When you have a large crop of garlic from the garden or farmstand, you don't have time to casually include it in complicated recipes or to frantically figure out how to use it up before it goes bad without getting sick of it. You want to make the most of your harvest and to actually enjoy it.
Here at Plant to Plate, we like to keep things simple! Here are some of my favorite ways to use or preserve garlic:
- Don't forget the scapes! Garlic scapes are the above-ground stalks and bulblets that are harvested from garlic plants a month or so before the bulbs are ready. Garlic scapes can be substituted for garlic bulbs in nearly any of the below preparations. They are especially tasty in eggs, soups, salads, and stirfry or when mixed in with pastas.
- Sauté it with leafy greens and lemon juice, lemon balm, or lemon verbena. Other alliums like onions or leeks can be added if desired, but they are not necessary. Leafy greens include veggies like spinach, kale, chard, and anything else that is a potential Interesting Salad Base. (See what I mean here.)
- Sauté it with green beans and drizzle with honey or lemon juice.
- Sauté it with mushrooms and parsley.
- Stirfry or sauté it with bell peppers or other sweet peppers.
- Add it to other sautés and stirfry dishes.
- Roast it with potatoes and green beans.
- Roast it with fennel stalks and bulbs. Fennel leaves can also be added after roasting.
- Roast it with cauliflower and oregano.
- Grill it with bell peppers.
- Add it to eggs, alone or with greens such as spinach, chard, kale, sunflower leaves, amaranth leaves, or lambsquarter.
- Bake it with salmon and lemon balm.
- Bake it with chicken, sage, and lemon balm.
- Bake it with chicken and fennel.
- Bake it with carrots and parmesan.
- Add it to various chicken and beef dishes.
- Add it to savory baked goods.
- Add it to pasta dishes, both stovetop and baked.
- Add it to rice bowls and other grain bowls.
- Add it to tacos, quesadillas, and burritos.
- Add it to other soups and broths.
- Make tzatziki. This amazing, classic Greek dip consists of diced cucumbers, Greek yogurt, dill, garlic, and lemon juice.
- Mince it and add it to hummus, homemade or store-bought.
- Make a simple spread with garlic and cream cheese. Add cayenne powder, dried paprika, or dill (fresh or dried) if desired.
- Add it to a cheeseball.
- Add it to pesto. Although it is not required for traditional or creative pestos, garlic adds an extra zing to them.
- Make an herbed butter with it, alone or with parsley.
- Toss it with corn. Other herbs such as dill, cilantro, basil, or parsley can be added as well if desired.
- Mince it and use it as Decor in an Interesting Salad. (Wondering why I capitalized those letters? Read more about Interesting Salads here!) It complements Mediterranean-style salads especially well.
- Make herbal vinegar. Garlic-infused vinegar makes a delicious salad dressing as-is. Garlic also adds a great flavor to many other infused vinegars. It can be co-infused with a wide variety of other herbs, but a few suggestions are dill, cayenne, or sage.
- Add it to fire cider, a special type of herbal vinegar.
- Make garlic honey. An herbal honey is a delicious way to preserve the herbal properties of your garlic, extend its shelf life, and get benefits of honey too.
- Make herbal oil. Garlic can be infused in olive or avocado oil on its own or with oregano, basil, or marjoram, among others. This is another excellent salad dressing, either on its own or in combination with an herbal vinegar.
- Cure it and hang it to dry to save it for later. Cured and dried garlic bulbs can last up to 7 months when stored properly.
- Make garlic powder. Dried or dehydrated garlic can be made into garlic powder, which lasts even longer than the whole bulbs do, and used as a seasoning.
- Make garlic capsules. Dried or dehydrated garlic can also be powdered and put into capsules. Capsules are a good way to get the benefits of garlic if you do not care for its taste.
- Freeze it, whole or minced. You can also blend it and make it into cubes via an ice cube tray.
- Add it to pickles. Garlic can complement almost any pickled vegetable(s), and it works well in both traditional pickles and quick pickles.
- Add it to tomato sauce, salsas, and other sauces that are being canned or frozen. Although proper canning procedures should always be followed for safety, garlic adds a little extra insurance since it has antimicrobial properties. Of course, it also adds extra flavor!
Further Reading
Growing garlic? Check out these quick facts like its best growing conditions, companion plants, and expected yields.
Garlic is also featured in these articles:
- Quick Facts: Growing Garlic
- How to Preserve Your Harvest: Herbal Preparations
- How to Preserve Your Harvest: Root Cellar Storage
- The Interesting Salad Protocol: How to Build an Interesting Salad