Grown Your Own! Garlic to Garlic Powder

I planted garlic for the first time this past fall in my mid Missouri, zone 6B garden.  I planted in October and harvested mid/end of June, just in time to get my bush beans planted!

Making garlic powder was super easy! It smells and tastes sooo good!  We love some garlic at our house and for sure will be planting twice as many bulbs this fall.  Turning garlic into garlic powder was pretty effortless although I did have to purchase a dehydrator and coffee (spice) grinder.  

This is how I grew garlic and turned garlic bulbs into garlic powder AT HOME MY WAY.

Garlic Bulbs to Garlic Powder

Supplies needed:

• Garlic bulbs (I used about 20 large bulbs and got about one pint of garlic powder.)
• Food processor
• Dehydrator (I got a good deal on mine from a "return/ overstock" store.)
• Coffee (spice) grinder (This is the one I bought.)  (I like that the cup is removable.)
• A few glass canning jars
• Optional:  Jar Vacuum sealer  (I got THIS ONE from Amazon.)  

Growing Garlic:

I planted garlic bulbs in my 3'x6' metal raised bed after prepping my bed by adding a bag of compost and a good sprinkle of 5-5-5 organic fertilizer.  After planting the bulbs, I watered well with Alaska Fish Fertilizer mixed according to the instructions on the jug.  Once the garlic shoots popped up and grew to about six inches, I mulched with EZ straw and watered well so that my mulch wouldn't blow away. I watered occasionally until our temps dropped below freezing.  Winter set in.  It snowed, sleeted, rained and I just kept hoping that my garlic would do it's thing in the spring.

Spring came and the garlic grew!  I harvested scapes on May 28, 2025.  Here's the link to my post about garlic scapes, what those are, and what to do with them (I made stirfry with them).  (Harvesting the scapes causes the bulbs to grow larger.  An added bonus is they are DELICIOUS!)

I harvested my garlic bulbs on June 24, 2025.  Whoa!  They were huge (Music garlic typically has large bulbs and I was thrilled!)  After harvesting, I "cured" my unwashed garlic by storing for about three weeks  laid out and not touching on a piece of cardboard in my shed where it was hot and dry. Most folks hang garlic upside down to do this, but I just didn't have a place to do that, and I'm a big believer in "start where you are".  After curing, I trimmed off the leaves and roots and placed the bulbs in a basket for storing in the house.

To Make the Powder:

Garlic bulbs were separated into cloves and peeled and "minced" in two batches in my food processor.  I pulsed to "mince" the garlic cloves watching carefully not to process too long.  

Minced garlic was spread on my dehydrator trays.  I used the solid liners with a lip that came with my unit and topped them with parchment paper. 

 

I placed my dehydrator in the garage so that it didn't permeate every part of my home with garlic.  I dehydrated at 125 degrees for about 24 hours total, checking every 8 hours or so until the pieces felt "breakable".  (They looked like cornflakes.) Our garage smelled like the best garlic toast you ever had in your life!  😃 

 

I placed the garlic flakes into glass canning jars and stored them in the house for two weeks before I had time to make the garlic powder.  I shook the jars once a day to make sure they weren't sticking.  (If sticking occurs, dehydrate a little bit longer.)

Turning it into powder was super easy!  I filled my coffee/spice grinder about half full per batch and pulsed until it was a fine powder.  I used a strainer over parchment paper and kind of tapped the strainer to "sift" the powder out.  If any big pieces were left, I ground them in the next batch.  

I plan to use my jar vacuum sealer to "seal" the jar of powder to keep it from getting any moisture.  (Tip:  Make sure not to shake your powder over a steaming pot because that would let in some moisture.)  

We are super happy with our home grown garlic powder!  We made garlic bread with it, sprinkled it on hashbrowns, and used it to season steaks.  It tasted exactly like we were expecting!   Who knew you could make your own garlic powder?  

Special thanks to Aaron and Deanna at Homestead and Chill and Its Bre Ellis for so much useful information and for being so kind to answer my questions.  I attribute my inspiration for growing my own garlic and making my own garlic powder to both Homestead and Chill and to Bre Ellis on YouTube.  You guys make the process seem so easy and possible, even for a beginner like me.  I will do my best to pay it forward and encourage others to give it a try.  For the best tips and tricks for growing garlic, please visit Homestead and Chill and Bre Ellis.  These two sites will set you up for success in "growing your own" garlic to garlic powder! 

This summer has taught me that home gardens aren't just for tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini.  I set out this year to grow everything I needed for spaghetti sauce.  So far I have harvested tomatoes, oregano and garlic powder.  Next is onion powder and basil.  I'm almost there and you can do it too!

I am sharing this post at Harvest Mondays - Dave's Happy Acres Blog.  We are all growing different things in different parts of the world and it's so fun to see a day in the life of those of us who love to garden, take pics, and blog about it!  Please check out all of the gardens featured there this week.

Enjoy!

Gina