I talk a lot about how roasting magically makes everything taste better, and garlic is no exception! Fresh garlic has a spicy flavor punch, but roasted garlic has a deep, mellow, and slightly sweet flavor. Roasted garlic tastes great on its own or you can add it to just about anything you cook for a little extra special flavor. This tutorial on how to roast garlic will have you hooked on this inexpensive way to take your food to the next level!
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Roasted Garlic vs. Fresh Garlic
Fresh garlic has a sharp, almost spicy flavor that can be quite harsh in food, let alone on your breath! But when roasted, that bold flavor mellows into a deep, savory, and almost sweet flavor from the caramelized natural sugars. Not only is the flavor of roasted garlic phenomenal, but it also tends to be a bit easier on your stomach and breath than fresh garlic. 😅
What You’ll Need
Roasting garlic is incredibly simple and it doesn’t take any special equipment. Anytime you are roasting meat or vegetables, you can roast a head of garlic along side it and then freeze the roasted garlic for later use. Here’s what you’ll need to roast garlic:
- Garlic: You’ll need six whole heads (or bulbs) of garlic for this recipe, but it can easily be scaled down to make just one head at a time if needed.
- Olive Oil: Olive oil coats the garlic to keep it moist as it roasts, which helps the sugars caramelize and prevents the garlic from drying out and burning.
- Aluminum Foil: Foil seals in the moisture as the garlic roasts, also helping prevent it from drying out. You can also roast the garlic in a small lidded roasting dish if you don’t have foil.
How to Use Roasted Garlic
If you’re a garlic lover like me, you’ll love smearing this soft, spreadable roasted garlic on a piece of crusty bread. If you want to extend that garlic flavor a little more, you can whip it into some butter, cream cheese, or mayo for a delicious caramelized garlic butter spread. But roasted garlic is great in any recipe that calls for regular garlic. Try using roasted garlic in the following dishes:
How Long to Roast Garlic
The total roasting time will depend on the size of your garlic bulbs and your oven’s temperature, but at 400ºF it will take approximately 30-60 minutes. Peeled garlic cloves wrapped in foil will take closer to 30 minutes while larger unpeeled bulbs will be closer to 60 minutes. As with any roasting, it’s important to check in on your food to make sure you’ve achieved the desired level of roasting.
How to Store Roasted Garlic
The easiest and most cost-effective way to make roasted garlic is to make several heads of garlic at once while you’re already roasting something else. Just pop the garlic in the oven as you cook your meat, vegetables, or whatever else you might be roasting. But then what do you do with six or seven bulbs of roasted garlic??
After roasting, simply squeeze the soft garlic out of the papery skin, then measure out the roasted garlic paste into one teaspoon or one tablespoon portions. Place the potions on a parchment or plastic lined plate or baking sheet, freeze until solid, then transfer to an air-tight freezer bag for longer storage.
Roasted garlic will last about 4-5 days in the fridge and 3 months or more in the freezer.
Roasted Garlic
Servings 6 headsIngredients
- 6* heads garlic ($3.84)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Remove any loose outer pieces of papery skin from the heads of garlic. Slice off the top ⅓ of each head to expose the cloves inside (save the pieces of garlic cloves that have been cut off to use in other recipes).
- Place the garlic in a baking dish. Drizzle olive oil over the cut surfaces of the garlic, making sure they're coated in oil.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with a lid or foil and transfer to the oven. Roast for 30 minutes, then check the garlic. Add more time in the oven, 10-15 minutes at a time, until the garlic is deeply golden brown. Total roasting time will vary with the size and number of garlic heads you're roasting, as well as the type of dish you're roasting in.
- Let the garlic cool. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze the soft roasted garlic out of the heads. Use immediately, store in the refrigerator, or freezer for later use.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Roasted Garlic – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Remove any extra loose pieces of the papery skin from the heads of garlic before you begin. It will be much easier to remove the roasted garlic if the loose skins have been removed.
Slice off about ⅓ of the top of the garlic bulbs to expose all of the cloves. Make sure to save the garlic bits that are cut off and remove them from the skin. You can use the pieces that have been cut off in other recipes later–it’s already partially chopped! :)
If you’re only doing one head of garlic at a time, you can wrap the garlic in foil to create an enclosed space. If you’re doing several heads at a time, place them in a baking dish that either has an oven-safe lid or that can be tightly covered with foil. Drizzle the tops of the garlic with oil to help prevent them from drying out as they roast.
Cover the baking dish tightly (with a lid or foil), then transfer to the preheated 400ºF oven.
Roasting time can vary quite a bit depending on the size of your garlic heads, how many you’re roasting at once, or if you’re roasting in a glass or ceramic dish as opposed to just wrapping with foil. Check the garlic at 30 minutes, then add more time, 10-15 minutes at a time, until they reach this deep golden brown color.
These beauties took just over 60 minutes to achieve that delicious golden color. Let the garlic cool until they can be easily handled, then squeeze the garlic out of the skins.
Hi Bess, cam I use yukon yellow fles potatoes instead of russets for the fluffy mashed potatoes?
Hi! You can use yukon’s, but they are waxier than the russets and you won’t achieve the same results. XOXO -Monti
I love this site but I honestly can’t wait for this photo to be swamped out. It triggers my Trypophobia big time. (Trypophobia refers to a strong fear or disgust of closely packed holes.)
Honestly Budget Bytes is a STAPLE in my food repertoire. Never had a poor recipe with Beth! Bought the cookbook. Thank you Beth!
If I’m roasting a tray of mixed veg, I always add a load of whole peeled cloves to it as well.
But I love the idea of roasting several bulbs at once and then freezing.