It's nice in guacamole...

Garlic powder gets sprinkled on a slice of pizza, and nothing else. At least that's all I've ever used it for :-)

Need it for Chex-mix.

Yes, I cook with garlic powder and use it for many of the things you listed above. I use it alot in lieu of fresh garlic because my husband can't stand biting into garlic pieces, this way he gets the garlic taste but not actually eating the garlic.

Pizza is why I have garlic powder. Though I will consider adding it to a tomato soup. Mashed potatoes?

The main thing with garlic powder--if you're going to use it, REPLACE it every so often. It will go stale/bitter long before you will use it up.

In my experience, garlic powder works well when you're trying to infuse garlic taste into something where you either need it to be evenly spread or where you don't want the texture of real garlic. I've used it in savory crepe batter, in some sauces and soups, etc.

Definitely. I really dislike preparing garlic unless I'm giving a dish my full effort.

I also have really happy memories of making garlic bread -- on hot dog buns, of all things -- in the toaster with my siblings when I was little. Why we insisted on hot dog buns? Who knows

I don't use the powder much, but garlic salt sprinkled over veggies or bread before broiling/roasting/toasting. It's delish!

Instead of garlic powder, I use granulated garlic - it's basically freeze dried and tastes fresher to me. I use it to make garlic bread, in smooth sauces, and in anything I want to caramelize so the garlic doesn't burn. It also makes great chunk-free garlic butter!

I'm all for it! I use it in chili, soups, guacamole...and probably some other things that aren't coming to mind right now.

Indispensable in Cajun recipes. No substitute for garlic - fresh, roasted or garlic oil. A useful and different ingredient altogether.

One persons opinion.

A must in a dry rub.

i use it when making ground beef for tacos (with oregano, onion powder, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and tobasco), burgers, and "poor man's tomato soup," which is just canned whole tomatoes, garlic powder, salt and pepper, olive oil and thyme. i also use a ton of fresh garlic, so i think it comes out even in the end. it's just great to have on hand, i think.

Garlic powder is definitely way at the back of the spice drawer. In our house we only seem to use it for making a seasoning or spice mix like creole seasoning or chili powder or making sausages. And any left over garlic powder turns into a hard mass so each time it's called for we have to go and buy some new stuff.

For regular cooking it's always fresh...but you've got me thinking.

@wwoolsey: if you crush your garlic (and a bit of coarse salt) well enough with the blade of your knife after you mince it there shouldn't be any discernible pieces in your finished dish. Or just grate the garlic on a microplane.

I seem to recall Alton Brown, in an episode of Good Eats, talking about the benefits of using garlic powder in cooking. I can't remember all the specifics, except garlic powder needs to be reconstituted, and you should always read labels as many brands use filler.

Its great for us college kids who don't have the space/time/etc to prepare real garlic for dishes.

Garlic powder, along with salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce can make even the cheapest cut of steak delicious.

mix with dry mustard and pepper and rub on a roast... cook. better if you let it sit for a day, but a great quick and dirty crust on a piece of meat.

I always keep fresh garlic. It tastes much better, isn't very expensive, and keeps for a while. My MIL swears by garlic powder as a health supplement and pours it by the tablespoon on her food (which you can totally tell when you talk to her). I know that the fresh stuff tastes better and, if thoroughly cooked in your food, doesn't give you garlic breath.

I'm with Phoxx on this - garlic powder is not a substitute for fresh garlic but an entirely different (and good) ingredient. To me, it has a completely different taste and is thus used for completely different things -- not just different kinds of dishes, but for different flavors and effects. Red beans 'n' rice, for example. There are times when I'm going for a rich, kicky flavor, and obviously only real garlic is going to work. But other times, I want a comfort food flavor - sort of mellowly sweet, salty, and spicy - and garlic powder does a much better job of providing that than real fresh garlic.

I'll also add that lately I've found myself using garlic powder in the place of table salt. Frequently, I think, I reach for salt because I feel that something needs a little more flavor -- NOT because it actually needs salt -- and garlic powder (and certain other seasonings) are way better at doing that and way better for you.

i'll second the comment about chex-mix. you just can't make it without garlic powder. that said, chex-mix is about the only thing i use it for.
garlic salt, on the other hand, i use all the time. a quick sprinkle on buttered toast, over salad or on grilled chicken adds a ton of flavor.
but i would never use the powder or salt in place of fresh, chopped garlic.

Wow. I must be the only one here that uses it on a fairly regular basis.
I use the fresh stuff on occasion. But usually I'll reach for the powder in a pinch.

i use garlic powder frequently, though mostly to supplement dishes i make at breakfast or lunch. i have 3 kids & we homeschool...i don't have time to use fresh garlic for every meal and since i'm the only one that appreciates it at lunch time, i like to add garlic powder to hot sandwiches or quesadillas or eggs. i like using sea salt with garlic powder so i can control the saltiness & get more garlicky taste than using garlic salt.

I use garlic in all its forms, including powder. It's great on pizza and adds flavor to soups and savory sauces. It's also good to season meat and to make garlic toast.

i use garlic powder every time i use fresh garlic for an extra note of garlicy flavor. I also use it for dips for a less harsh flavor and its a must for dry rubs

never. get a mortar and pestle.

Count me as a fan. I used it the other day to sprinkle over cauliflower as it was going into the oven.

I don't think it tastes even remotely like real garlic, so if it's real garlic I want, it's real garlic I use.

That said, I love the flavor that garlic powder brings, even if it isn't what I think of as "real" garlic flavor. I use it anywhere I need a little "somthin' somethin'." Sauces, dips, and finger foods usually get a dose (guacamole, french onion dip, hot nuts). And it is in my arsenal of tricks to try when I'm tasting a nearly finished product that seems to be missing something.

I'm not big on the garlic powder, but I love me some garlic salt. It's great for fries, pizza, etc. Adds salt and garlic flavor at the same time!

I saw that Good Eats episode too, and I can't remember why, but after that I started buy Penzy's granulated garlic powder instead of the stuff in the grocery stores.

I use the granulated garlic sometimes too. Its good on popcorn. Also, I sprinkle a little on when I'm making quesadillas. That is our easy go-to dinner when I need to use up leftover chicken and veggies and don't feel like preparing a meal with a lot of effort. So instead of peeling and chopping fresh, I just sprinkle on the granules.

There are two times I think it's great.

(1) When you don't want the moisture of fresh garlic (e.g., sprinkled on popcorn)

(2) When the heat will be very high, and fresh garlic with scorch and get that awful, bitter burnt garlic flavor (e.g., grilled meat or vegetables).

I love using it on garlic bread - it is how my dad always made it so that is what I do :)

The only time I use it is mixed with yeast and sprinkled on air-popped popcorn.

I use it in a recipe that i found in a very good mexican cook book when making carnitas,

Presto (pressure) cooker the pork
Shred and put in pyrex dish, sprinkle with garlic salt
and bake

Garlic salt is essential for this dish plus its tasty

In a recent Alton Brown episode (Tender is the Loin or something like that) he explained that he preferred garlic powder in a pork tenderloin marinade because the powder infuses the liquid in a way chopped or mince garlic can't.

So, I made it and broke out the garlic powder for the first time in a long time and I liked it. The marinade had a distinct garlic tone, but not overpowering or harsh from raw garlic. It was even and consistent throughout the marinade as well. A fine choice for marinades or liquids that need consistent garlic flavor, I think.

No one has mentioned salad dressing. Anyone ever try it? I love the bite of fresh garlic in salad dressing but my husband most decidedly does NOT. Hmm. This might get tried tonight.

It has comes in handy as a quick save when I've made an unexpectedly bland recipe

A little bit is great on popcorn!

I add garlic powder to mac 'n' cheese from the box. Nom.

I use it in many things, most already mentioned. Additionally, it is best for making my pasta. If I used fresh garlic, the texture of the pasta would not be as smooth, and the garlic flavor would not be spread as evenly throughout the pasta. Most of my cooking involves fresh garlic, but when I need a smoother texture I turn to garlic powder.

I use garlic powder when I make flavored nuts that have to go in the oven. If I used fresh the garlic would most likely burn and/or overpower the taste of the nuts.

I like garlic powder in a pinch - when I am cooking at home, for myself, and I've worked all day and been to the gym. Sometimes a few shakes of easy flavor is so worth the trade off in flavor.

I do prefer garlic powder over the real stuff in mashed potatoes and I put it on pizza.

Recently I got to Trader Joe's and restocked my freezer with Dorot products. I think they work well, the quality is good and they combine the ease of powder with the more genuine flavor of fresh.

http://www.dorot.co.il/eng/

great for baked potatoes

never, to me it has a bad aftertaste.

Salad dressing. I kept trying it with fresh garlic, but in most dressings the raw garlic flavor is way too strong. A shake of powder mixes right in and doesn't have the same overpowering raw taste.

Use it in salad dressing, along with s&p, olive oil and vinegar.

Guacamole and on steaks sometimes.

Never have even thought of it as a substitute for fresh garlic, but as a different product. If a sauce, soup, etc. needs more taste, I add garlic powder.

I use it for lots of different recipes (most listed above).
I learned a tip from my husband, which is to store garlic powder, onion salt, and chili powder in the fridge, because it keeps its potency longer. (especially if you use it infrequently). Don't know if it's true.

Yay, I love it. I use it every day. It makes my food taste better. I use fresh garlic and powder together. They rock!

We use a rotisserie for making boneless pork roast...we sprinkle the roast with both garlic powder and onion powder plus two or so other seasoning...smells and taste delicious..adds flavor and nothing drops off the meat onto the floor of the cooker! We also include both in our meat rubs and it gives wonderful flavors to all meats.
We use them as well as other ground spices when making roasted nuts, pecans, almonds and mixed nuts...just would not be the same without them.

As a college student i use garlic powder pretty regularly in my cookin but when i was given a garlic press and now with the ability to purchase peeled garlic cloves i pretty much only use fresh garlic now. The garlic press might be my favorite under-10$ kitchen utensil i have.

I cook with garlic powder, and garlic salt. Love it. Use it a lot when seasoning chicken, cooking my eggs. Its basically replaced basic salt in my house. lol

I never used to use it, but now the only garlic powder I'll buy is from Penzey's. No filler, no bitterness, no aftertaste. Nice stuff.

I actually never even considered it. When I want some garlic on my pizza I chop it very fine with some olive oil. But maybe it's because its use is rather uncommon in Germany/Europe. Maybe I'll give it a try some day.

Love it. Use it EVERDAY!

An easy summer breakfast that I love - hot toast or english muffins with plain mashed avocado, a dash of ground pepper and garlic powder. But it's so hard to stop it from drying out.

Another vote for garlic salt. I really like pasta with just butter and garlic salt--very simple.

Garlic powder is a completely different animal to fresh garlic. I think each has their place. Garlic powder gives a lovely earthy taste (even texture?) to food whereas fresh garlic has either that almost peppery sting or a really mellow sweetness. I'd never consider dried garlic as a substitute for fresh.

I usually use dried garlic in a dry spice mix - fajitas, north african lamb etc. I find it marries nicely with cumin, corriander seed, paprika, ground chili etc. I also mix it into a coating breadcrumb mixture, a must-try.

Yes. And I also use fresh garlic several times a week in my cooking. I'm a huge advocate of fresh ingredients; however...

Garlic powder definitely has its place and is a very useful way to flavor vegetable and light pasta dishes when I'm just too exhausted to chop, mince, crush, etc. I sprinkle it on potatoes with Parmesan before roasting them. When I'm under the weather and just want plain buttered pasta, I'll sprinkle a bit of garlic powder on it with some salt and pepper. It's also good on fresh cucumber spears with a little salt (sometimes I used garlic salt for this).

Yes! Sauces, soups, marinades, dips. On steak, popcorn, guacamole, mashed potatoes, baked potato, potato salad - anywhere I would use salt.

They taste different to me, so I use them in different proportions for different recipes.. Sometimes I even use both fresh garlic and garlic powder cause I can't get the right flavor otherwise. Maaaaybe I'm weird...

i definitely think it's no sub for the real thing. guacamole, salsa, soups, chilis need fresh garlic. but it's great for meatballs and a few other instances where you need the garlic 'essence' but need it spread around more evenly. still love my fresh garlic, but garlic powder (NOT salt!) is one thing i actually need to add to my pantry.

I am always asked the secret for my mashed potatoes which, besides being evaporated milk, is Lawry's garlic salt. I use it on meat and chicken too. I don't use garlic powder as it just doesn't taste the same.

I'm not sure what the problem is with garlic powder in the minds of some people. I use real garlic a lot, but it's a different ingredient than the powder. Each has its place depending on the food being cooked.

It's not like drying and powdering spices isn't something that has been done throughout the history of mankind, and only now are we so snobbish that we question whether or not using such spices is a bad thing?

Also helpful because fresh garlic will burn more quickly than other vegetables when roasting. Although dried garlic flakes also work in that situation.

If you reconstitute a spoonful of it with some hot water and let it sit out, it loses some of that weird aftertaste and tastes a little more convincingly like fresh garlic. Not EXACTLY like fresh garlic, but closer.

It helps if you think of garlic powder as a spice. I don't consider it a substitute for garlic at all, just as I wouldn't consider celery salt a substitute for celery. However both are essential ingredients in my killer rib rub and in my Cajun spice mix :)

I prefer granulated garlic to garlic powder. It has a more garlicy flavor. We use it a lot. Especially in dry rubs. It doesn't have the same punch as real garlic but its great in its own right.

I sprinkle some garlic powder when I'm making Spanish rice. and I like to put some in guacamole.

Auntie Anne's Garlic Pretzel is by far the best use of garlic powder I've ever tasted.

It's rich, slightly buttery, salty and loaded with garlic powder that leaves your breath pretty strong the rest of the night. It's totally worth it and I could probably eat 2 of these puppies easy.

Oh my god, garlic pretzel. I'd forgotten about those. *drool*

Growing up, we always had garlic salt or garlic powder, but as an adult, I love granulated garlic. I think it has a better garlicky flavor-so, I use that instead.

I love garlic... and still will use garlic powder at times. Mostly if I want a hint of garlic flavor without the bite. I go through more garlic salt than anything else, though that may be due to using it on popcorn.

I keep a shaker full of my homemade seasoned salt: 1/4 cup of salt, 3 tablespoons white pepper, 3 tablespoons onion powder, 3 tablespoons garlic powder.

It's quick for almost any kind of meat.