How To Make Your Own Onion Powder

This is one of those kitchen hacks that may be even easier than you think. Did you know that you can make your own onion powder and that you only need one ingredient and a few tools to do it?

We understand if you're hesitant to give up your McCormick spice bottle, but it really is easier than you might believe to make homemade onion powder. Plus, it will definitely come in handy for making everything from flavorful salad dressings to hamburgers to spice mixes to casseroles and so much more.

How to Make Onion Powder

If you know you'll use onion powder a lot, why not just make it rather than buy the fine powder from the grocery store or an online retailer like Amazon? It's actually a really simple process, and once you start doing it, you'll wonder why you didn't all along.

The only ingredient to need to make onion powder is fresh onions, according to Spruce Eats. That's it! You'll also need a few tools: a sharp knife for peeling and chopping, plus a tray and an oven to place it in or a food dehydrator. You'll also eventually need "a coffee grinder, spice mill, food processor, or mortar and pestle" to grind up the onions in the end.

First, you peel the onions and chop them finely. You should then spread the onion pieces out on a tray and heat them in an oven at 150 degrees or put them in a food dehydrator until you have dried onions.

Let the onions cool, then get to work grinding them into powder. The ground onions can be any degree of consistency or fineness that you prefer — just one of the many perks of making the ingredient yourself!

And that's really it! You'll need to store the powder in an airtight container somewhere cool, and you can even freeze it if you'd like. While this DIY onion powder may not have the shelf life of a commercial one, it still should keep very well for several months, if not a year.

Just make sure to label the onion powder correctly so you don't mix it up with another homemade spice like onion salt or garlic powder! (There's always Pinterest if you need some spice bottle decorating ideas, right?)

Watch: How to Chop an Onion