What Is Garlic paste and How Can I Use It?
Wondering what to do with garlic paste? This guide covers how to pick it, cook it, store it, and swap it, plus 33 recipes to put it to work.
Key Points
- Garlic cloves pureed smooth, jarred or homemade, for fast even garlic flavor without mincing.
- A workhorse of Indian and Pakistani curries, rice, and marinades, often as ginger-garlic paste.
- Roughly 1⁄2 teaspoon of paste replaces one fresh clove; 1⁄8 teaspoon powder also subs.
- Burns fast over high heat, so add it once the onions have softened.
- Never leave homemade garlic-in-oil paste at room temperature; botulism risk means refrigerate or freeze.
What is garlic paste?
Garlic paste is exactly what the name says: garlic cloves crushed down to a smooth puree, with nothing chunky left to bite. It comes two ways.
You can buy it in a jar, blended with a little oil plus salt and an acid like citric acid to keep it shelf-stable. Or you make it in seconds at home from fresh cloves.
The whole point is convenience. It drops a hit of garlic into a sauce or marinade without the peeling and mincing and the sticky bits stuck to your board every time.
In Indian and Pakistani cooking it is a daily workhorse, usually paired with ginger as ginger-garlic paste. It gets stirred into curries and rice and marinades by the spoonful.
How to Use Garlic Paste
Because it is already smooth, paste melts into a dish instead of sitting on top of it. Stir it into a warm pan of oil at the start of a curry and it cooks down fast.
Keep the heat moderate and the spoon moving, or it scorches and turns bitter.
It works best anywhere you want garlic spread evenly through a liquid. Whisk it into a marinade or a salad dressing or a pan sauce and you get garlic in every bite with no stray chunks.
Biryani Rice Recipe and Creamy Navrattan Korma both lean on it to build the base flavor before the spices go in. Jumbo Prawn Curry uses it the same way, cooked into the masala so the garlic disappears into the gravy.
It also works raw. A spoonful whisked into a Rosemary Lemon Grilled Chicken Recipe marinade coats the meat far more evenly than minced cloves ever would.
Cooking and Pairing
Garlic paste keeps the company garlic always keeps: ginger, onion, chile, cumin, and tomato in a curry base, or lemon and olive oil and herbs in a marinade. Chicken Curry (Dhawan) brings those together around a spoon of it.
The mistake people make is treating it as a free pour. A jar is concentrated, and the salt and acid in a commercial one add up, so taste before you salt the dish.
The other trap is burning it. Paste has more surface area than a minced clove, so it catches and goes acrid in seconds over high heat. Add it after the onions have softened, not to a screaming-hot empty pan.
A jarred paste sometimes tastes a little sour or tinny. That is the citric acid added for shelf life, and a short cook in fat mellows it.
Substitutes
The most honest swap is fresh garlic, since that is what paste is made of. Roughly 1⁄2 teaspoon of paste stands in for one medium clove, so a recipe wanting three cloves needs about 1 1⁄2 teaspoons.
Mince the cloves fine, or smash them to a paste with a pinch of salt under the flat of your knife.
Garlic powder works in a dry rub or when you have nothing fresh, but it is not a flavor match. Use about 1⁄8 teaspoon of powder per clove, and expect a flatter, toastier note without the bright bite of the real thing.
Granulated garlic and jarred minced garlic both slot in too. Minced garlic in oil is the closest in taste; just chop or mash it finer if your dish needs the smoothness that paste gives.
Buying and Storage
Jarred garlic paste lives in the refrigerated section or the shelf-stable condiment aisle, often beside the ginger-garlic paste in Indian and Asian groceries. Read the label, since some are pure garlic while others add oil and salt and preservatives that change how much you need.
Once opened, keep the jar refrigerated and use it within about three to four weeks. Always use a clean spoon, since a wet one brings in the moisture and bacteria that spoil it early.
Homemade paste is best made fresh. Raw garlic in oil at room temperature can grow Clostridium botulinum, so never leave a homemade garlic-and-oil paste on the counter; refrigerate it and use it within a couple of days.
Freezing is the trick for batches. Spoon fresh paste into an ice-cube tray and freeze it solid, then bag the cubes for up to three months and drop one straight into a hot pan.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 蒜泥
- British (UK) term
- Garlic paste
- en français
- la pâte d'ail
- en español
- pasta de ajo
Recipes using garlic paste
There are 33 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Rosemary Lemon Grilled Chicken Recipe
A sensational treat for your taste buds as well as tummy, the Rosemary & Lemon Grilled Chicken is a no-fuss recipe that can be had anytime of the day. Packed with flavours, it is a healthy and nutritious alternative to other fried chicken recipes. A meal by itself, it can also be served with a side of salad, mashed potatoes and gravy for an extravagant meal experience.
Creamy Navrattan Korma
Vegetable Korma is a delicious combination of several vegetables in a creamy sauce. It is often served in Indian restaurants. Korma can be served with any Indian bread or rice.
Horseradish-Garlic Burgers
Horseradish garlic burgers with thyme, chives, and melted Havarti on toasted onion rolls. Grilled gourmet patties with bold, sharp flavor.
Biryani Rice Recipe
Fragrant Indian chicken biryani layered with saffron-streaked basmati rice, tender potatoes, and a spiced yogurt-tomato sauce with cardamom, cloves, and cumin. Served with sweetened whipped yogurt.
Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with Roasted
Herb-crusted rack of lamb seared and finished with compound herb butter, served over mesquite-grilled pepper ragout with socca and olive tapenade. Restaurant-level Provencal cooking.
Tikka Murgh
Chicken leg pieces marinated in spiced yogurt with ginger-garlic paste, mace, cumin, and gram flour, then roasted on skewers. Cook it tandoor-style, on the grill, or in your oven.
Mild Curry Base
British Indian Restaurant style mild curry base with ghee, garlic, curry paste, and curry gravy. The fast home cook's foundation for making takeaway-style curries in 15 minutes.
Baked Squash & Yams (Vegan)
Vegan baked squash and yams layered with tomato sauce, soy milk, and chili garlic paste. A plant-based casserole with a sweet, savory, and spicy edge.
Zesty Hot & Sour Soup
Hot and sour shrimp soup built on a quick homemade broth simmered from the shrimp shells, with tender chayote, mushrooms, fresh lemon juice for the sour bite, and chili paste for the heat. A bright, light take on the takeout classic.
Arugula & Chanterelle Mushroom Ravioli
Delicate homemade ravioli filled with wilted arugula, sautéed chanterelle mushrooms, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, served over more arugula and mushrooms with brown chicken sauce. Restaurant-quality Italian pasta at home.
Cheese & Herb Spread.
No-cook cheese and herb spread with cheddar, chives, parsley, and garlic blended with low-fat soft cheese and yogurt. Freezes for up to 3 months. Ready in 10 minutes.
Curry Stock
Aromatic curry stock simmered with onions, ginger, garlic, ghee, cloves, and cardamom. The foundation every Indian curry, biryani, or dal deserves in place of plain water.
Warm Sweet Potato Salad
Roasted sweet potato salad with five-spice, watercress, toasted almonds, and tangy goat cheese for warm vegetable sides ready in 60 minutes.
True Garlic Bread
True garlic bread machine loaf with roasted garlic puree, butter, and a half-whole-wheat, half-white flour blend. A genuine garlic-infused yeast bread.
Handi Chicken
Handi chicken is the dum-style Pakistani classic: bone-in chicken cooked in a sealed earthenware pot with yogurt, whole spices, and paya (lamb foot) stock for deep flavor.
Lamb Patties
If you like trying new things, then you will love this succulent dish that will instantly find its place in your cookbook!
Yogurt Chicken with Garlic-Mint Dipping Sauce
Yogurt chicken oven-bakes plain yogurt-dipped, breadcrumb-coated chicken legs and thighs to crispy golden tenderness. Served with a vibrant garlic-mint herb dipping sauce.
Let-Um Have It Eggplant
Fried eggplant rounds with Parmesan crust topped with a creamy crab and shrimp sauce flavored with liquid crab boil, cream cheese, and Tabasco. A Cajun-style showstopper.
Chicken Curry (Dhawan)
Fragrant North Indian chicken curry built on toasted cumin, cardamom, and cloves with a rich tomato-onion masala base. This home-style Dhawan family recipe simmers tender chicken breast in warming spices in under 45 minutes.
Garlic-Stuffed Mushrooms
Garlic stuffed mushrooms with pecans, parmesan, and a folded-in roasted garlic bechamel, baked hot until the filling sets and the tops blush with cayenne.
Seafood Baked in a Package
Swordfish and shrimp baked in a foil packet with garlic-tarragon butter and white wine, then crowned with a silky cream pan sauce. An elegant, fuss-free seafood dinner that steams in its own juices.
El Charro Barbacoa
El Charro Barbacoa, shredded slow-simmered beef brisket (or eye of round) layered with roasted green chile, chile colorado salsa, green olives, tomatoes and jalapenos. Tucson-style barbacoa with bright, complex heat.
El Charro Barbacoa
El Charro Barbacoa, shredded slow-simmered beef brisket (or eye of round) layered with roasted green chile, chile colorado salsa, green olives, tomatoes and jalapenos. Tucson-style barbacoa with bright, complex heat.
Indian Hot Chicken Curry
Hot Indian chicken curry blooms cumin and cardamom in oil, then builds a tomato-onion masala with ginger, garlic, and Thai chili. Garam masala spiced, served over rice.
Basic Spanish Rice
Spanish rice made with brown rice, fresh pureed tomatoes, bacon, green peppers, and a touch of molasses. Simmered on the stove then baked until tender and deeply flavored.
Flank Steak with Garlic Wine Sauce
Flank steak seared hot and finished with a pan sauce of red wine, garlic, scallions, and mounted butter. Classic steakhouse technique in about 30 minutes at home.
Baked Potato with Tuna, Cheese & Sweet Corn
Loaded baked potato topped with a zesty tuna, sweet corn, and cheddar mixture spiked with ginger, garlic, and hot sauce. A fast, filling meal where a crisp-skinned potato meets a creamy, spicy topping.
Egg & Potato Curry
Egg and potato curry simmers cubed potatoes in a ginger-garlic masala gravy, finished with hard-boiled egg quarters and fresh cilantro. A classic Pakistani comfort dish.
Malai Chicken
Malai chicken is a creamy North Indian curry: chicken simmered with whole spices, ginger garlic paste, tomato, and finished with heavy whipping cream. Mild, rich, and perfect with naan or basmati rice.
Jumbo Prawn Curry
This curry is a delicasy in the Indian state of Goa. It has plenty of coconut and some chilly which go very well with prawns.
Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Rice
Leg of lamb stuffed with rice rolls a butterflied Pakistani-spiced lamb leg around a mushroom and rice filling, roasted to carving-perfect for a showstopper holiday main.
Curry Gravy
Indian curry gravy base with garlic, ginger, onion, and tomato purees cooked in ghee with turmeric, cumin, and curry powder. Make 10 portions and freeze for quick curries.
Curry Masala Gravy
A batch-cook curry base gravy with garlic, ginger, onion puree, and tomatoes. Make 10 portions, freeze, and shortcut your way through weeknight curries.
