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Garlic salt is a spice that many people use in their cooking. It is not difficult to find and can be easily purchased at any grocery store. However, it won’t be a bad idea to have other garlic salt substitutes in your kitchen in case you run out of the actual spice.
You can use minced garlic and salt, granulated garlic and salt, garlic oil and salt, mustard powder, garlic flakes, garlic juice and salt, or even make your own garlic salt at home. All these will serve as perfect replacement for garlic salt in your cuisines.
Now, let’s quickly learn more about these options and see how you can use them instead of garlic salt!
What Is Garlic Salt?
Garlic salt, not to be confused with “garlic powder,” is a combination of two different spices: garlic and Salt. It can be used in many other meals and add a new taste to your food.
Garlic salt tastes similar to fresh or cooked garlic but typically has less aftertaste or bitterness. Its flavor also tends to be less intense than that of raw garlic.
The most common way to use garlic salt is on French fries, sprinkled over salads, grilled vegetables, Italian dishes like pasta and pizza, bread toasts, popcorn, and marination of meats.
Best Garlic Salt Substitutes
1. Homemade Garlic Salt
if you’re feeling enthusiastic, you can challenge yourself to make garlic salt at home. It’s even better that way since homemade Garlic Salt helps you control your salt and garlic intake better than the ready-made version.
But regardless, Homemade Garlic Salt has more flavor than store-bought Garlic Salt.
Fresh ingredients will always have more robust flavors than their counterparts because fresh ingredients haven’t been sitting on store shelves for months or even years.
So how do you make your garlic salt?
All you need is:
- One teaspoon of garlic Powder
- One tablespoon of Kosher Salt
- ¼ teaspoon of minced onion (optional)
Then mix all ingredients thoroughly.
Easy-peasy!
2. Minced Garlic + Salt
Sprinkling a bit of Salt into your minced garlic can make a great substitute for garlic salt. But unlike garlic salt, Minced garlic has a strong flavor and aroma. It comes in jars or tubes and has a rich consistency, almost like a paste.
Minced garlic also contains a natural compound that helps prevent diseases. The nutritional content is way higher than that of garlic salt.
You can use them in your garlic salt recipes, whether salads, desserts, soups, or stews.
Make sure your mixture is 1 tsp minced garlic and 3/4 tsp of kosher Salt.
3. Granulated Garlic + Salt
Granulated garlic and garlic salt are very similar, one is a seasoning, and the other is a spice.
Secondly, granulated garlic is made of garlic and Salt, but it’s not just garlic powder mixed with Salt — it’s garlic that has been dried and then ground into small flakes or granules.
Moreover, granulated garlic has no fillers: it’s just whole garlic.
When you use granulated garlic in your cooking, you’re getting more flavor from the actual ingredient and less from additives added to improve the texture or taste.
But you can do the taste one better by adding salt to it.
4. Garlic Oil + Salt
garlic oil comes handy when you want all of the benefits of having some fresh garlic in your food —that aromatics, eye-opening smell, that burst of flavor.
Like garlic salt, Garlic Oil is also a savory staple in the kitchen, but there is a slight difference in taste and use. But that doesn’t mean you can use garlic oil when you don’t have garlic salt on hand.
The liquid allows for easy cooking and blending into other ingredients such as sauces and dressings. I find it more versatile and flavorful, unlike the garlic salt that is best left for adding flavor to food that needs extra Salt, such as chips or popcorn.
The good news is topping a little salt will make it preferable, especially if you crave that saltiness.
You need 2 tsp garlic oil and 2/3 tsp of Salt to make this happen.
5. Mustard Powder
Mustard powder and garlic salt are two seasonings that have earned their place in many pantries. Funnily enough, you can use mustard powder in place of garlic salt, but there are a few significant differences to put into perspective.
Firstly, the mustard powder is a single ingredient grounded from mustard seed, so it doesn’t have that authentic garlicky flavor, yet it has more nutritional value.
Since mustard powder has been ground up into a powder, it is excellent for salad dressings or sauces, unlike the coarse texturized garlic salt that adds a nice little bit of umami to your recipe.
Lastly, Garlic salt is more intense in flavor than mustard powder.
So if you want something subtle, go for mustard powder over garlic salt.
6. Garlic Flakes
you can use Garlic flakes and garlic salt interchangeably without noticing a big difference. Well, that’s because there isn’t much difference at all.
Garlic salt is made from garlic powder combined with table salt and other spices.
Both have their advantages, but if you want the best flavor possible, I recommend using dehydrated garlic flakes instead of the powdered version!
It is also good hearty for you if you follow a low-sodium diet.
7. Garlic Juice And Salt
Garlic Salt is simply a mix of garlic powder and Salt, whereas garlic juice is the juice that comes out of a freshly peeled clove.
Imagine adding a pinch of table salt to your juice as a seasoning in cooking – it’s 10X better than the garlic salt flavors and far more nutritional.
Garlic juice is a lot more versatile than garlic salt because it doesn’t clump, so you can use it to make sauces and dressings.
Garlic salt also has a strong aroma and taste, which means you don’t need to use as much as you would with garlic juice.
However, the flavor of garlic salt is not quite as complex or nuanced as the flavor of garlic juice, and you can’t use it for sauces or dressings.
On top of that, if you want to minimize your sodium intake, using garlic juice instead of garlic salt could be a good choice for you.
Just mix 2 tsp garlic juice and 2/3 tsp of Salt
Related Questions
Can You Substitute Garlic Powder For Garlic?
Yes, you can substitute garlic powder for fresh garlic. However, this is not typically recommended because it will have a different flavor profile and texture than the recipe intends. Generally speaking, you should use 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder in place of 1 fresh garlic clove.
For most people, the best way to use both is to cut down on the amount of garlic powder used and add a clove or two of fresh garlic.
Does Garlic Contain Salt?
The answer is yes. Garlic does contain a small amount of Salt. One clove of fresh garlic contains 1 mg of sodium.
Can I Use Onion Powder Instead Of Garlic Powder?
Some say you can, but the truth is no. They’re different spices with different flavors and purposes. Onion powder has a milder taste than garlic powder, so using it in place of garlic powder won’t give you the same spice.
Onion powder is also used as a thickener for sauces, or it can be mixed into Salt or seasonings to create a zesty flavor. While garlic powder can be used in the same way, its primary purpose is to add the flavor of garlic to foods.
What Is In Minced Garlic?
Minced garlic is made from garlic cloves peeled and chopped finely.
Conclusion
If you’re a garlic lover and tired of using the same old seasoning on your food, you might be ready to expand your horizons. The world of garlic-enhanced recipes is vast, and there are many different ways to enjoy the spicy flavor of this versatile ingredient.
So don’t beat yourself up if you are out of garlic salt. At last, the garlic salt substitutes on this page are easy and inexpensive ways to get the same delicious flavor of garlic salt without all of the sodium.
Also without doing too much, you can replace your store-bought garlic salt with a batch of our homemade garlic salt substitute and never look back!
