Roasted Garlic

Making mashed potatoes, a sauce, or soup? Roasted garlic will infuse it with rich, nutty flavor. Find my easy method for how to roast garlic below!

Roasted garlic

Have you ever roasted garlic in the oven? As it cooks, your kitchen fills with an amazing savory scent. It’s the kind of mouthwatering aroma that’s guaranteed to make you hungry, even if you’ve just finished lunch. If you ask me, this smell alone is enough reason to learn how to roast garlic at home.

But of course, the main reason to make roasted garlic is the taste. Unlike raw garlic, roasted garlic doesn’t have any sort of bite. Its flavor is sweet, mellow, nutty, and rich. It also softens as it roasts, becoming tender, creamy, and spreadable. Blend it into a soup or a sauce, fold it into mashed potatoes, or spread it onto bread. No matter what you’re cooking, adding roasted garlic will instantly make it more flavorful and complex.

Garlic bulbs on a cutting board

How to Roast Garlic

In many of my recipes, I ask you to roast individual garlic cloves. In those cases, my instructions will differ from the ones you find here. You’ll wrap the unpeeled garlic in foil with a drizzle of olive oil and roast it for about 20-30 minutes. Typically, the garlic is roasting along with something else, so the oven temperatures in those recipes will vary.

If you don’t use roasted garlic often and you want to make a recipe that calls for a couple of cloves, that’s a great way to go. However, once you try oven roasted garlic, you might find yourself using it more than you’d expect. I encourage you to make it in bulk, roasting a few heads of garlic at a time. Add some to whatever you’re cooking that day, and freeze the rest. Stored in an airtight container, peeled, roasted garlic cloves will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.

For larger quantities, here’s my method for how to roast garlic:

First, trim the garlic. Use a sharp knife to slice 1/4 inch off the top of a garlic bulb.

Cut garlic bulbs in foil

Then, add olive oil. Place the garlic cut-side-up in a piece of aluminum foil, and drizzle olive oil over the top. Sprinkle it with salt, too. I like to use a small ramekin or baking dish so that the garlic stays cut-side-up while it bakes.

Foil packet in a baking dish

Next, bake! Wrap the garlic in foil, and roast at 350°F for 40-60 minutes, or until the cloves are deeply golden brown and tender. That’s it! Peel and freeze the garlic, or try one of the serving suggestions below.

Roasted garlic recipe

How to Use Roasted Garlic

Roasted garlic is a fantastic way to add rich, nutty flavor to spreads, sauces, soups, and more! Have fun experimenting with it in your cooking. To get you started, here are a few of my favorite ways to use it:

In the mood for something simpler? Mash the garlic into a paste, and spread it onto crusty bread like butter.

How to roast garlic

More Favorite Cooking Basics

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Roasted Garlic

rate this recipe:
5 from 11 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Learn how to roast garlic! It will add rich, nutty flavor to mashed potatoes, soups, and more. Find specific serving suggestions in the post above.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Trim the top ¼ inch off the top of the garlic bulb.
  • Place the garlic cut-side up on a piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Tip: I like to use a small baking dish or ramekin to help the garlic sit cut-side up.
  • Wrap the garlic in the foil and roast for 40 to 60 minutes or until the cloves are deeply golden brown and tender.
  • Use in any recipe (like mashed potatoes or cauliflower mashed potatoes) that calls for roasted garlic. It also freezes well.

1 comment

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  1. Janet
    11.04.2020

    I love roasted garlic! I didn’t know you could freeze it though. Thanks for the tip!

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.