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Roasted Garlic is incredibly easy to make and adds so much flavor to your favorite recipes. Here are my easy cooking tips on how to roast garlic.
Forget the old method of roasting whole heads of garlic. My method is so incredibly easy and the results are perfect every time!
Why this recipe works:
Unlike raw garlic which is extremely strong and potent, roasted garlic has a much more mild flavor.
In it’s raw form, garlic is hard and crunchy. Once roasted properly, the golden brown outside is chewy and the inside is soft and creamy.
You can substitute roasted garlic for any recipe that calls for garlic. Since the flavor is more mild, you can double, triple, or quadruple the amount!
- Rather than making whole roasted garlic, I buy peeled garlic cloves in bulk at Costco and make roasted peeled garlic instead!
- Using pre-peeled garlic cloves saves time and enables you to make a large batch.
- This method is much easier than roasting a garlic bulb where you simply cut off the end, drizzle it in olive oil, and bake it in the oven.
- When you roast garlic in olive oil, it keeps much longer than fresh garlic. Also, by making a large batch, you will always have it available to use in recipes.
How to roast garlic:
- First step is to line a baking dish with parchment paper. This step isn’t necessary, but it makes for easy clean up.
- I roast about 4 cups of peeled garlic cloves at a time. This may seem like a lot, but it keeps a lot longer in the refrigerator once it has been roasted versus raw. Plus, I throw my roasted garlic cloves in just about everything I make.
- Not a lot of olive oil is needed. Figure about a half tablespoon for every cup of garlic cloves.
- Then, to roast, simply start off with a 400 degree F oven and roast the garlic for about 20 minutes. This will make the tops nice and brown. At this point, I give it a good stir and reduce the heat to 350 degrees F.
- I like to stir the garlic about every five minutes during the second half of the cooking process to ensure even cooking and browning. Just make sure you’re careful not to smash them.
That’s it! No squeezing the golden cloves of garlic out of the papery bulb. No mess. Perfect results every time.
Best uses for roasted garlic:
I seriously use roasted garlic almost daily in my cooking. Here are some of my favorite methods for incorporating roasted garlic into your meals.
- Scrambled eggs – whether you like to mix in a ton of sauteed veggies or just eat plain scrambled eggs in the morning, some smashed roasted garlic adds amazing flavor.
- Garlic bread – I have found that roasted garlic makes the absolute best garlic bread! I cook an entire loaf until heated through. While it’s cooking, I mix together some high quality butter, a ton of roasted garlic, and some garlic herb blend to make a spread. Then, when the bread comes out of the oven, just lather each piece up with the spread.
- Garlic roasted potatoes – Stir in a handful and watch the flavor change from good to oh-my-god-what’s-in-these?
- Roasted Brussels sprouts with garlic – Since I keep my roasted garlic in the fridge, I just toss some in with the sprouts for the last few minutes of cooking.
- Homemade pizza – technically we buy frozen pizzas all the time and add a bunch of veggies at home before we cook them. You better believe I add a ton of garlic.
- Roasted garlic aioli – aka the best spread or dip ever
- Make a vibrant pink Beet Hummus!
And the list goes on and on!
Roasted Garlic
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups garlic cloves peeled
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line baking dish with parchment paper. Add garlic cloves and olive oil; toss to combine.
- Roast garlic in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Stir the garlic for even browning, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees, and continue cooking for another 20 minutes – this time carefully stirring every five minutes. Take care not to smash the garlic cloves while stirring.
- Enjoy warm, otherwise allow to fully cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I peeled 4 heads garlic I had on hand. The garlic was fresh. Followed your recipe but mine came out crunchy. Tasted good but had a crunch to it. I don’t know what I did wrong.
Probably because I use so much garlic when I make it, the cloves partially shield each other.
I buy garlic in bulk and chop it up in a food processor and store it in olive oil. Would I be able to do the same with the roasted garlic? I make minced garlic and a garlic paste.
If you mean roast it and then chop it up with a food processor to store it? Yes – that is what I do. I don’t add extra olive oil, but you can.
Thank you for this, YUM !!!
Do you store in oil in the fridge or just in a bag or container? Everything I’ve read about storing roasted garlic says to cover it in oil and put in fridge and use within a week.
I store the roasted garlic in the fridge and have used it for months. Whether I should or not is another question, but it always tastes great and has never gone bad on me. Fresh garlic, however, does.
Be careful of using already peeled garlic. though it is cheaper if its from china it is full of pesticides that are not legal to use in the US anymore. Use California garlic as its pesticide free though probably more expensive but healthier. Check out the origin of the garlic whole too. Chinese garlic will not have the roots attached and if packaged it will be marked where its from.
I totally agree! I buy a big bag of California grown organic garlic cloves at Costco.
Hello, my garlic turned out a little too crisp, making it hard to mash up. Do you think it was because I didn’t use the parchment paper?
Very possible. I also tend to cook mine in a stone casserole dish which is more gentle. You can always try a lower heat and/or stir them more often next time.
Thank you for the post. I am still dealing with last years crop so it did half in jars and half roasted.