Newsflash: Garlic infused oil is low FODMAP. Garlic lovers, you can celebrate now as this secret ingredient can help you reclaim that garlic flavour with out upsetting your belly.
BUT how? I know. It’s confusing right? Most of you probably know that garlic is high FODMAP. That means you can’t cook with garlic cloves, crushed/pureed garlic or garlic powder while in the first phase of the low FODMAP diet. So how on earth is garlic infused oil low FODMAP?
I’m here to unravel the mystery for you so you can eat with confidence. Plus garlic infused oil is just so darn delicious that it should be a staple in your low FODMAP pantry. Let’s take a quick look at the science.
What’s in garlic that makes it high FODMAP?
Garlic contains a type of prebiotic fibre call fructans, which provides food for our healthy gut bugs (1, 2). These fructans are also a type of FODMAP that fall under ‘O’ for oligosaccharides in the FODMAP acronym (1, 2).
When our gut bacteria feast on the fructans, they rapidly ferment them which creates gas. Fructans also draw in water as they move through our small intestine. When these two effects combine it can lead to unpleasant gut symptoms like bloating, distension, gas, abdominal pain and altered bowel movements (3).
Does that mean garlic is bad for you?
Absolutely not! Garlic isn’t bad for you it’s just that the fructans in it can trigger gut symptoms in some people. When you go through your FODMAP challenges you will find out if you can tolerate garlic and how much you can eat while keeping your symptoms under control.
So if garlic’s high FODMAP, then why is garlic infused oil low FODMAP?
Great question! Fun fact about FODMAPs is they are only water soluble not oil soluble (1).
If you put cloves of garlic in your soup, risotto or anything that has a water based liquid like stock, then the fructans will escape (leach) out of the garlic and into your meal, increasing the FODMAP content of the entire meal even if you don’t eat the actual garlic cloves .
HOWEVER, if you fry garlic in oil or infuse oil with garlic, you get all of the garlic flavour but none of the FODMAPs, as the fructans can’t escape into the fat in the oil (1). This means garlic infused oil contains all of that awesome garlic flavour but is low FODMAP (4).
Can I make my own garlic infused oil?
Yes. Here’s some quick tips on how to make garlic infused oil on the go:
- Peel your garlic cloves and leave them whole.
- Heat your olive oil or cooking oil over medium heat.
- Fry until fragrant (2 to 3 minutes).
- Once the cloves are golden brown, remove them from the pan BEFORE you add any other ingredients. Then continue cooking your meal.
- Use immediately.
If you have a family member who is really missing garlic, then you can finely chop the cooked garlic and add a little bit to their meal. Just don’t add it to your own meal until you have completed your fructan garlic challenge.
Can you batch cook garlic infused oil?
You can batch cook your own garlic infused oil at home, but you need to be careful how you store it to reduce the risk of botulism (5).
Here’s how you do it:
INGREDIENTS
2 cups of cooking oil (you can use your oil of choice – eg olive oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, rice bran)
8 cloves of garlic (peeled and cut in half)
METHOD
- Sterilise a glass gar or container with boiling water, allow to air dry and set aside. You’ll use this to store the oil.
- Peel the garlic and halve the garlic cloves.
- Heat the oil over low heat, until it is warm but not too hot to touch. You don’t want to over heat the oil as this will degrade the oil and change the flavour.
- Turn off the heat and add the garlic cloves. Allow the oil to infuse for 2 hours.
- Strain the oil into the clean jar. Make sure you remove all of the garlic pieces!
- Use within 3 days (to avoid risk of botulism) or freeze in 1 to 2 tablespoon serves and use within 3 months (6).
Where do commercial garlic infused oils fit?
There are some lovely commercial garlic infused oils that have been certified as low FODMAP by Monash University or FODMAP Friendly. We find that a bottle of commercial garlic infused oil lasts us months in our test kitchen so they are worth the investment.
Here are a few options:
New Zealand: Cobram Estate Garlic Infused Oil (available at Countdown)
Australia: Cobram Estate Garlic Infused Oil
USA/Canada/UK: Fody Extra Virgin Olive Oil Garlic Infused (order online if you struggle to find it)
Look for the blue Monash FODMAP logo or green FODMAP Friendly logo on these products.
What about garlic infused oil brands that are not on this list?
Garlic infused oils can be made in many different ways which could alter the FODMAP content of the oil. We recommend choosing a clear garlic infused oil that doesn’t contain any visible pieces of garlic, that way you can’t accidentally eat a tiny piece of garlic.
Then try a 1 tablespoon serve. Don’t be afraid to explore different brands until you find one that works for you.
How do I use garlic infused oil when adapting recipes?
Adapting your favourite recipes can help make the low FODMAP diet fun and easy. Here are the guidelines we use when swapping in garlic infused oil.
Cooked Dishes
Swap 1 – 2 cloves of garlic for 1 tablespoon garlic infused oil. We normally replace the general cooking oil in the dish with the infused oil. The heat from cooking will break down the flavour of the oil a little bit so taste the cooked dish and add an extra drizzle at the end if needed.
Are you ready to take control of your gut symptoms?
No thanks, my gut is perfect.
Raw Dishes
Raw dishes might be something like garlic aioli.
Replace the garlic with a couple of drops of garlic infused oil, taste and then continue adding more to taste. Garlic infused oil can be potent so it is best to start with a little and build your flavour from there.
If you need some foodie inspiration then check out our low FODMAP garlic bread.
Are there any other options for replacing garlic?
Yes! If you don’t want to use garlic infused oil then try using:
- Garlic chives
- Asafoetida powder
- Free Fod Low FODMAP Garlic Replacer
Final Thoughts
Garlic infused oil is low FODMAP and it is a delicious way to recapture that garlic flavour while on the low FODMAP diet. You can either make your own or grab a bottle of garlic infused oil at your supermarket. Let us know how you like to use garlic infused oil in the comments!
Other Useful Links:
Garlic and The Low FODMAP Diet
Crunchy Low FODMAP Garlic Bread
Image credit: margouillat photo/Shutterstock.com; photosimysia/Shutterstock.com; Alana Scott/A Little Bit Yummy
Thank you Alana for such usefully information, I am wondering if it is possible do exactly the same with onions…
Hi Juan,
Yes you can use the same method to use onion infused oil.
Great, thanks! 🙂
Hi, Alana! Quick question for you… I have recently tried out a low-FODMAP/Monash University approved garlic-infused olive oil and am experiencing similar symptoms as when I eat garlic that isn’t infused in oil. There was nothing else in my meal that was high in FODMAPs. Have you ever heard of this happening or have any idea why I can’t even tolerate garlic when it’s infused in oil? Thanks!
Hi Savannah,
Thanks for reaching out to us. This is rare but does occasionally happen and can often indicate that something else is going on beyond FODMAP issues. We would recommend that you check in with a dietitian and discuss your reaction – they can then check for other allergies/intolerances that might be playing a role in your symptoms.
Can I infuse garlic powder in oil?
Thanks Art
Hi Art,
Thanks for commenting. We would not recommend trying to infuse oil with garlic powder. This is because all pieces of garlic needs to be strained out or removed before you use the garlic infused oil to make sure you don’t accidentally eat any garlic. This wouldn’t be very difficult to do if you use garlic powder. We hope that helps.
HI there. Does garlic infused olive oil make it low in fructans, or *zero* fructans? Thank you!!
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for commenting. Monash University have a note in their app that Garlic infused oil is high in fat and does not contain carbohydrates (FODMAPs). This means that the providing the garlic infused oil is clear and doesn’t have any floating pieces of garlic in it, then it should be well tolerated in large serves (so you can treat it like a ‘zero’ fructan product). However, just remember that high fat foods can trigger gut symptoms in some people.
I am unable to obtain commercial Infused oils. (Where I live
the shipping would cost more than the oil!) So I have to make my own. I store them by putting one tbsp servings in ice cube trays, covering them very tightly (Glad press ‘n seal works well for this) and putting them in the freezer. Once frozen I pop the cubes out onto a sheet of wax paper, transfer them into a zipper type freezer bag–this needs to be done very quickly as the oil will start to liquefy almost immediately–and place in the freezer. After the bag has been in the freezer half an hour or so I take it out and rap it against the counter just in case some of the cubes have tried to stick together.
Hi Lori,
That is a fantastic tip! Thank you for sharing.
Hi! Thank you for all of the great info. you provide. However,I just read your
instructions for making garlic infused oil. But, I was wondering if I could
make a cup or more of this infusion, while adding more garlic cloves. And
store it in the refrigerator. If so, how long could I safely use & store it in the
refrigerator, in a container with a top.
safely?
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for commenting. We don’t recommend doing this with raw garlic cloves as there is a higher risk of botulism. If you do want to make a larger batch of garlic infused oil we would recommend cooking all of the garlic cloves, pouring the oil into a sertilised jar, storing it in the fridge and using it within a 7-day period.
Hi im wondering how this works. So the fodmaps are only soluble in water and not oil, if u drink water after consuming the oil or if u had wet vegetables to the oil will it still be safe to use? Im a bit confused
Hi Maria,
Providing you only fry the garlic in the oil (and no other vegetables) then the FODMAPs from the garlic can’t transfer into the oil so you get all of the flavour and none of the FODMAPs. You then remove and discard the garlic. Next you can use that garlic infused oil to cook the low FODMAP vegetables and other ingredients in your meal. For example, you can use the garlic infused oil to stir-fry vegetables or add it to soups or stews to boost the flavour. As the garlic infused oil oil doesn’t contain FODMAPs you don’t need to worry about drinking water after it or combining it with other low FODMAP ingredients.
What you to avoid is cooking a clove of garlic with other vegetables at the same time or adding the garlic clove to a water based dish (e.g. risotto or soup) and then removing it. In these scenarios the fructans in the garlic could leach and increase the FODMAP levels of the whole meal..
I’m just trying to get my head around the implications of how the fructans in garlic can leach out. Today my partner cooked our usual roast dinner, part of which is a baking dish of potatoes, butternuts, sweet potatoes and garlic cloves, all brushed with olive oil. I didn’t eat the garlic but I wouldn’t have been likely to have consumed any fructans by eating the other ingredients as it was an oil based dish, would I?
Hi Helena,
Thanks for commenting. Sometimes the roast vegetables will leach a bit of water as they cook – if they do then there is the potential that some of the fructans in the garlic will leach into that and then be absorbed into the vegetables. This means we’d suggest cooking the garlic cloves in a little dish in the roasting pan for the rest of the family to enjoy. Also make sure you watch your portion size of butternut as that also contains FODMAPs. We hope that helps.
Hi. Just wondering how homemade garlic infused oil can cause botulism when store brought doesn’t?
Hi Bron,
The commercially made garlic infused oils are acidified to prevent bacterial growth during manufacturing. This makes them safe to use and store at room temperature.
Your comments about being able to continue to enjoy garlic favours by using garlic infused oil has made my day!
Yay! We are so happy to hear that. You don’t have to miss out on flavour while on the low FODMAP diet.