How To: Dehydrate Garlic

It’s time you learn just how easy it is to dehydrate garlic at home! Whether you’re after slices, minced bits, or your own homemade garlic powder, this step-by-step guide walks you through everything you need to know, from prepping your garlic to storing it properly and using it in your favorite dishes.

Dehydrating Garlic At Home

We cook with garlic. A LOT of garlic.

My guacamole has garlic. Our brisket rub has garlic powder. My smoked salsa has garlic. Those delicious sous vide potatoes are poached in garlic butter. My half sour pickles, pickled jalapenos, and dill pickled carrots have garlic in them.

I think you get the picture!

Being that we are heavy garlic consumers, it became obvious a couple of years ago that it was time to preserve garlic (in large quantities) for year round use!

This how to guide is dedicated to garlic in everything.

Key Ingredients

Garlic

Choose fresh, firm garlic bulbs for this recipe. They definitely take a little work to peel in high quantities but the results are superior to using pre-peeled cloves. Peeled garlic cloves can work, but they are not my first choice when it comes to garlic, ever.

How To Dehydrate Garlic

Prepare Garlic Cloves:

1. Start by peeling the papery skins off the garlic. Discard all of the papery peels. Then break apart the cloves of garlic from the bulb.
2. Chop both ends off of the garlic cloves. Most people only recommend to chop the bulb end off, but we’ve learned that chopping both ends off makes for a much easier peel. Peel each clove of garlic.
3. Garlic Slices: Slice the garlic cloves in a uniform width. If you are doing dehydrated sliced garlic stop here and skip ahead.
   Minced Garlic: Mince the sliced cloves. I love to use my little chopper for this, it makes quick work of a mundane job.

Dehydrate Garlic:

1. Spread the prepared garlic on the trays of your dehydrator, aiming for as close to a single layer as possible. The less the garlic touches, the better.
2. Dehydrate the sliced or minced garlic at 105f until it’s completely dry. The garlic is ready when it snaps when folded. This can be up to or more than 12 hours, depending on the thickness of your garlic pieces and the humidity in your space.
3. Once the garlic is completely dry, allow the dehydrator trays to cool in the dehydrator for 30-45 minutes before transferring to long term storage containers. This allows the heat to dissipate and reduces the chances of condensation forming in your storage container.

Store + Condition:

1. Transfer the dried and cooled garlic to airtight storage container(s).
2. While the dried garlic pieces are in their airtight storage containers, shake the jar each day or so for the first week and observe the container for signs of moisture.
   • If there are no signs of moisture, you’re good to go, place them in a cool dark place for long-term storage!
   • If there is evidence of moisture in the container, you must add the garlic back to the dehydrator and dry it longer. After they’ve been dried the second time, you’ll need to go through the conditioning process again.

Homemade Garlic Powder

I prefer to dry my garlic and then condition it for a week to ensure it’s completely dried before I powder to prevent clumping, but you can easily allow the dried garlic to cool completely and then jump straight into the grinding process.

1. Add the chopped garlic pieces to a spice grinder or a high powered blender. I like to use my dry goods container for my Vitamix for this process! A spice grinder, dedicated coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle would also work.
2. Pulse the dried garlic in bursts until they are mostly broken down and then blend until completely smooth. It may be beneficial to work in batches, and to scrape down the sides of your grinder / blender occasionally, as the grinding process can create heat and cause clumping.
3. Pass the powder through a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl to ensure only powder is going into your spice jar and either return any chunky pieces to the grinder or transfer to their own jar for use in recipes that don’t require powdered garlic.
4. Set a funnel over your spice jar and pour the filtered garlic powder into your spice jar.

Converting Fresh To Dried

Dehydrating removes around 90% of the moisture in the garlic so the weight drops drastically, the garlic pieces themselves will also shrink in size.

The conversion from fresh to dried is going to be different for each batch, depending on slice/dice/grind. I usually find that 1/8 teaspoon dried ground garlic = 2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic.

My favorite way to determine the conversion is to fill the top rack of my dehydrator with exactly 2 cups of prepared minced or sliced garlic, and then measure the resulting volume after dehydrating and divide by 2. Then I write the conversion for that batch on a strip of painters tape and stick it to the side of my jar. That way, I always know how much of my favorite dried garlic flakes to use for a given recipe.

Using Dried Garlic

Your dry garlic can be used similarly to fresh garlic. The texture won’t be quite the same, but the flavor and aroma is there.

Use your dehydrated minced or sliced garlic:

• Add to soups, stews, and sauces for a flavor boost without the mess.
• Add to beef jerky marinade or other liquid marinades.
• Add to your fire cider.
• Spice up ferments, like mango habanero hot sauce!
• Toss into your lacto-fermented pickles, pickled jalapenos, or dill pickle hot sauce.

Use your homemade garlic powder:

• In your smoked pork butt rub.
• To season your cross rib roast.
• As an addition to your dry rubs and seasoning mixes.

Rehydrate dried garlic to use as fresh:

Simply soak the desired amount of dehydrated garlic in a small bowl of hot water for 10 or so minutes, until it reabsorbs the moisture, then mix it into your recipe as required.

Make Homemade Garlic Salt:

You can easily turn your homemade garlic powder into garlic salt. To do this, simply blend 1 part garlic powder with 3 parts coarse salt in the blender.

For example, 1/4 cup garlic powder + 3/4 cups of coarse salt into the blender and pulse a few times to get them well combined!

Batch + Storage

Batch: 

There is no limit to how much garlic you can dehydrate using this method, aside from your available dehydrator space, and your desire to peel pounds and pounds of garlic!

Storage:

Dehydrated garlic, when properly stored in an airtight container, preferably glass jar, in a climate-controlled location will maintain its quality for at least 12 months. Aim to keep yours in a cool, dark location, away from light that can degrade the quality during long term storage.

If you make your own garlic powder or garlic salt, store it the same way you’d store bought garlic powder – in a cool, dark cupboard!

Long Term Storage:

• Room Temperature:
  You can store your sliced or minced dehydrated garlic in a clean glass mason jar with the lid tightly screwed in a cool, dark cupboard for a number of years. It works great, and this is how I store my garlic.
  If you want to go the extra step when making a large batch, you can use your Food Saver Jar vacuum seal attachment to suck out any excess air. This will keep your food fresher even longer!
• Freezer:
  You can put your dried garlic into a mason jar or other freezer-safe, airtight container, and place it in the freezer indefinitely.

Reducing Drying Time

When it comes to any dehydrated food, drying time is crucial. The longer the drying time, the less tender and flavorful the rehydrated items become.

It’s important to prepare your garlic in uniform pieces, whether that be slices, strips, mince, or grated. One of the easiest ways to ensure consistency is to use a chopper or food processor or a really sharp knife! This ensures that most of the pieces are sufficiently dried within the same timeframe.

Leaving space between the pieces on the trays is another way to help reduce drying time. Sounds simple, but it allows airflow around all sides of the garlic pieces, ensuring even drying.

Some hurdles are harder to overcome than consistent knife skills and spreading the bits. High humidity in your home or rainy days can drastically affect the drying time, expect your garlic to take much longer when the humidity is higher.

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Excalibur Food Dehydrator

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Vitamix Dry Grains Container

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