Where to Find the 20 Best Indian Grocery Stores Online (USA)

iShopIndian.com

The Premier Destination for Indian Groceries & Spices

Founded in 2000, ishopindian.com is one of the largest and oldest online Indian groceries in the U.S. Besides groceries, including many regional foods, they have a good selection of cooking utensils, health, and beauty products.

I appreciate how easy it is to navigate and understand iShopIndian's website. This online store ships both shelf-stable and frozen food (only shipped to the continental states), which is packed and shipped separately. At the time of this posting, many items are not in stock. Non-perishables are also shipped to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, APO, and FPO.

Zifti

Connecting Indian Expatriates to Thousands of Products from Their Homeland

Zifiti, was founded in 2016 and carries over 10,000 grocery products. In addition, they have items in many other categories such as cookware, health and beauty, furniture, clothing, etc. Zifiti is set up in a unique way; it brings marketers of Indian products to a one-stop online shopping mall.

There are currently six sellers in the grocery category that ship their products to the buyer, each with their own shopping carts. This means as you shop five of the sellers, you can see which cart is being added to and whether you have met the over $50 free shopping threshold. The 6th seller, A-FreshRotis, sells five varieties of rotis that ship for $4.99

Zifiti's snacks (290 items) and spices (256 items) are especially numerous. And their organic selection has almost 600 products, many from the 24 Mantra and Indus Valley Organic brands.

I did have trouble understanding how their shipping and delivery worked. And reaching customer service was difficult as there seemed to be no phone number. And it was hard to get my questions answered through the online email contact system.

Desi Basket

We Give You Time Back to do the Things You Love

Desi Basket is a new entry into the online grocery market. Their website is organized so is that it is easy to find what you are looking for. Besides carrying all the basic Indian groceries, they also sell fresh and frozen food. However, at the time of publishing this post, most of their frozen meals are sold out.

There are 90+ 24 Mantra organic items, and DesiBasket's spice and masala category offers almost 1,000 choices. And their pickle, pastes, and sauces offerings are as extensive as any I've seen anywhere. They also have a nice selection of gift baskets. Other categories are health and beauty, kitchen equipment, jewelry, and clothing.

I love DesiBasket's "Buy More Save More Specials" feature they offer on many items, which helps you save on groceries. There is a small selection of fresh produce for fruits and vegetables that can be shipped without a cooler.

DesiGabbar

The Grocery Store for All Your Daily Needs

DesiGabbar carries over 5,000 items from 350+ brands. This online grocery store is well organized so that you can easily find what you are looking for. DesiGabbar focuses on a wide selection of Indian groceries, shipping them carefully packed, with secure ordering, and touts their easy returns and exchange policies.

There is a small selection of fresh produce that can be shipped without a cooler.

Grocery Babu

Economic Shipping ~ Find Us on Amazon

One of the things that set Grocery Babu apart is their large selection of frozen foods: bread, regional dishes, snacks (pizza and kati rolls), and sweets (ice cream). This online grocery is also unique because it offers three kinds of packaging. One for “dry” shipping, "cooler shipping" for items that don’t need ice, such as dairy products, and a third for food that requires dry ice to remain frozen.

As you add things to be shipped, you can clearly see which cart is being filled and how much more you need to order to get free shipping. While Grocery Babu doesn't have as large an inventory as other online groceries, they have an especially large selection of snacks and sweets. They only ship to the continental US.

Each category has various shipping rates. Dry shipping costs start at a flat $10 shipping fee per order for any amount ordered. Shipping charges for items needing to be kept chilled are $15 for a small box. Please note that they don't ship a large box of "cooler" items, as it would be too heavy. Frozen items cost $19 for each regular box and $24 for large boxes.

Burlap & Barrel

Beautiful Spices ~ Ethically Sourced

"In case you need even more spice in your life, B&B connects small farmers with the high-value spice market to deliver (lucky) us beautifully fragrant and sustainably sourced . . . spices." Food52, 'Beloved Indie Grocers'

"Burlap & Barrel, a spice importer specializing in fine, single-origin products that will take you through the major demands of everyday cooking." New York Times, 'New Workhorses for Your Spice Drawer'

Burlap & Barrel was founded in 2016. Their spices are harvested by hand, dried naturally, grown organically whenever possible, and packed with flavor. They support small farms and cooperatives, bypassing middlemen. Its mission is to connect farmers to high-value markets. While sourcing organic spices, they also make sure that those involved are treated and paid fairly.

Diaspora Co.

Growing a Better Spice Trade ~ Grown for Flavor ~ Rooted in Equity

Founded in 2017, Diaspora "sources 30 single origin spices from 150 farms across India and Sri Lanka. We're proud to pay our farm partners an average of 6x above the commodity price. In a system where fair trade is a mere 15% premium, we pay what we believe to be a living wage."

Their spice lineup makes me want to cook with every one of them. Especially the Wild Cinnamon Quills, Nandini Coriander, and Kerala Vanilla! They have recipes for tempting dishes using spices. Imagine Smoky Hakka Noodles and Chai Apple Hand Pies.

You many find Diaspora's spices in select specialty stores throughout the US.

Kalustyan's

"Not long ago my search for every possible variety of lentil took me to Kalustyan's ... where just about every obscure ingredient from the Middle East or South Asia can be found." (Marion Burros, The New York Times, March 15, 2000)

In 1944, K. Kalustyan opened its specialty food store at its present location, carrying Indian spices and groceries. Now this store has staples and hard-to-find ingredients from all over the world.

"Kalustyan's is the place to go for all your cooking needs, no matter how esoteric or specialized. They have a huge range of spices and condiments, and by no means are they limited to Indian-style items--they have everything." All About Cuisines

Oaktown Spice Shop

Named one of the World's Best Spice Shops by Food & Wine Magazine

The Oaktown Spice Shop first opened its doors in 2011. "We focus on sourcing the absolute best-tasting version of each spice that we can find, which entails working with hundreds of different importers. We grind spices ourselves, in our shop, every week or two."

"This means the ground spices customers find at Oaktown are bursting with flavor and are far fresher than those found elsewhere. Our spice blends are signature recipes, hand-mixed in the shop using our freshly ground spices."

Online reviews rave about the quality of their spices and their customer service. The Oaktown Spice Shop has three stores in the Oakland, CA area.

The Spice House

The Spice House has every type of spice, herb, and seasoning to create exquisite flavor in all your dishes

This beautifully organized website offers many spices, spice mixes, and interesting gift boxes. "Founded in 1957, The Spice House is a purveyor of the finest spices, herbs, blends, and extracts to customers ranging from renowned Michelin-star chefs to home cooks everywhere."

"We’ve spent over 60 years curating our global network of premium growers and distributors in order to offer our customers unrivaled quality and selection. Our products range from essential and rare spice varietals to proprietary rubs and blends."

The Spice House website also has many delicious-looking recipes highlighting their spices. The Spice House has four stores in the Milwaukee and Chicago area.

Spicewalla

We've Got Every Spice You Need to Keep Your Meals Flavorful

"Spicewalla is chef-driven with an unmatched level of quality to the sourcing and care of spices. We only source fresh, small-batch, packed, and processed by hand. And we make sure everything is affordable so you don't have to make any compromises."

I love the Indian recipe videos that Chef Meherwan Irani, Spicewalla founder, and restauranteur, posts on their YouTube channel. They also have a good number of mouthwatering recipes on the Spicewalla website.

Spice Tree Organics

Experience our delicious and global spice blends and create mouth watering meals in minutes

This woman-owned business "sources the highest quality organic spices, grinds them, and hand blends them in small batches so that you receive them at the peak of freshness. With unmatched taste and quality, we guarantee they will become a staple in your pantry."

They also have a robust recipe section from meats to sweets, using their spices.

World Spice Merchants

Thank you for shopping small

Founded in 1995, World Spice Merchants is a small family business that sources fresh whole spices, grinds them to order, and handcrafts their spice blends in-house. They try to work directly with their growers as much as possible.

World Spice Merchants has six different cinnamon offerings, a wide variety of chilies in various forms, and all the basics needed for cooking Indian food, or anything else you have going.

Dwaar Chocolate

Ethically Sourced + Handmade

Inspired by a bean-to-bar chocolate-making class in 2016 and founded in 2018, Dwaar Chocolate makes sweets from milk, plus white or dark chocolate. Currently, they are offering Dark Indian Koffee and Pista Kulfi chocolate bars, among other flavors. Their ethically sourced, bean-to-bar chocolates were featured in a New York Times article called Indians Love Cadbury Chocolates.

Elements Truffles

Be kind to your body. Indulge joyfully with our clean chocolates and snacks powered by the science of Ayurveda.

Started in 2016 by two Wall Street traders, Elements Truffles focuses on sweets that are good for you based on Ayurvedic principles. The cacao is made from the finest quality Criollo beans from Peru and the chocolates are hand-crafted in micro-batches.

Elements Truffles’ chocolate is raw, organic, free from dairy, GMOs or any artificial flavors. Besides online, Elements chocolates can be found in groceries throughout the US.

Madhu Chocolate

Handcrafted Indian-Inspired Chocolate

Madhu Chocolate ethically sources cacao beans from Colombia. Their chocolate bars have been named by Food & Wine as one of the 50 finest chocolate makers and chocolate shops in the U.S.

They specialize in small-batch chocolate bars emphasizing Indian spices, nuts, and flavors such as Rose Pistachio Dark and Masala Peanut Chocolates. Besides shopping online, if you are lucky to be in the Austin, TX area, you can find their chocolates in local food shops.

Pure Indian Foods

Made with Love by 5th Generation Ghee-Makers

This ghee business was started in India in 1889 by Lala Khoobram Agarwal. Pure Indian Foods was brought to the US in 2008 by Agarwal descendants. While 11 kinds of organic ghee are still at the center of their offerings, they have branched out to include premium organic spices, flours and grains, and oils.

Shipping: Free for orders of $75+ in Northeast USA, $125+ for the rest of the Continental USA. Visit their shipping page for more details.

Pure Indian Foods products can be found in specialty stores throughout the US.

Moonflowers Co

Powerful Medicine ~ Culinary Hero

Kabul-born Tahmina Ghaffer founded moonflowers. She created a business that imports premium quality saffron hand-picked on small family farms in Herat, Afghanistan.

The Afghan saffron industry is 80% female, so by purchasing and supporting the crop, Moonflowers provides economic opportunity to women in a society where income options are scarce. 

Rumi Spice

Spice as a Force for Good

Rumi Spice was founded in 2014 by three military veterans of the US army who served in Afghanistan. They began with a mission to promote peace in this country, where over 80% of the population relies on agriculture to earn a living.

On average, the business helps source over 200 kilograms of saffron from Afghanistan each year, which is then sold direct-to-consumer, and to chefs and restaurants. Besides high-quality organic saffron, they have added black cumin, coriander, wild fennel, and a handful of spice blends to their lineup.