Garlic Calories & Nutrition Calculator

Raw garlic contains 6.36g protein per 100g at 149 kcal — making it the most protein-dense common seasoning vegetable by a wide margin. Onion has 1.1g, ginger has 1.8g, shallot has 2.5g, and even leek has only 1.5g per 100g. Garlic's protein-per-calorie ratio of 4.3g per 100 kcal is comparable to potato (2.7g) and better than rice (2.7g) ^[1][2].

However, serving size reality matters. A single garlic clove (3g) provides just 0.19g protein — negligible by any measure. Even 3 cloves (9g) deliver only 0.57g protein. A whole garlic head (~35g) provides 2.2g protein — roughly equivalent to a tablespoon of yogurt. Garlic powder concentrates protein to 16.55g per 100g, but a teaspoon of powder (2.8g) contributes just 0.46g ^[1].

For food journaling, garlic's protein is a curiosity rather than a meaningful macro contribution. Unless consuming garlic in quantities typical of Korean or Georgian cuisine (10–20 cloves per meal), the protein column stays negligibly small.

Raw garlic provides 1.67mg manganese per 100g — 73% of the daily value — placing it among the top manganese sources in the vegetable kingdom. Onion has 0.13mg, potato has 0.15mg, and carrot has 0.14mg. Only cloves (60.1mg), cardamom (28mg), and certain other spices exceed garlic's manganese density among kitchen ingredients. Selenium at 14.2mcg (26% DV) is also notable — garlic has more selenium per 100g than most vegetables and many meats ^[1][3].

At practical portions: 3 cloves (9g) deliver 0.15mg manganese (7% DV) and 1.3mcg selenium (2% DV). A tablespoon of minced garlic (8.4g) provides 0.14mg manganese (6% DV). Garlic powder concentrates selenium to 23.9mcg per 100g (43% DV), though a teaspoon delivers just 0.67mcg ^[1].

For food journaling, garlic is a meaningful daily manganese contributor if used across multiple dishes (3–6 cloves total). The selenium content is a bonus that distinguishes garlic from other alliums — onion has just 0.5mcg and shallot has 1.2mcg per 100g.

Raw garlic provides 31.2mg vitamin C per 100g (35% DV) — more than apple (4.6mg), banana (8.7mg), and comparable to potato (19.7mg). However, garlic powder retains only 1.2mg vitamin C per 100g — a 97% reduction. Roasting reduces vitamin C to approximately 15mg, a 52% loss. This makes vitamin C the single most dramatically affected nutrient across garlic's three forms ^[1][2].

At per-clove portions (3g), raw garlic contributes 0.94mg vitamin C (1% DV) — small but present. Three cloves (9g) provide 2.8mg vitamin C (3% DV). A whole head of raw garlic (~35g) delivers 10.9mg vitamin C (12% DV). These amounts are meaningful for anyone tracking vitamin C from whole-food sources ^[1].

For food journaling, always select the correct variant when logging garlic: raw, roasted, or powder. The vitamin C difference between raw and powder is so large (31.2 vs 1.2mg per 100g) that using the wrong variant would generate a 26x error in vitamin C tracking.

Allicin — the compound responsible for garlic's characteristic pungent odor — does not exist in intact garlic. It is produced enzymatically when garlic cells are damaged: alliin (present at 6–14mg per gram of fresh garlic) reacts with the enzyme alliinase to form allicin within 10–60 seconds of crushing. Fresh garlic yields approximately 2.5–4.5mg of allicin per gram when crushed ^[3][4].

Allicin is unstable: it degrades within hours at room temperature and is rapidly destroyed by heat. Cooking garlic for more than 10 minutes eliminates virtually all allicin. Garlic powder retains alliin (the precursor) but the enzyme alliinase may be partially inactivated during manufacturing. This is why raw crushed garlic has a fundamentally different bioactive profile from cooked or dried forms ^[3][4].

For food journaling, allicin is completely invisible to standard nutrient tracking. No database — USDA, IFCT, or any other — includes allicin values. If logging garlic for its organosulfur compound content, note the form (raw crushed vs cooked vs powder) as a qualitative annotation, since standard panels cannot capture this distinction.

Most garlic nutrition data is quoted per 100g, but a single clove weighs just 3 grams. Per raw clove: 4 kcal, 1.0g carbs, 0.2g protein, 0.0g fat, 0.1g fiber, 5.4mg calcium (0.4% DV), 0.05mg manganese (2% DV), and 0.94mg vitamin C (1% DV). These are genuinely tiny amounts ^[1].

A practical comparison across forms: 1 raw clove (3g) = 4 kcal; 1 tsp minced raw garlic (2.8g) = 4 kcal; 1 tsp garlic powder (2.8g) = 9 kcal. The powder has 2.2x the calories per teaspoon because dehydration concentrates everything except water. Roasted garlic has the same calories as raw but with sweeter flavor and less vitamin C ^[1][2].

For food journaling, garlic typically adds 4–20 kcal to a dish depending on how many cloves are used (1–5). Unless making a garlic-heavy preparation (aioli, 40-clove chicken, Korean kimchi), garlic's caloric contribution is a rounding error in most recipes.