Garlic
Peak season in the Midwest · up 126% this week
This vegetable is harvested somewhere in the country all year, so it has no single local-harvest peak, and it is sold in stores year-round. This week it's peak season in the Midwest — buying it in season usually means better quality and, as the regional prices below show, a lower price.
Per a typical 9g serving, scaled from the per-100g figures in USDA FoodData Central (Garlic, raw).
Buying garlic in the Southwest saves about 75% versus the Northeast this week.
- How to pick a good one
- A firm head with tight, unbroken papery skin and no give when squeezed. A green shoot poking out means it is sprouting and will taste bitter. Larger cloves are less work for the same yield.
- What a good price looks like
- A three-head sleeve runs $1.50 to $3, and loose heads 50 cents to a dollar each. Because a recipe uses a clove or two, garlic is almost never worth optimising on price — even a bad week costs pennies per meal. Pre-peeled cloves in a jar cost several times more and taste noticeably duller; pre-minced in oil is worse again.
- What you actually get
- A head holds ten to twelve cloves; one clove is about 3 g and gives roughly a teaspoon minced. A sleeve of three heads is enough garlic for a month of ordinary cooking. Roasting a whole head reduces it to about two tablespoons of sweet paste.
- How to store it
- Cool, dry, dark, and airy — a mesh bag or open bowl in a cupboard. Whole heads keep for months. Refrigeration encourages sprouting, and peeled cloves stored in oil at room temperature are a real food-safety risk.
- In the kitchen
- Crush the clove under the flat of a knife and the skin comes away on its own — peeling intact cloves is slow and unnecessary. To break a head down fast, press down hard on it with your palm and the cloves separate. A pinch of coarse salt under the knife turns minced garlic into a smooth paste in a few passes, which is what you want for a dressing.
- Getting the most out of it
- How you cut it decides how it tastes: sliced is mild, minced sharper, crushed strongest. Add it late to a hot pan, since it burns and turns acrid in well under a minute. Whole roasted heads are sweet, spreadable, and freeze well.
- Panzanella SaladRecipe by Spend With Pennies~$0.49 / serving 4 in-season
- Quick & Easy Garlic NoodlesRecipe by Budget Bytes~$0.49 / serving 1 in-season
- Peanut Lime DressingRecipe by Budget Bytes~$0.50 / serving 2 in-season
- Cilantro PestoRecipe by Pinch of Yum~$0.53 / serving 3 in-season
- Cheesy Potato StacksRecipe by The Recipe Critic~$0.54 / serving 2 in-season
- ColcannonRecipe by Budget Bytes~$0.57 / serving 3 in-season
See all 6536 recipes with garlic →Filter by diet, time, budget, and macros.
Price from the USDA National Retail Report. Nutrition per typical serving, computed from USDA FoodData Central.
Garlic — FAQ
When can you buy garlic in season?
This vegetable is harvested somewhere in the country all year, so it has no single local-harvest peak, and it is sold in stores year-round. This week the Midwest has garlic marked peak season.
What's the price of garlic right now?
As of the week of September 4, 2026, the price of garlic in the Midwest is $5.99/sleeve, up 126% from last week. It's cheapest in the Southwest at $1.49/sleeve.
How many calories and how much protein are in garlic?
A typical 9g serving of garlic has about 13 calories, 0.6g protein, 3g carbohydrates, 0g fat, and 0.2g fiber, per USDA FoodData Central.
What can I make with garlic?
SeasonSort indexes 6536 recipes that use garlic, each with its cost per serving computed from this week's prices — starting from about $0.02 a serving. The cheapest are listed on this page, with a link to the full filtered list.