Roasted garlic is creamy, spreadable and good on almost everything - including sandwiches, soups and more! Learn how to roast garlic with my easy method using just 2 ingredients and minimal prep time.
If you've been a long time reader, you know my love for garlic and that's why today I'm sharing my method on how to roast garlic in the oven with you. Using one clove of garlic in a recipe just doesn't make any sense to me. I use so much garlic in my recipes and if you like garlic as much as I do, you should try my garlic chicken, toum (Lebanese garlic sauce) and, of course, my favorite garlic lemon shrimp recipe. Whole roasted garlic is such an easy way to add more garlic to your meals and elevate their flavors.
Table Of Contents:
How to roast garlic
- Remove all the loose papery peel on the garlic bulb but make sure the cloves are intact.
- Cut ¼ to ½ inch from the top of the garlic cloves.
- Place the bulb on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil. Wrap the aluminum foil around the garlic. Repeat with the remaining bulbs.
- Roast at 400 degrees F for 40 to 45 minutes.
- Let them cool and then take them out of the skin. You can do this by hand or with a small fork.
Why should I roast garlic?
Roasting garlic will mellow the pungent flavor, making it sweet and easier to digest. The texture is soft and buttery with a subtle nutty flavor that's hard to resist!
How to choose the right garlic
Your roasted garlic is going to be as good as the garlic you purchase. Make sure the garlic bulb is dry and intact without any soft spots. A good bulb of garlic should feel heavy for its size.
Tips for roasting garlic
- Use quality garlic: Make sure the garlic bulbs don't have any soft or brown spots and avoid blubs with sprouts.
- Make a large batch: Roasted garlic keeps for a long time. You can roast 10-12 garlic bulbs at once and enjoy them for a while.
What do you use roasted garlic for?
There are so many ways to use oven roasted garlic to elevate a dish. Here are a few suggestions:
- Add them to soups such as red lentil soup or roasted cauliflower soup for more flavor.
- Mix with softened butter to make roasted garlic butter.
- Spread on a piece of bread for a quick appetizer or snack.
- Mix with cream cheese or add to whipped feta for a subtle garlic flavor.
- Add to pasta dishes such as spinach pesto pasta.
- Use it in mashed potatoes to make them even more delicious!
- Use in sauces such as Middle Eastern tahini sauce or dipping sauce for chicken wings.
- Stir it into yogurt or sour cream to make a tasty roasted garlic dip or add it to other dips such as spinach artichoke dip.
- Use it to spread on pizza dough to make Mediterranean pizza.
Storage
Once the garlic is cool enough, remove it from the skin either by squeezing it out or using a small fork or knife. Then transfer the roasted garlic to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
To freeze roasted garlic, transfer the peeled garlic cloves to a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To use, either add them frozen to the dish (if cooking) or thaw them before adding them to a no-cook recipe.
Another way to freeze roasted garlic in to mash the bulbs all together and transfer them to your preferred ice cube tray and freeze. Then use as many cubes as needed for your recipe!
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can wrap the garlic bulbs in parchment paper and tie the top using a kitchen twine. You can also place them in a muffin tin and cover with another muffin tin.
This depends on the size of the garlic bulbs. I recommend start checking around 40 minutes to see if they're soft and squeezable. If not, roast for another 5 minutes and check again.
There are two reasons for bitter roasted garlic: overcooking the garlic or using old garlic that might have sprouts inside.
More recipes using garlic
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Step-by-Step Recipe
Roasted Garlic Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 heads garlic
- 10 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Remove the papery loose skin of the garlic heads. Make sure the cloves are staying intact.
- Cut ¼ to ½ inch of the top of the garlic heads and place each of them on a piece of aluminum foil.
- Drizzle one tablespoon olive oil on each garlic head and wrap with the aluminum foil. Place all the wrapped garlic heads on a baking sheet and roast for 40 to 45 minutes until they are fully roasted, soft and squeezable.
- Let the roasted garlic cool and then remove them from the skin by simply squeezing them out or taking them out of the skin using your fingers or a small knife or fork.
Video
Notes
- Store the roasted garlic (once removed from the skin) in a small airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
- To freeze, transfer the roasted garlic removed from the skin to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Use from frozen in cooking recipes or thawed in no-cook recipes.
- You can use roasted garlic in a number of different recipes. Spread them on a piece of toast for a quick appetizer or snack. Mix with yogurt or sour cream to make roasted garlic dip or stir into mashed potatoes. It also adds a lot of flavor to spinach pesto pasta or red lentil soup.
Tara
I'm so glad that I found this recipe! I am a beginner in the kitchen so I am just now learning about how versatile roasted garlic can be! Super helpful guide. Will definitely use in the future. Thanks!
Charles
Your Roasted Garlic recipe is gonna be great with EVERYTHING! Thanks for sharing!
kushigalu
I have never tried garlic this way before. SOunds wonderful. Thanks for sharing
Carrie Robinson
Oh yum! I just love the flavor of roasted garlic. I will have to try this method soon. 🙂
Ryan Allen
Thanks for the great recipe! I spread this on some fresh baked bread and it was amazing.