How to Roast Garlic
Want to roast garlic at home? Learn how to roast garlic to make a delicious spread or to add to your favorite recipes!
I first learned how to roast garlic at a friend’s house in college. I was spending the weekend with her family, and they served a very elegant meal on their patio. There was crusty French bread. Yay! And there were roasted garlic bulbs hanging out in aluminum foil, just hanging out on the table. Um, what?
I was informed that I needed to squeeze a roasted clove on the bread and just eat it. Not wanting to appear the country bumpkin that I was at the time, I just went ahead and did it. I expected to taste the taste of sharp raw garlic. Nope! It was delicious.
What does roasted garlic taste like?
Roasted garlic is mellow garlic. It’s sweeter, but still super fragrant. Well roasted garlic should spread just like butter! It will be soft and creamy.
Because of its amazing flavor, roasted garlic is an excellent addition to nearly any recipe that requires garlic! I love to use it:
- as a spread on toasted bread
- as a butter replacement (or addition) for baked potatoes
- in your favorite marinara or cream sauce recipe
- in a pasta dish like this Chicken Pasta with Garlic Parmesan White Sauce
- to give great flavor in dips, like this Lemon Hummus
- a delicious addition to goulash
- a way to flavor creamy mashed potatoes
How Many Cloves are in a Head of Garlic?
The average head of garlic has 11-12 cloves in it. But, this largely depends on the size of the garlic bulb!
When planning how many garlic heads to roast for your recipes, you can use the following assumptions:
- 1 head of garlic equals about 4 tablespoons of minced, fresh garlic
- 1 clove of garlic equals about 1.5 tsp of minced fresh garlic OR 1/2 tsp garlic powder
People who said we’d never use math in real life weren’t cooks, am I right! 🙂
How to Roast Garlic at Home
Garlic is best roasted at a low-moderate temperature, I recommend 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
First, clean your garlic by removing the paper-like skin from the garlic head, leaving cloves attached. Then, cut 1/3 inch from the top of the bulb, on the stem side, exposing the top of the cloves.
Then, pour olive oil over the top of the cloves. Wrap each garlic head tightly in aluminum foil and place on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake for a little less than an hour, or until the cloves are soft and tender.
Roasted garlic can be stored whole in the refrigerator sealed in an airtight container. You can also squeeze the cloves out after baking and store the same way. This makes it much easier to use the roasted garlic on demand.
How to Roast Garlic
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 heads garlic
- 3 to 5 teaspoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove paper-like skin from outside of garlic head, leaving cloves attached.
- Cut ¼ inch from the top (stem side) of each garlic head, exposing the top of the cloves.
- Pour olive oil over the top of the cloves.
- Wrap each garlic head tightly in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 55 minutes or until the cloves are tender.
- When done, cloves should be soft and squeeze easily from the garlic head. Be careful and allow them to cool before squeezing.
- To store, refrigerate the entire head in an airtight container or squeeze cloves from the head into an airtight container, cover with a drizzle of olive oil, cover, and refrigerate for up to one week.
