Learn how to roast garlic with minimal prep needed! Roasting mellows out the punchy bite of raw garlic & delivers on a deeply savory and slightly sweet-nutty flavor. Enjoy as a condiment spread over bread & crackers, mixed into dressings, sauces and more!
Oven Roasted Garlic at A Glance
- Roasted Garlic vs Raw Garlic
- Raw garlic is sharp and punchy. While raw garlic is great at packing in a pop of flavor, roasted garlic adds more of a grounding hum. It’s a little sweet, creamy, nutty and deeply savory.
- Roast the entire head.
- No need to separate and peel the individual cloves! Just peel off the outer most layer of papery skin so you can see the cloves then slice off the top to expose the garlic within.
- You need to wrap in foil and/or baking paper
- This is so your garlic doesn’t dry out. Roasting in an enclosed container traps the moisture in the garlic which allows you to roast at a high temp until caramelized without it burning or drying out.
How to Roast Garlic in the Oven
Garlic prep: Remove the outer-most paper skin around a fresh garlic head, but leave the skin on around the individual cloves. Slice the top 1/4-inch off the tip to expose the tops of the cloves.
Oil & Salt: Place the garlic head in the middle of a large piece of baking paper or baking foil. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil over the top and season with a pinch of salt.
↳How many Heads of Garlic Can You Wrap Up at a Time?
I recommend you only wrap up 2-3 garlic heads (at most) together at a time in foil/paper.
This is because you want to make sure to leave a bit of space around the heads to let the steam circulate for an even cook. If you wrap too many heads at once it gets tricky to keep the garlic upright and things evenly spaced.
Wrap in baking paper: Gather the edges of the paper up over the garlic and twist around to keep it closed.
Add/or wrap in foil: Or wrap in foil – fold the edges up and over the head to close. Wrap the foil somewhat loosely.
↳Baking Paper vs Foil
Use either or both – it’s up to you!
I use paper to loosely wrap the garlic head then foil around the paper. The extra space with the paper encourages steam which makes for softer garlic cloves, and the foil helps keep this shut so the garlic doesn’t burn if the paper opens up in the oven.
Roast: Roast in the middle of the oven for about 35-50 minutes. Check the color & texture after about 35 minutes. The cloves should be lightly golden around the edges and soft.
Cool: Remove from the oven and carefully unwrap the garlic heads. Leave them to cool on the baking tray about 5-10 minutes or until you can handle them without burning yourself.
↳FYI: Roast Time
Keep in mind that overall cook time will vary depending on the size of your garlic head(s). Small heads with small cloves will finish in closer to 35 minutes while large heads/cloves might need closer to 50.
↳How to remove the roasted cloves?
Unwrap the garlic and give it a few minutes to cool down. When you’re ready, squeeze each clove from the bottom and move up. The garlic should pop right out with little effort.
What to Do with Oven Roasted Garlic?
- On bread/crackers: Roasted garlic cloves are soft and creamy & easily mash up into a garlic paste that is perfect for spreading onto toast, crackers, flatbread, crostini, etc.
- Mix into mashed potatoes: Roast a whole head then mix into mashed potatoes when you you add the dairy. If you’re interested, I’ve got a recipe for Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes – this in now the only way I want to eat mashed potatoes going forward!
- Press into focaccia: Press individual cloves into the dough of a homemade focaccia before you set it out to rise. The dough will puff up around the garlic and protect it from burning when it’s time to bake the focaccia.
- Add to pastas, sauces, dips & spreads: You can easily add an entire head of garlic to homemade pizza sauce, marinara, hummus, roasted garlic butter, etc.
- Mix into salad dressings & vinaigrettes: The soft & creamy texture mixes in perfect to dressings & vinaigrettes to add a more subtle, savory garlic-flavor.
More Oven Roasted Veggies, Sauces & Sides
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try roasting your own garlic! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
How to Roast Garlic Recipe
Simply slice off the top of the bulb of a whole head of garlic, cover in oil and roast until golden & soft! Spread on bread or crackers, mix into dressings, sauces and more!
Ingredients
- 1 or more whole garlic head - fresh
- 1 tbsp olive oil per head of garlic
- salt - 1 pinch per head of garlic
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C) and set aside a small baking sheet or roasting pan.
- Garlic prep: Without removing the individual cloves from the head or fully removing the skin, peel off the outer-most, papery skin on the garlic head. Use a sharp knife to cut off about 1/4-inch off the top of the garlic head to expose the cloves. If needed, use a small paring knife to cut the tops off the small, outer cloves.
- Season garlic: Place the garlic head with the exposed cloves facing up in the middle of a small piece of parchment paper and/or foil. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil over the top and season with a pinch of salt. Use your fingers to spread the oil and spice all over the garlic. Wrap the garlic up in the paper/foil so it's completely covered and place on the small baking tray/pan.
- Roast: Roast in the middle of the oven for about 35-50 minutes until golden brown around the edges and the cloves are soft. Keep in mind that size matters - small heads will roast faster than large ones.
- Cool & Remove: Unwrap the garlic and let it rest for about 5-10 minutes until cool enough to handle. When you're ready, pinch from the bottom of the clove and pull up - the garlic should pop right out.
- Store: Store peeled cloves in an airtight container and cover completely with olive oil. Keep in the fridge and use within 1 week. To freeze: place individual garlic cloves (peeled) on a parchment paper lined baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge before use.
Notes
- Baking Paper vs Foil: Both options work so use what you like. I use a combo of paper & foil. The paper allows more steaming within while the foil ensures things stay shut.
- How many garlic heads to wrap up at a time: I recommend you only wrap up 2-3 garlic heads (at most) together at a time in foil/paper. Any more in a single paper/foil parcel and the cooking starts to get too uneven. You can roast more than 3 at a time, just separate the heads into smaller wrapped up portions.
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