How to Roast Garlic
An easy, step-by-step tutorial on how to roast garlic two ways (one slow, one fast)! Perfect for adding to sauces, dressings, salads, or using as a spread!
Ingredients
- 1 head garlic
- 1 Tbsp olive (or avocado) oil (plus more for storing)
- 1 pinch sea salt
Instructions
METHOD 1
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Heat oven to 400 degrees F (204C).
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Slice the very top of the head of garlic off and drizzle with oil and a little salt. Wrap loosely in foil and set directly on the oven rack.
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Roast 45 minutes - 1 hour or until fragrant, golden brown on top, and tender when squeezed. Remove from oven, unwrap, and let cool 10 minutes.
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To extract roasted garlic cloves, squeeze from the bottom of the clove up and the soft clove should come right out. Use immediately in sauces, dressings, as a spread, and more!
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To store, transfer cooled cloves to a small glass jar or Tupperware container and top with olive oil to cover. Cover with a secure lid and store in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Scoop out and use as needed.
METHOD 2
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Heat oven to 400 degrees F (204C).
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Take the head of garlic and separate into cloves but leave the skin on - discard any remaining skins that shed. Place cloves on a baking sheet.
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Drizzle cloves with a little oil and toss to coat. Then bake for 15-25 minutes, or until slightly golden brown and fragrant - be careful not to burn.
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Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Then peel off skin and use immediately in sauces, dressings, as a spread, and more! To store, transfer cooled cloves to a small glass jar or Tupperware container and top with olive oil to cover. Cover with a secure lid and store in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Scoop out and use as needed.
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate for 1 whole head roasted garlic calculated with olive oil and salt.
So I just tried method 2 and the garlic cloves literally exploded inside my oven. What a mess. I think it’s crucial to wrap them in foil to avoid this.
Hi, Jill. We’ve never had that experience. Did you change anything else about the method or ingredients?
No I did it exactly. I think the tight seal of the garlic skins got too hot inside. I would recommend cutting the tops a little to let steam escape — the same reason you cut the top of a whole head of garlic before roasting, I think the same rule should apply.
Hmm, we haven’t had any trouble with leaving them whole, but perhaps that could help. Were your garlic cloves on the smaller side? Perhaps they needed less time.
Just curious, is there any downside to roasting individual cloves (method #2) as opposed to the cut-top bulb (#1)? It always seems so tedious when I do a bunch via method #1.
Also, I’ve read about botulism risks of storing roasted garlic in oil. Any concerns about freezing compound butters with roasted garlic? Thanks!
Peter – you can store these in oil IN the fridge! Should be fresh for up to 2 weeks. Either roasting method will work!
Hey, could you please post a recipe that uses the stored roasted garlic in oil? Thanks!!
Hi Chris, we have a couple recipes that might interest you: Lemony Arugula Salad and Vegan Gluten-Free Mac ‘N’ Cheese. You can also throw it in any recipe that calls for raw garlic that you are hoping to have a more gentle flavor- such as in hummus. Hope that helps!
Is it possible to roast garlic without oil? I recently tried to roast a few cloves but they were still raw. Did I not leave them in long enough? Can I only do it by cutting the head of garlic off? Thank you in advance.
Hi Jenna, you do not have to use oil, but it does help it get a little more caramelized. We recommend cutting the top off the head of garlic and wrapping the remainder in foil. Our best guess for why your cloves were still raw would be that they didn’t cook long enough. Hope that helps!