Kitchen Basics: Roasted Garlic

One of my favorite kitchen basics, roasted garlic is one of those foods that you won’t be able to live without once you’ve made it. You can roast several garlic heads and use them at once, or keep them in the fridge or freezer for later. Roasted garlic can be used on pasta, spread on toast or crusty bread, put into sauces and veggie dips, or added to soups and salads. You can use it in any recipe that calls for raw garlic.

Making roasted garlic couldn’t be easier. The garlic roasts for 40 to 45 minutes, but if you need to leave it in longer, or forget to set a timer, it can cook longer – as in, a lot longer, even up to a half hour more (depending on the head size). The result will be that it just gets softer, which is a good thing.

You can season your garlic heads with a sprinkling of salt, or even pepper, before they bake if you will be eating the garlic alone as a spread or just tossing it in with pasta.

Roasting garlic will fill your house with garlic aroma, so you might want to turn on your overhead stove vent while it is baking. That won’t eliminate the aroma completely, but it helps! Don’t get me wrong, the garlic aroma is good – it’s just very concentrated while roasting.

To easily remove the cooled roasted garlic clove from it’s skin, just squeeze the bottom of each clove to push it up. You can also use a fork to pull the clove up, but you might risk leaving some garlic behind.

Freeze roasted garlic for up to three months. Remove all the garlic from the skins and place the cloves in an airtight container before freezing. You can keep the cloves separated or mush them together with a fork before freezing. You can also keep roasted garlic in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

You might enjoy making Garlic Mashed Cauliflower using roasted garlic. You will find that roasted garlic is so versatile – you’ll make it again and again to keep it on hand.

Photos updated December 1, 2019.

Print Recipe

Kitchen Basics: Roasted Garlic

A delicious staple for any kitchen, roasted garlic can be used immediately in many dishes, or as a spread. Store in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks or in the freezer up to 3 months.

Course

Appetizer

Cuisine

Italian

Keyword

garlic, olive oil

Prep Time

5 minutes

Cook Time

40 minutes

Servings

Ingredients

• Garlic heads any number
• olive oil for drizzling

Course Appetizer Cuisine Italian Keyword garlic, olive oil Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 40 minutes Servings Ingredients Garlic heads any number olive oil for drizzling

Instructions

1. Heat your oven to 400° F and place a rack in the center of the oven.
2. Peel the loose papery skin off the garlic as much as possible, leaving the tighter skin on the garlic cloves.
3. Cut 1/4 inch off of the top of the garlic cloves, leaving the head intact with the cloves still attached to each other.

   
4. Drizzle each garlic head with olive oil. Rub the oil into the tops of the heads, so it can soak into the garlic. Season with salt and/or pepper if desired.
5. Place all the garlic heads together in one aluminum foil piece, wrapping the garlic snuggly, being sure the foil is sealed all around.
6. Roast on the center oven rack for 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and check a middle garlic clove for softness by inserting a knife or fork. Place the garlic back into the oven for 10 minutes or more if you find the garlic isn't yet soft enough for spreading.

   
7. Let cool slightly before serving.
8. Can refrigerate up to 2 weeks or refrigerate up to 3 months.

   

Recipe Notes

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