Garlic Salt: What’s in the Jar, How Much Sodium It Carries, and How to Use It

Garlic salt is salt blended with dried garlic, and it’s mostly salt. McCormick’s carries 540 mg of sodium per ¼ teaspoon,¹ not far off the 590 mg in the same measure of Morton’s iodized table salt.² So spoon for spoon, garlic salt is a salt that tastes of garlic, and you should measure it like one. And since the two come locked together, you can’t add more garlic flavor without adding more salt.

At a glance

What’s in it

Garlic salt is a blend, and the blend changes by brand. Two common US jars show how much:

Neither label gives the ratio of salt to garlic. For a homemade version, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources gives 4 parts salt to 1 part garlic powder, blended briefly, so salt is four-fifths of the mix.⁴

The garlic is dried garlic. Powdered or dehydrated garlic is usually made from cloves that are sliced and dried at a low temperature. McCormick says its garlic salt starts with fresh, whole garlic, dried and ground before it’s blended with a touch of garlic oil and salt.¹ The anticaking agent keeps the blend pouring; McCormick’s is calcium silicate.

Flavor and the compounds behind it

In garlic, the enzyme alliinase acts on alliin to create allicin, and heat can inactivate alliinase.⁶ America’s Test Kitchen found that garlic powder straight from the jar hasn’t developed its full flavor, and that mixing it with water first activates alliin and alliinase to create allicin.⁷ That test was on garlic powder. We found no equivalent test on garlic salt.

In the jar, garlic salt tastes of salt first and garlic second. The garlic is the milder, rounder flavor of dried garlic, without the bite of fresh cloves. And since the two come locked together, you can’t add more garlic flavor without adding more salt.

Origin and history

Garlic is native from Central Asia to northeastern Iran. We found no record of who first sold garlic salt or when, and no source for its early history, so we’re not going to guess at one.

How garlic salt is used

As the salt in a dish. Garlic salt works best when it replaces some or all of the plain salt, not when it goes in on top. McCormick suggests it for burgers, chili, tacos and meatloaf. It’s also a familiar choice for garlic bread, rubs for grilled meat, roasted potatoes, popcorn and roasted nuts.

In place of fresh garlic. NDSU Extension pairs ¾ teaspoon of garlic salt with one medium clove of garlic or ½ teaspoon of minced fresh garlic.⁵ Switching from garlic salt to fresh garlic takes salt out of the dish, so add plain salt back to taste. Going the other way, cut the recipe’s salt.

Getting more garlic flavor. Going by America’s Test Kitchen’s result for garlic powder, stir garlic salt into a little water, butter or the dish’s liquid before you use it, instead of sprinkling it dry into a hot pan.⁷

Buying and quality

Read the ingredient list. A plain garlic salt lists salt and garlic and maybe an anticaking agent; others add parsley, sugar, starch or color. Sodium varies by brand too: per ¼ teaspoon, McCormick’s has about 54% more than Lawry’s.¹³ Once a jar no longer smells clearly of garlic, it’s time to replace it.

Storage

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources says to pack dried garlic in an airtight container.⁴ We found no shelf-life figure for garlic salt from a regulator or standards body. Keep it closed, dry and away from heat, like your other ground seasonings.

Safety and health

Sodium. At McCormick’s figure of 540 mg per ¼ teaspoon, one teaspoon of garlic salt carries about 2,160 mg of sodium, close to the FDA’s Daily Value of less than 2,300 mg a day.¹⁸ The World Health Organization recommends that adults stay below 2,000 mg of sodium a day and names raised blood pressure as the main health effect of eating too much.⁹ Table salt is about 40% sodium,¹⁰ and garlic salt is mostly salt.

Health claims. You’ll sometimes read that garlic salt supplies useful amounts of iron, copper, vitamin B6, amino acids and fiber. At the amounts anyone actually eats, sodium is the number that matters, and we found no analysis showing garlic salt as a meaningful source of any of those. The garlic research summarized by the NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health is about garlic supplements: limited evidence suggests they may lower blood pressure, and they may lower total cholesterol.¹¹ None of that applies to a salt blend, and we’re not claiming it does.

Substitutes and comparisons

• Garlic salt substitutes
• Garlic powder vs. garlic salt
• Garlic powder, granulated garlic vs. garlic powder and garlic powder vs. fresh garlic
• Garlic and too much garlic powder
• Other flavored salts: onion salt, celery salt, seasoned salt
• Table salt and too much salt