Have you by any chance run out of your favorite aromatic seasoning – garlic salt while preparing your favorite dish, and are in a fix? Or perhaps you want to find an alternative for your garlic salt as you are going on a low-sodium diet for health reasons? Or maybe, just like me, you are just looking for the best substitutes for garlic salt due to food allergies but don’t want to miss out on the delicious flavor of garlic?
Garlic salt can be substituted by fresh garlic and salt paste, garlic flakes and salt, granulated garlic and salt, garlic oil, and onion powder and salt.
Garlic salt is a type of seasoning usually used as an anticaking agent. It is typically made by adding salt to garlic powder in a 3:1 ratio.
Garlic salt is a seasoning that I swear by as it imparts a delicious taste to a variety of meat and vegetable recipes.
I have found that it acts as a perfectly spicy ingredient for dishes like soups, sauces, marinades, and baked potatoes. I even sprinkle a little bit of garlic salt on my popcorn and fries to add that zingy flavor.
What is Garlic Salt?
I know many of you are new to the term “Garlic Salt” or even if you have heard about it but exactly know what is it then let me tell you it is basically a combination of garlic powder with salt. Simple as that, nothing fancy.
There are so many people who love the hint of garlic in their dish and for them, this ingredient is more than perfect. All you need to do is add this ingredient to your desired dish and you can get the bold garlic flavor.
One thing that I really like about Garlic salt is that it is a very versatile ingredient and can easily gel with any dish, you can easily add it to almost any dish you want.
Garlic salt also helps me a lot when I am running out of fresh garlic cloves, it literally used to be a dish savor that time.
Though, garlic salt is easily available at grocery stores, don’t worry if you are not able to find it in your nearby store, I am here to help you by sharing the best substitutes for garlic salt that I recommend by readers.
5 Best Substitutes That I Recommend for Garlic Salt
From my experience in using garlic salt substitutes, I recommend you use the following substitutes for garlic salt:
1. Fresh Garlic and Salt Paste
In case you are looking for a deeper and more flavorful experience my suggestion is to turn to making a fresh garlic and salt paste. This is one of the substitutes for garlic salt that I have found to have a slightly different and thicker texture.
Also, this substitute is probably the least processed garlic salt substitute that you can find as you make it at home.
In my experience, fresh garlic and salt paste is best used for sauces, marinades, and even as a meat rub. It is one of the healthiest and best substitutes as it uses garlic in its natural form. Using fresh garlic paste and salt is another inexpensive way to substitute garlic salt.
How to Substitute:
In order to prepare this paste, use some fresh garlic cloves. An average-sized garlic clove will be equivalent to half a teaspoon of garlic salt. Take the proportionate amount of cloves and chop them finely.
Sprinkle some salt as per your taste and mash the garlic either using a spoon or a fork. The salt will dissolve into the mashed garlic and become a flavorful smooth paste.
2. Garlic Flakes and Salt
Garlic flakes are nothing but dehydrated garlic cloves. Though garlic flakes have a slightly mild flavor they can be used to impart an earthy flavor to your dishes.
Substituting garlic flakes and a salt mixture will give a richer and deeper aromatic flavor to all your savory dishes.
Using garlic flakes is desirable for people who want to cut down on salt consumption altogether in which case you may just use garlic flakes only.
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Garlic Flakes are easily available in most of the local supermarkets or in organic markets. Garlic flakes also happen to be cheap.
How to Substitute:
To substitute one teaspoon of garlic salt, use the ratio of 1:2 of garlic flakes to garlic salt. That is, for every one teaspoon of garlic salt use two teaspoons of garlic flakes.
Since garlic flakes are milder in taste, you need to double the amount of flakes to get that strong pungent flavor of garlic.
3. Granulated Garlic and Salt
Granulated garlic is not a larger granulated version of garlic salt crystals as you may think. Instead, it is coarsely ground dried garlic. It does not contain salt so you need to add salt to the coarse granulated garlic.
Granulated garlic and salt will have a rough texture.
Since it is rougher, chances are there will be lesser lump formation. So it is ideal for all your liquid dishes, like stews, sauces, and soups. Since it is flavorful and is chunkier it also blends well with other spices to give a beautiful taste to your dish.
How to Substitute:
In order to substitute, granulated garlic salt with granulated garlic and salt, use the ratio 1: 2.
4. Garlic Oil
Garlic oil is an ideal substitute if you want a lighter aromatic and flavorful experience as compared to garlic salt. Garlic oil is made from garlic using the steam distillation process.
This is a substitute where I have observed that you do not have to mix any salt. Don’t waste your time! It does not dissolve properly in garlic oil.
The best part of using garlic oil in my experience is that you can drizzle some amount of oil on your dishes or use it in salad dressings and marinades. I usually sprinkle some garlic oil on grilled meat recipes and roasted meat and vegetable preparations to get that delicious taste.
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A word of caution from personal experience- do not use garlic oil for cooking.
Although garlic oil is easily available in the local supermarkets, I have found that it can be slightly expensive.
How to Substitute:
Since garlic oil has a lighter aroma and does not have salt in it, you may have to experiment with the amount of oil you want to use. I usually end up adding the salt to the dish separately.
5. Onion Powder and Salt
Onion powder is a substitute that will give an earthy and flavorful taste to your dishes. It is made by powdering dried or dehydrated onions.
I prepare this substitute by mixing equal parts of onion powder and salt.
The texture of onion powder varies from the texture of garlic salt and so it is not suitable for all dishes where you use garlic salt. However, you can easily use it for preparing stews, soups, and sauces.
Onion powders are a substitute that I have found to be easily available and also have found it to be cheaper.
How to Substitute:
You can use a 1: 1 ratio of garlic salt to onion powder and salt mixture in specific dishes. Be aware of the use of regular onion in your dish and use the onion powder and salt mixture wisely, or else your dish will have an overpowering taste of onion.
6. Minced Garlic
Another one of the best substitutes for garlic salt is Minced Garlic, and in fact, this substitute is highly recommended for those who are very very conscious of their health.
Since, we all know that Garlic salt has very high sodium content, and for our health it is not really good if we consume sodium in high quantities. However, that’s not the case with minced garlic because here you can actually add salt to your dish separately and thus you have more control over your salt intake.
Those who love the garlic flavor in their dish will definitely like minced garlic because it is a combination of garlic powder and salt, and it has more garlic flavor than garlic salt.
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You can easily make minced garlic at your home using fresh garlic cloves, and crushing them nicely so that they release their natural oils and flavors.
I mostly use minced garlic in sauces, marinades, soups, etc it really gives a strong and delicious flavor and enhances the overall taste of the dish.
Wrapping Up | Best Substitutes for Garlic Salt
So that’s it everyone, this was it for this article, I hope this article helped you in selecting the best substitutes for garlic salt, so even if you are out of garlic salt in your kitchen, don’t worry there are plenty of garlic salt substitutes available that you can add to your dish to attain the similar or even better flavor.
I have tried my best to list all the best available substitutes for garlic salt in this article but if by any chance I missed any garlic salt substitutes that you think deserve to be on this list then do let me know by dropping a comment below and I will try to list it in this article. Till then happy cooking.