Want to learn about roasting garlic cloves? You’ll be pleasantly surprised to see how easy it is to have roasted garlic cloves at the ready for all your favorite recipes — and what amazing flavor they bring.
Whether you’re making a Mashed Potato Casserole, adding roasted garlic cloves to a Ploughman’s Lunch or spreading it on a sandwich, roasting garlic cloves and steeping them in herbs and olive oil is a great way to go.
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Chances are good that you’ve heard about roasting whole heads of garlic. I certainly have! Roast Garlic and Goat Cheese is one of my favorite appetizers, but I am not completely satisfied with roasted heads of garlic.
You tend to lose some of the garlic in the oily skins. And it seems like a waste of oil since the skins absorb oil, too. There had to be a better way!
I discovered there was: roasting garlic cloves.
Why Make This
Roasted garlic cloves are good for you. Garlic is considered by some as a natural medicinal. Research suggests that it can help the body fight against heart disease and cancer. It also protects one from vampires.
It’s delicious! Roasted garlic cloves makes food taste amazing. Caesar salad, Pesto, and Garlic Bread wouldn’t be the same without it. And roasted garlic? Well, that takes it to the next level.
Roasting garlic cloves is a delicious way to enjoy this powerhouse of flavor and goodness without too much spice or bitterness getting in the way.
In fact, roasted garlic cloves are softer, mellower, and almost sweet in comparison to raw garlic.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need for roasting garlic cloves:
I discovered this basic method for roasting garlic cloves one summer, reading Live to Eat and its recipe for Garlic Confit, baking garlic in an oil bath with herbs. Instantly I knew it would be a game changer. This recipe for roasted garlic cloves is my adaptation from that one.
You’ll need:
peeled garlic cloves – These are readily available in the produce department of most grocery stores. Costco sells a really big bag of them, perfect for making a bulk batch of roasted garlic. You can peel the garlic yourself if you prefer, but it is a rather time-consuming process.
olive oil – You can try other oils, but I’ve found olive oil to be the most compatible in roasting garlic cloves. I mean, really, olive oil and garlic are a natural pairing. Plus, the olive oil absorbs some of the garlicy, herby flavor, making it great for using in dressings and marinades.
your favorite dried herbs – I like to use mediterranean herbs, such as what’s in this Herbes de Provence Recipe. You can use just thyme or rosemary instead to add just a bit of herb flavor to your roasted garlic cloves.
red pepper flakes – These add a nice bit of heat to the roasted garlic cloves and the flavored oil.
As you’ll see this method is pretty forgiving and versatile, so experiment and see what works best for you.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Roasting garlic cloves is pretty easy, though there are several methods. You can drizzle the head of garlic or the peeled cloves with oil and place it in an ovenproof container or wrap it in foil and bake until the garlic is soft and spreadable.
However, roasting garlic cloves is the easiest and most versatile method of all. Here’s how to do it:
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Add the peeled garlic cloves, herbs, and red pepper flakes to a large dutch oven.
- Pour in the olive oil.
- Stir to combine.
- Cover the dutch oven and place it in the preheated oven. Allow the garlic to roast for 50 minutes. Cool the mixture before transferring it to an airtight container. Store the garlic in the oil in the refrigerator.
This method of giving the peeled garlic cloves an olive oil bath is super easy. The hard, pungent cloves not only brown and soften during roasting, but they also impart good garlicky flavor to the oil, so now you’ve got garlic-infused oil as well!
This is a hands-free process so you can prep the pot, slide it in the oven and just walk away, while your kitchen fills with a delectable garlic aroma.
Use the roasted garlic plain or mix it into recipes as you would fresh garlic. It’s delicious in my Creamy Garlic Dressing.
FAQs & Recipe Costs
Yes! Simply drizzle a whole head of garlic with olive oil and wrap it with foil. Bake in a 400-degree oven until soft.
Roasted garlic is delicious spread on toast, stirred into mashed potato casserole, or added to dips, dressings, and sauces. You can also use it as a sandwich spread or on crackers.
Roasted garlic, when covered with oil in a jar, is good for about a week as long as the jar is sterile, remains refrigerated, and you don’t cross-contaminate the contents with other foods.
You can freeze roasted garlic for longer storage.
The oil is great in cooking, marinades, dressings, and for drizzling on cooked meats and vegetables.
Recipe Costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- peeled garlic cloves – $4.00
- olive oil – $1.00
- spices – $0.15
Roasting peeled garlic cloves should cost about $5.15 a batch.
Ways to Save More
It’s pretty cheap and easy to roast peeled garlic. Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe even more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. For this recipe, keeping an eye on the price of olive oil can help keep the price down.
- Buying in bulk – I’ve made this recipe using garlic I peeled myself as well as garlic I purchased pre-peeled. The latter is much MUCH easier, and fairly affordable, if you buy the large bag from Costco and use it up in the allotted “best by” time frame.
Great Garlic Recipes
Tell us what you think!
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Roasting Garlic Cloves
Equipment
- dutch oven
- mason jar with lid
Ingredients
- 3 cup peeled garlic cloves
- 2 cup olive oil
- 10 peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon herbes de Provence , dried thyme or dried rosemary
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- Place the garlic, olive oil, peppercorns, herbs, and red pepper flakes into a Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 50 minutes.
- Cool the garlic and oil before transferring to a quart-size jar with a lid. Store in the fridge for one week or freeze for longer keeping.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on November 27, 2018. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Penny
Should the garlic infused oil be refrigerated? If not, how long can I safely keep it at room temperature? Or is it totally safe since the garlic has been removed?
Jessica Fisher
The garlic and its oil must both be refrigerated and used within 4. Freeze it if you won’t use it within that time frame.
Alberto
The USDA recommends not eating garlic in oil that has been in the fridge for more than 7 days due to the risk of botulism.
https://ask.usda.gov/s/article/Can-you-get-botulism-from-garlic-in-oil
Jessica Fisher
Thanks for your input. I had researched this years ago when I originally wrote the post. It looks like the USDA issues that statement after I originally shared the recipe. I appreciate your pointing this out!
Tina L.
Ever since I first saw your recipe I have been roasting garlic like this! I get the peeled cloves at the grocery store or Trader Joe’s. Most everyone has them, but Cosco is probably the cheapest like Jessica recommends. I don’t add any seasoning and when they are done I scoop them out of the oil and blend them into a paste. There is a little oil clinging to the and they blend up nicely. Then freeze some in 1/2 cup portions. What is great about this garlic is that when you are making something there is no peeling, chopping, and sauteeing at the last minute! Great recipe – everyone should be doing it this way! Thanks!!
Jessica Fisher
Great idea to make a paste and freeze it. Wow!
Lee
This might not get a response but I don’t have a Dutch oven- nor do I own any baking dishes right now as I don’t really do much cooking. Would just using foil on a tray be a good idea for this?
Jessica Fisher
I answer all comments. 🙂
You can definitely use foil on a baking dish or rimmed tray. If the tray is not deep, there’s a risk of splashing the hot oil on yourself so I would avoid that. Instead, I would do a small amount of cloves, drizzled with oil and wrapped in a foil pack. The roasting time will be shorter, so check after 15 minutes. It won’t be “exactly” the same, but it will good.
Lee
Thank you so much! I’ll definitely try the foil pack then, I don’t have space for deep dishes or trays. I appreciate it!
Zavera
I just used the garlic cloves and oil and it came out superb. Ate it with my dinner as a condiment and loved it! Thank you! I did roast it for like 1:5 minutes.
Kj
Baking at 300 for 50 minutes did nothing at all. I ended up having to crank up the heat on my oven to get the garlic to “roast”
Jessica Fisher
Did you have it in a dutch oven? What kind of container did you cook it in?
Richard
Can I pressure can this?
Jessica Fisher
I’m sorry. I have never pressure canned, so I don’t know. However, you can freeze it.
Charlene
Always be sure and refrigerate. You cannot leave out on the counter even in oil.
Penny
Wondering about the freezing of garlic, what type of container would be suitable.
Jessica Fisher
Any freezer container is fine: small plastic with lid or ziptop freezer bag. Be sure to label it and freeze in small, usable amounts.
Jennifer Fowler-Napoliello
Doesn’t the olive oil solidify when refrigerated?
Jessica Fisher
Sometimes, but it’s not an issue. I can scoop out the cloves and the oil melts pretty quickly. Usually I use the cloves in something that already calls for oil so it’s a win-win. Garlic-flavored oil!
Sandy N.
This is a great help! Thank you!! Can I also use the oil in the jarred garlic for cooking?
Jessica Fisher
Yes!
Barbara
Love this idea but that would be too much for me to use in the recommended use by date. If I cut the recipe in half, would it be okay to just use a smaller pan and cover with foil? Does it need to be a deep pan or could I use a cast iron skillet or pyrex dish? Love the idea of having the garlic infused oil also.
Jessica Fisher
You can make as much as you like, Barbara. I recently only had a handful of cloves left and used a very small baking dish. You can cover with foil when the dish doesn’t come with a lid. You can also freeze the roasted garlic for later if you like. I would just put the garlic and the oil in a container with a lid.
Dee
Any idea why mine tastes bitter? i thought I picked pretty heads of garlic but there is a definite bitter taste. I used a highly recommended olive oil.
Jessica Fisher
Does the garlic have bits of green on the inside? That can make it taste bitter. Also, some olive oils themselves have fairly strong flavors. Was it extra virgin or something else?
Dee
I used an oil high in polyphenols which is peppery to my taste. I’ll try again with a blander EVOO. Is that what you would recommend? Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
It’s possible that it underwent some kind of chemical change. I’m sorry I don’t know more about polyphenols to confirm that.
Kat
I’m with you, Barbara. Pre-peeled garlic, at least to me, seems like an expense I don’t need for the amount I may or may not get in a package. What’s more, I don’t have a Costco anywhere close to me, and Sam’s Club is too expensive with their membership, and I would still have to drive 40 miles to get there. With gas prices really taking off into the stratosphere right now, day trips just to get pre-peeled garlic? That’s a nope.
So it’s cheaper for me to buy fresh garlic heads and peel it myself. Yes, it’s time-consuming, but I don’t have kiddos, and it can be a subtle form of meditation if you think about it. ?
Shannon
I have to say I really appreciate the jump to recipe and print recipe. As much as I appreciate all these blogs from quite young cooks, I really don’t want to have to scroll through someone’s personal history to find a recipe.
Thank you
yvette hilde
Agreed!!