Name: Easy Roasted Garlic Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 3 bulb garlic; 1 cup olive oil; salt (optional)

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How to Roast Garlic in the Oven

Roasted garlic is a simple addition that can add depth of flavor to other recipes. When the garlic is roasted it becomes caramelized and the intense spicy garlic clove turns gentle and mildly nutty with a hint of sweetness.

Roasted garlic is a useful staple to have on hand, the cloves can be kept whole or easily mashed into a spreadable paste. The roasted garlic can be stored in the fridge or kept frozen.

Once you have the roasted garlic on hand it can easily be added to soups, sauces, dips, mashed potatoes, spread onto bread or toast, or added to pasta, fromagerie or charcuterie boards, or salad dressings.

If you are a garlic lover, check out our plant-based garlic-herbed aioli recipe and learn how to unleash the health benefits of garlic with this secret rule.

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Raw Garlic vs Roasted Garlic
Ingredients
Instructions
Storage
Recipe

Raw Garlic vs Roasted Garlic

Garlic is a staple ingredient that is used to flavor and enhances many different dishes. Raw garlic has a very pungent and spicy flavor, but when cooked it mellows out and has more of a nutty flavor. When garlic is roasted it becomes very tender and caramelized, so tender it is almost creamy and even spreadable.

Learn more about garlic and its health benefits here.

Ingredients

This recipe is pretty straightforward, you only need 2 ingredients:

whole garlic bulbs - look for bulbs that are firm and have not started to sprout
good quality extra virgin olive oil
optional seasonings: salt, pepper, fresh herbs

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Get started by preheating the oven to 400°F.

Remove any of the loose skin around the garlic bulb without breaking the bulb apart.

cut the tops off the garlic before roasting

Then cut the tops off of the garlic bulb exposing the cloves. To reduce waste, you can roast the loose tops that were cut off and add them to the bottom of your dish or foil to roast too.

drizzle olive oil over the garlic bulbs before roasting

Place the bulbs cut side up in a baking dish of your choice. You can use a pyrex baking dish, muffin tins, foil, or parchment paper tied with twine. And drizzle with olive oil and any additional seasonings, like salt, pepper, or fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, or oregano.

Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown and tender. Allow the garlic to cool completely before removing the cloves.

Remove the cloves from the base of the garlic bulb, by gently squeezing out each clove and removing any excess garlic peel.

Use the roasted garlic cloves immediately or store the roasted garlic and its oil in an airtight container or jar.

Storage

The roasted garlic can either be stored as whole cloves or can be mashed into a paste and stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

If storing the roasted garlic as cloves cover them in olive oil (you can use the leftover olive oil you roasted with) and store in the fridge for up to 1 month or remove it from the oil and freeze them for up to 3 months.

If storing as a garlic paste, first mash the garlic and place compact in a jar and then drizzle a light layer of olive oil over the garlic paste and store in the fridge for up to 1 month. If freezing you can measure out the paste into preferred serving sizes using an ice cube tray and measuring spoons so the garlic can easily be defrosted as you go.

Keep in mind the oil will harden when in the refrigerator but liquify once it is adjusted to room temperature.

roasted garlic after cooking in the oven

Recipe