnamon Recipes

1 of 20

Spicy Veggie Hash

1 of 20

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Warm-Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

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Pork Chops with Cinnamon Apples

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Chicken with Dates, Olives, and Cinnamon

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Speedy Cincy Chili

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Roasted Spiced Carrots

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Moroccan-Spiced Baby Carrots

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Mediterranean Breakfast Couscous

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Cinnamon-Soy Braised Pork

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Cinnamon-Apricot Glazed Salmon

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Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Pine Nuts

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Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Pine Nuts

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Caldillo

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Coffee-Brined Chicken Drumsticks

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Spiced Basmati Pilaf with Garden Peas

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Singapore Turkey Stew

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Lamb Tagine with Cinnamon, Saffron, and Dried Fruit

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Instant Pot Kichidi

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Cinnamon-Laced Chili

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Instant Pot Rajma Masala

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