Low FODMAP cooking guide
Garlic and onion swaps thatstill make sense in the pan.
You don’t have to skip a recipe just because it starts with garlic and onions. Here’s what you can use instead.
Ingredient by ingredient
What to use, and when to add it.
In the recipe
Try
Cooking note
Garlic cloves sautéed in oil
Garlic-infused oil
Use a commercial infused oil without garlic pieces as the cooking fat. Check the current ingredient label.
Garlic powder
Garlic-infused oil or asafoetida
Powder is concentrated and cannot be strained out. Add infused oil for garlic flavor, or a tiny amount of asafoetida if it suits the dish.
Onion cooked into the base
Scallion greens, chives, or leek greens
Add the green parts near the end for freshness. For a cooked base, start with infused oil and build flavor with the other aromatics in the recipe.
Raw onion garnish
Chives or thinly sliced scallion greens
Add them at serving time. They give the dish a fresh allium note without copying raw onion exactly.
Shallot
Garlic-infused oil plus chives
Use the oil during cooking and chives at the end. The result will be less sweet than shallot.
Chicken broth or stock
A broth with a reviewed ingredient label
Garlic and onion often appear in flavoring blends. Bouillon, concentrates, and boxed stock all need their own label check.
Prepared sauce or marinade
A reviewed product or a quick homemade version
Check spice blends, natural flavors, garlic, onion, inulin, and sweeteners. Product formulas change, so keep the bottle nearby when reviewing the recipe.
Four common starting points
Italian
Use garlic-infused oil for the soffritto. Add chives or leek greens later. Check stock, sausage, pesto, and jarred tomato sauce.
Chinese
Keep ginger, chile, Sichuan pepper, and whole spices. Use scallion greens at the end. Check oyster sauce, chili crisp, bouillon, and fermented sauces.
Korean
Gochujang, doenjang, marinades, and soup bases often contain garlic or onion. Start with the label before changing the cooking method.
Mexican
Infused oil can carry the garlic note in salsa or beans. Use scallion greens for garnish. Check broth, adobo sauce, chorizo, and seasoning packets.
Review a recipe
Find the alliums hiding outside the ingredient name.
Paste a public recipe page. Shio reviews the ingredient list and rewrites affected steps so the substitutions are added at the right time.
Safety note
Low FODMAP needs differ by serving size and person. This page is an ingredient-level cooking reference, not medical advice or a certification. Use a laboratory-tested food guide and advice from a qualified clinician or dietitian for your own elimination and reintroduction plan.