Homemade Ginger Garlic Paste
This homemade ginger garlic paste brings fresh, pungent flavor to curries, marinades, soups, and stir-fries. Blend peeled ginger and garlic in about 10 minutes, then keep a small amount in the fridge or freeze portions for future cooking.
It is a useful prep-ahead staple for Indian cooking, just like the classic garam masala spice mix.
Many Indian curry and marinade recipes start with ginger and garlic. Having the two blended together saves peeling and chopping each time you cook. For a larger batch, freezing small portions is the most practical way to keep them ready to use.
If you too, love batch-making sauces and condiments, you've got to try my habanero oil and hot pepper vinegar recipes- they both add a nice kick of heat to your recipes. Also try my homemade chaat masala and green chili chutney if you love Indian food- they are both total flavor bombs.
Quick Look: Homemade Ginger Garlic Paste
- 🔪 Prep time: 10 minutes.
- ⏲️ Cook time: None to make the paste; cook it as part of your dish.
- 👪 Servings: 10, as listed in the recipe card.
- 📋 Main ingredients: Fresh ginger and garlic; optional oil or salt.
- ♨️ Cooking method: Peel and wash → dry → chop → blend → refrigerate or freeze.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy.
- 🥣 Serving ideas: Use as an aromatic base in curries, marinades, stir-fries, soups, and stews.
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Jump to:
- Quick Look: Homemade Ginger Garlic Paste
- What's So Great About the Recipe?
- Recipe Ingredients
- Substitutions & Variations
- How to Make Homemade Ginger Garlic Paste
- 💭Top Tip
- How to Store Leftover Ginger Garlic Paste
- Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- How to Use Homemade Ginger Garlic Paste
- Troubleshooting and FAQs
- More Essential Recipes
- Homemade Ginger Garlic Paste
What's So Great About the Recipe?
Traditionally, ginger and garlic paste was made by crushing the fresh ingredients using a mortar and pestle, but thanks to food processors and blenders, making the paste barely takes 10 minutes.
What I love the most about this is how convenient it is- just like my Tikka Masala sauce. All you need is a few minutes in the kitchen to have this staple ready, which you can then use to make all your favorite recipes in a jiffy.
Recipe Ingredients
Ginger: Fresh ginger root. Check for any soft spots on the surface, and discard those pieces. Avoid using ginger which is tough and fibrous.
Garlic: Choose fresh garlic, ideally ones that have big pods, since they are much easier to peel.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Adjust the balance to your taste. For a repeatable batch, weigh the peeled ginger and garlic rather than judging by the size of the garlic bulbs. More ginger gives a warmer flavor; more garlic makes it more pungent.
- You can also add some fresh green chilies into the ginger garlic paste, and make ginger-garlic-chili paste, which works just as well to build flavor in all your Indian recipes.
How to Make Homemade Ginger Garlic Paste
Step 1: Separate and peel the garlic cloves. Scrape the ginger skin with a spoon and chop the ginger into small chunks so it blends more easily.
Step 2: Rinse the ginger and garlic with clean water, removing any remaining dirt. Drain and pat dry with a clean towel.
Step 3: Transfer to a blender or small food processor and pulse into a paste. Stop and scrape down the sides as needed; the texture can be slightly coarse or smoother.
Step 4: If needed, add a little oil to help blending or salt for seasoning, then blend again. These additions do not make the paste shelf-stable. Transfer to a clean container and refrigerate promptly, or portion and freeze.
💭Top Tip
Use the edge of a teaspoon to scrape off the ginger skin, working around the knobs. Then chop the ginger small and use a small blender jar so the blades can catch the ingredients without needing much added liquid.
How to Store Leftover Ginger Garlic Paste
Keep only a small amount in a clean, airtight container in the refrigerator at 40°F / 4°C or below, and use within 4 days. Freeze the rest promptly. Adding a little salt or covering the paste with oil does not make it safe to store for weeks or at room temperature.
You can also make the paste in a big batch and freeze it for up to 3 months. Use souper cubes or ice cube trays to portion it out into individual sections- it's actually really easy that way, since you can use it straight from frozen! I did that when I made my homemade vegetable bouillon cubes too!
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Salt is optional for flavor. If you add it, remember to reduce the salt in the dish you are making.
- Skip the oil layer as a preservation step. If you use oil to help blending, refrigerate promptly and follow the same short storage limit, or freeze.
- Make sure you clean the ginger and garlic well before you blend them together. Patting them dry is another important step you don't want to miss.
Got some extra ginger left? Try my homemade Air Fryer ginger powder recipe!
How to Use Homemade Ginger Garlic Paste
Use this as a cooking ingredient in marinades, curries, soups, gravies, and stews. When sautéing it in oil, stir over gentle heat until fragrant and the raw aroma mellows, taking care not to let the garlic burn.
I love adding a small spoonful of this paste to my stir fries too. If you ask me, this is one of my favorite versatile ingredients to make- right after my tomato passata and yellow curry paste.
Troubleshooting and FAQs
Yes, if they were frozen while fresh and handled safely. Thaw in the refrigerator only as much as needed, then blend and use promptly. The texture may be softer and wetter than with fresh ingredients.
Discard it if you see mold, slime, or an off smell. However, appearance and smell cannot prove a garlic mixture is safe, so follow the storage limit and discard paste that has been kept too long or left unrefrigerated. Do not taste questionable paste.
The batch may be too small for the jar or the ginger pieces too large. Stop, scrape down the sides, chop the ginger more finely, and use a smaller jar if available. Add only a little oil if needed to help the blades move.
Yes. Portion it into a clean ice cube tray, freeze until solid, and transfer the cubes to a labeled freezer bag or container. Use within about 3 months for best quality. Add a cube directly to a cooking dish, allowing extra time for it to heat through.
The optional amounts used for blending or seasoning are not a tested preservation method. Keep the paste refrigerated for no more than 4 days, especially when oil is added, or freeze it.
Yes. Preparing them separately lets you adjust each flavor in individual recipes. Use clean containers and the same cautious approach to short fridge storage and freezing.
More Essential Recipes
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If you tried this homemade ginger garlic paste or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Homemade Ginger Garlic Paste
Ingredients
- 2-3 pods garlic
- 100 g ginger
Instructions
- Peel and clean the fresh ginger and garlic. Chop the ginger into 1 inch chunks.
- Transfer them to a bowl of water and wash them well a couple of times to remove any dirt. Pat them dry.
- Transfer them to a blender jar and blend until you get a slightly chunky paste.
- Add oil or salt (or both) if needed, and blend again. Transfer to a glass jar.
Notes
- Scrape ginger skin with the edge of a teaspoon and chop it into small pieces before blending. Rinse and dry the ingredients and use a clean blender and container. Optional salt is for seasoning; a little salt or a layer of oil is not a tested preservation method. Refrigerate promptly at 40°F / 4°C or below and use within 4 days, or freeze portions promptly for up to 3 months for best quality. Do not rely on smell or appearance to judge whether paste kept too long is safe.
