This easy homemade garlic powder delivers big flavour with minimal effort. Made in the dehydrator, it’s a great way to use up the last of the garlic from your garden.
It’s been all garlic all the time around here. I have been getting a few preservation projects wrapped up to make sure that the last of my harvest doesn’t go to waste. My latest effort was this easy homemade garlic powder.
Homemade garlic powder is nothing like its store bought counterpart. It has a much bolder garlic flavour. This tastes like real garlic. Maybe they roast or cook the garlic before turning it into the garlic powder at the store? Does anyone know? Because the homemade version taste like real, uncooked garlic.
Preparing the Garlic
Homemade garlic powder starts out like so many other recipes with garlic, peeling all those cloves of garlic. It’s not hard work, but it can get tedious if you have a lot of garlic to get through. Once the cloves are all peeled you will need to slice the garlic. As you can see from the photo above, I chose to rough chop my garlic. It worked. I would say that if you are a more precise person, slicing into rounds might be a good way to go. You also want to make sure that the garlic is chopped fairly evenly. This will ensure a quicker drying time and more even drying results.
Once the garlic is all chopped or sliced you are going to put it on your dehydrator trays. You want the garlic to have lots of space. Make sure you use as many trays as you need. I wouldn’t recommend drying the garlic with anything else that you didn’t want to have a garlic aroma, so take up space.
Dehydrating the Garlic
I have a 9 tray Excalibur dehydrator. It comes with a temperature dial so that you can choose how warm you would like the dehydrator to be. I set my to 125 F or the vegetable setting. It should take about 8-10 hours for the garlic to be fully dry. It could take up to 12 depending on how small the garlic was cut up. How humid it is. The temperature that your dehydrator is set at. Knowing how to tell if the garlic is done is more important than the time.
How to Tell if the Garlic is Dry
I started to check my garlic at 8 hours. I would just open the dehydrator and feel some of the garlic piece. After 10 hours most of the garlic felt firm to the touch. I looked for the biggest pieces on the tray and squeezed them. They shouldn’t really give. In order for your homemade garlic powder to be shelf stable you need the garlic to be really dry. If you are unsure, just give it more time in the dehydrator.
How to Make Garlic Powder
Once your dehydrated garlic is fully cooled it is time to turn it into powder. You can use a blender or a food processor for this. The blender will give you a finer, more powdery result. If you only have a food processor you might just have to run it for longer, or make a larger batch. Whatever you use, it is going to smell like garlic after. So if you have a second blender jug that you don’t use as often, now it the time to get it out. Otherwise tomorrow’s smoothie might have a hint of garlic to it.
Once your blender jug is loaded up with garlic, blend until you have reached your desired consistency. I like my homemade dehydrated garlic on the coarse side. I use it more in cooking than raw, so I’m not concerned about it dissolving. But if you prefer your garlic powder more powdery, just blend it for longer. Either way, it won’t take more than a minute. Scrape down the side of the jug as needed. You can also turn off the blender and give the homemade garlic powder a mix, then blend again. Just to ensure everything is evenly processed.
Once you have reached your desired consistency with the garlic powder you can put it in an air tight container and add it to your spice collection. I found my homemade garlic powder was much stronger then what I normally get at the store. So start with a little less than you would normally add. You can always add more.
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Excalibur dehydrator https://amzn.to/3KQoGr6
Glass flip top jars https://amzn.to/43LiM34
How to Make Homemade Garlic Powder
Instructions
- Separate garlic cloves from the heads and peel all the cloves.
- Chop or slice garlic cloves to an even size.
- Spread chopped garlic out on the dehydrator trays. Do not over crowd the trays.
- Set dehydrator to the vegetable setting or 125 F.
- Dry garlic until it feels firm to the touch. They should give, but not very much. It will take 8-10 hours, but it could be up to 12.
- Place cooled, dehydrated garlic into the blender jug. Blend until you have reached your desired powdered consistency.
- Store in an air tight container with your other spices.
Margaret
What a good idea. I never thought of doing this, with all my extra garlic from the garden. Thanks for the excellent info.
Al
I was really impressed with the garlic powder and the ease of making it.