How much minced garlic equals one clove?

I have a jar of pre-minced garlic in the fridge, but am not sure how much of that would equate to one clove of garlic.

Sean,Murray
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49 Comments

Jacque March 2, 2021
I see some snooty prickish types here, enough of the snarky comments.
 
duhg August 17, 2020
According to Clubhouse spices, 1 tsp (5 mL) = 2-3 garlic cloves
 
Rae B. June 19, 2020
I find this whole thing shocking. And the best reply doesn't even answer the question but is instead a snarky comment about what they would do? Nobody asked anyone for their opinion, just what is the equivalent. Thank god I didn't come here for the answer. After seeing this I went with food.com and found 1/2 a teaspoon is the equivalent of 1 clove. There now I and anyone looking for answer will know the answer.
 
Lori M. August 8, 2020
One tbsp of minced garlic equals 3 cloves of garlic
 
Gaye L. September 22, 2020
Thanks!!!
 
Dan W. December 13, 2020
Thank you have been trying to find this out and you solved the problem for me
 
Brigid J. May 11, 2020
This thread is wild lol
 
Dgamzon November 24, 2019
I’ve found success using 1 tsp of minced or chopped garlic as a “glove” of garlic. If you really like to use the real thing, you can prepare what you need in advance and add olive oil to keep fresh and refrigerate.
 
Kaz June 15, 2017
I love both fresh and minced.
I looked up same question and got here.
I am using fresh minced garlic in a tube....no preservatives!!! I think im going to run with half a teaspoon per minced....wish me luck!!!
 
CJ January 21, 2017
NEVER NEVER use pre-minced garlic, fresh is so much better. As far as I am concerned if the meal doesn't have garlic in it it's probably not worth eating (except for most desserts). Both my wife and I are very good cooks, remember if you are using pre-minced garlic from the store it's packed in oil or something else. Depending on the dish I usually use 2X (cloves) more than the recipe calls for, NEVER had a complaint.
 
Damion J. November 16, 2019
Pre-minced garlic is perfectly fine....once I discovered you could buy it pre-minced, I stopped going through the hassle of doing it myself.
 
bubblybutt11 May 14, 2020
ur breath must smell good
 
AS666 July 15, 2016
This is an old question with some old answers. However, I must say that I also use minced garlic in a jar because I can use a whole head of fresh garlic, and barely taste it. The amount of minced garlic I use must equal about ten or so average cloves, and even then it's subtle. I use a heaping tablespoon of minced per kilo of meat, up to a heaped tablespoon plus another half a tablespoon if it's up to 1.5 kilos of meat. Basically tho, I use 1 heaping TBS per dish. The flavour in minced, jarred garlic is more potent, possibly because it's preserved in salt and vinegar, and it's quicker to dip your TBS into a jar and toss it in the pan, or mix it up when making cold dressings, marinades, etc. I cook for a large family, and since I use fresh ingredients except garlic, I have decided that saving time by using the garlic that my taste prefers anyhow, is best for me. It also saves money, as fresh garlic here in new zealand is very expensive. The original question was about equivalent, but so many answers were about the asker's personal choice and reason for using the minced, which is actually trivial, judgmental, and beside the point. But, it's important to fight the good fight, yeah, garlic. Yay.
 
rldougherty May 1, 2016
Wow, I came to this thread because I did meal planning and prep and I require about 13 cloves of garlic this week. I decided to do it all at once today since it is a busy week, and was wondering what the rough equivalent in teaspoons, a clove of garlic was. I read through all the snark and now I have my answer. Yes, fresh garlic is best. Applause to anyone that is trying to be a better home chef, no matter what kind of garlic you are using.
 
Richard February 24, 2016
You will never get the flavor of fresh garlic from a jar, so, there is no equivalent.
 
Damion J. November 16, 2019
Nah, it's about the same.
 
Smaug October 29, 2015
Recipe writing is an inexact process, especially if you want to keep it short enough that anyone will read it. They're full of things like cloves of garlic, half onions etc. that you just have to guess at an average sized piece of garlic. Then there are things like "a cup of basil leaves" that could be anything from two leaves to a quarter pound, or the notorious "cup of flour" that depends entirely on how you measure it. Sometimes, you just have to fall back on your own taste and experience.
 
Susan October 29, 2015
It is usually 1/2 teaspoon
 
Antoinette C. March 30, 2019
Thank you Susan. Just the answer to the question... Lol
So many had so much to say, and still did not answer the question... Have a great day
 
Susan April 1, 2019
I noticed that, too, Antoinette! HAHA! I usually don't have time after work when preparing dinner to peel and mince fresh garlic, so I use the minced jar kind and it works fine for me!
 
Clark M. May 10, 2019
Thank you Susan for a straight up answer
 
Ellen P. October 27, 2019
Thank you Susan!
 
Wellington W. October 29, 2015
OK, people. Are u ready for this?? How about taking a spoon from the silverware drawer...and filling it with minced garlic. That, my friends, is a teaspoon of minced garlic!! How lazy have we become?!
 
Susan W. October 29, 2015
I don't think you read the question correctly.
 
Wellington W. October 29, 2015
You are, of course, correct! However, I was responding to the "other responders" who were discussing how much minced garlic = one teaspoon. Sincerest apologies for my snarky and politically incorrect comment!
 
Casualcook February 21, 2016
Obviously some of us have become too lazy to read every word in a question before getting snarky about being too lazy to measure out "how much is a teaspoon of minced garlic?"
Unless I misread the question (which I doubt since the reason I'm in here in the first place is because I had the same question) & everyone but you also misread it, the question was "how much minced garlic equals 1 garlic clove?"
Also I'm not a pro chef but I do consider myself a pretty good cook & can follow any recipe, but I had to point out that even if the original question had been along the lines of "how much minced garlic is in a teaspoon?" Your answer is still wrong bc not all spoons in your flatware drawer are actually exact teaspoons or tablespoons. Your answer should have been to use a measuring spoon. But again since that wasn't even the question at hand you probably should have just kept your snotty reply to yourself.
Unless of course your entire purpose in answering was to teach ppl what "irony" is.
 
Casualcook February 21, 2016
Obviously some of us have become too lazy to read every word in a question before getting snarky about being too lazy to measure out "how much is a teaspoon of minced garlic?"
Unless I misread the question (which I doubt since the reason I'm in here in the first place is because I had the same question) & everyone but you also misread it, the question was "how much minced garlic equals 1 garlic clove?"
Also I'm not a pro chef but I do consider myself a pretty good cook & can follow any recipe, but I had to point out that even if the original question had been along the lines of "how much minced garlic is in a teaspoon?" Your answer is still wrong bc not all spoons in your flatware drawer are actually exact teaspoons or tablespoons. Your answer should have been to use a measuring spoon. But again since that wasn't even the question at hand you probably should have just kept your snotty reply to yourself.
Unless of course your entire purpose in answering was to teach ppl what "irony" is.
 
Casualcook February 21, 2016
I'm not sure why my reply is shown twice but maybe my phone is adamant about it?
Lol
 
Antoinette C. March 30, 2019
The question was, " how many teaspoons equal the measurements of a clove of minced garlic"? Since some of us are using pre minced garlic
 
Susan April 1, 2019
Thank you Casualcook!!! I agree 100%! A "teaspoon" in your silverware drawer certainly doesn't equal a "measuring teaspoon"!!! Wellington W. -- DUH!
 
Linda M. April 15, 2019
Casualcook, THANK YOU. These people have too much time and too little humility.
 
Linda M. April 15, 2019
So smart ass, if the recipe calls for 4 cloves of garlic, how many teaspoons of pre-minced garlic are YOU going to use???
 
sheilag July 3, 2014
The ONLY correct answer is
However much you want it to be. There is almost no such thing as too much garlic
 
Bob L. April 17, 2014
You can never have to much garlic.
 
nicholed92 April 17, 2014
The jar says 1/2 a teaspoon equals on clove.
 
Linda M. April 15, 2019
Some jars don't though.
 
Sara,Comerford December 17, 2013
I always go with two tsp is one clove... But then again when I cook and it says "add two cloves garlic" I always like to add a few more for good measure because I love garlic!
 
Roxilicious December 14, 2013
I think it's about 1/4 a teaspoon or one full teaspoon
 
Bluemoonske December 1, 2013
Most cloves are different sizes! A teaspoon would be a sufficient guide per recipe listing of "clove". Unless your taste buds disagree.

This can also depend on how much you like or dislike garlic. I love it. So a tsp for me would become a tbsp!!
 
ATG117 July 3, 2013
I always add garlic according to my taste and what seems right, but I agree its probably about a 1/2 teaspoon. I'd also say that if you have the option to use fresh garlic, I would. The taste is significantly better.
 
ChefOno February 9, 2013
I've always considered "clove" to be a useless measurement. Look at the variation on this page -- anywhere from 1/4 tsp. to 1 Tbs., that's a variation of 1200%

I use the conversion of 1 clove = 1 tsp. I believe Cook's Illustrated does the same.

 
Athena103181 February 8, 2013
My jar says 1/2 tsp= 1 clove. Depends how finely chopped it is.
 

Voted the Best Reply!

bigpan March 28, 2012
Sorry, I would toss the "packaged" garlic that has chemical preservatives in it in favor of spending the 20 seconds it takes to chop or mince fresh real garlic cloves.
 
Lisa M. December 3, 2013
It's quite a bit longer than 20 seconds and if it's ORGANIC Garlic then there aren't any preservatives.
 
duhg August 17, 2020
Depending on the size of the cloves, 1 tsp = 2-3 cloves. So, about half a tsp per clove might be the answer to the original question.

Packaged garlic has chemical preservatives? One of the worst foods to top the list is garlic imported from China.
Garlic. In 2015 we imported 138 million pounds of garlic- a fair chunk of it labeled as “organic”. Chinese garlic is bleached with a chemical broth that stops sprouting and then is often disinfected with methyl bromide- a known toxin that causes respiratory and central nerve system damage. (The disinfecting is down to kill pathogens in the raw sewage used to grow the garlic) Be aware, foreign “organic” labels are meaningless.
Pesticides are a big issue in China’s agriculture. The country doesn’t have any laws to regulate the use of pesticides, so farmers can use them at will to produce as many products as possible in a short amount of time.
The pesticides are particularly harmful to garlic. Garlic is incredibly absorbent and will soak up anything around it, including pesticides. If you’re eating garlic imported from China, your body is getting a huge hit of all those harmful chemicals. For your own health, stay far away from Chinese garlic.
Other than that, I do not buy ANY foods from China anymore.

 
Esther P. March 28, 2012
I have frozen chopped garlic, and it says on the pack that a teaspoon is the equivalent of one clove. Per minced rather than chopped might be a bit less than that I guess, but not by much.
 
Author Comment
Cloves of garlic can range in size from half a teaspoon, to half a tablespoon, and up to a tablespoon i'd say.
The decision is yours how much garlic to add, if you like garlic go a little heavier on it, otherwise stick to about teaspoon depending on the recipe.
I also reccomend mincing your own fresh garlic. If you dont want to chop it fresh every time, I have a solution. Here at Wholefoods, we sell whole peeled fresh garlic cloves and every week i throw them in my food processor to mince it and put it right back in the same container and use that all week. That way everytime i need garlic, i just grab a spoonful out of it. Sometimes I'll add a little olive oil to it to make it it last longer. Hope that helps!
 
jmburns March 28, 2012
About 1/4 teaspoon. It should should say on jar
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx March 28, 2012
If you look on the lid the conversion is usually located there.
 
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