Can you use onion powder instead of onion?
Sometimes you just don’t have that one ingredient for a dish at home. What a shame… Having no onions in your pantry is certainly one of the most annoying scenarios. Onions are in almost everything, after all. You stare at that jar of onion powder in despair: can you use it as a substitute?
It’s onion, but in powdered form. So you might think you can use both at random. Still, it’s worth checking whether your recipe specifically calls for one or the other.
The saving answer
Onions already make us cry enough, so don’t shed a tear at this news: you can’t always use onion powder instead of onion. Sometimes onion is used for texture, which onion powder can’t provide in your dish. Onions also often add some extra moisture to your dish. Onion soup made with only onion powder is therefore a no-go; onions are essential in it.
Use onion powder in dishes where you would also use garlic powder. When the recipe only needs onions for their flavor, so to speak. Without the texture and moisture. Everyone has probably experienced biting into a fried hamburger that still contains raw pieces of onion. Choosing onion powder is therefore a good solution here. Also think of marinades, wedges and spice mixes (for meat or fish).
Abracadabra
Does your dish check all the boxes for using onion powder? Then you can perform the great switching trick. Use the following ratios:
1 tablespoon powder = 3 onions
1 teaspoon powder = 1 onion
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