If you have ever wondered how to roast garlic at home, this tutorial lays out all of the steps for you, including photos.
How many of you made New Year's resolutions to work on your cooking skills or at least branch out in your recipe repertoire, such as cooking with roasted garlic? When I started my "How to" series a year ago, it was with the intention of providing tips for some much-used cooking techniques, such as chopping an onion or holding and cutting with a chef's knife (Knife Skills 101). If you would like to check out the whole series, head to the How to page or click the tab in the header above. If you want to learn to roast garlic, then stick around to learn this technique for making an easy appetizer or adding an extra layer of flavor to your favorite soups or pasta dishes.
Not only is the method for roasting garlic easy, but the ingredient list just doesn't get any shorter. A bulb of garlic, olive oil and a piece of foil will do the trick. Peel the papery skin off the bulb, rub the whole thing with olive oil, bundle it up in a piece of foil and tuck it into the oven. Forty minutes later you'll be rewarded with creamy, slightly sweet garlic that can be smeared on toasted pieces of baguette, pureed into creamy soups or stirred into pasta sauces.
How to roast garlic:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Peel all of the loose papery skin from the outside of the garlic bulb, leaving the bulb intact. Cut off the top of the bulb, leaving the top of the cloves exposed.
Place the bulb on a sheet of foil, drizzle over 2 tablespoons olive oil and throughly rub the olive oil onto the entire surface of the bulb.
Close the foil and place the package in an oven-proof dish.
Roast the garlic until the cloves are soft when pierced with a small, sharp knife, about 40 minutes. Let the garlic cool for about 10 minutes before handling.
Using a small knife or your fingers remove the garlic from the skin. My favorite way to do this is to remove the whole clove from the bulb and squeeze out the soft pulp.
Mash the garlic with the back of a fork, if you wish, and serve on pieces of toasted baguette or in a recipe (think stews, soups, dips...) The roasted garlic is fantastic with roasted vegetables or smashed avocados.
Recipes with roasted garlic:
Cookin' Canuck's Mashed Cauliflower with Roasted Garlic
Hungry Foodies Pharmacy's Roasted Garlic, Bacon & Onion Marmalade
Good Life Eats' Roasted Garlic & Cauliflower Soup
My Kitchen Addiction's Roasted Garlic Pasta Salad with White Beans & Spinach
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How to: Roast Garlic
Ingredients
- 1 bulb garlic
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Peel all of the loose papery skin from the outside of the garlic bulb, leaving the bulb intact. Cut off the top of the bulb, leaving the top of the cloves exposed.
- Place the bulb on a sheet of foil, drizzle over 2 tablespoons olive oil and throughly rub the olive oil onto the entire surface of the bulb.
- Close the foil and place the package in an oven-proof dish.
- Roast the garlic until the cloves are soft when pierced with a small, sharp knife, about 40 minutes. Let the garlic cool for about 10 minutes before handling.
Nutrition
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Jean
I do have a bread maker so the idea of Fresh roasted garlic on my fresh baked bread (when I do plan to make some) will just be wonderful !!! Thanks again...I can't wait to read some more of your ideas 🙂
Bob James
Had this for the first time in Chicago at a restaurant Bistro One (no longer there). It is better than butter for bread and I'm sure better for ya. Hats off to ya in the Great White North for the post.
Patrick Hanlon
Hi , Until I lived in Genoa Nv. just below Lake Tahoe , i had a yen for garlic only as a normal person then i found a Basque Restaurant , JT's , in Gardnerville that serves old world dinners the way it's been done for centuries . Roasted garlic is common , and it was hard for me to hide my excitement after my first visit .
I played around with the process of how to find a way to roast my own . Any meal that remotely allows us to have it , we do. A little gassy though .
Lisa
My favorite restaurant in Gulf Shores serves roasted garlic mixed with parmesan and olive oil with their bread. It is Heavenly!!!
Aurelia
As you might see I am kind of sticked to your blog. I love roasted garlic and it is so unbelievable easy...
Sarasota Flight School
Brilliant!!! I'm going to have to give this a try...love the idea of serving it on a baguette! I looooove garlic!!
Jane
I thought that you had to use a high heat tolerant oil...not olive oil when the oven is 400 degrees? I use avocado oil or other oil labeled for high heat when roasting garlic or veggies.
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Hi Jane, you're absolutely correct that oils with a high smoke point (e.g., canola oil, grapeseed oil, etc) should be used for high-heat temperature cooking. For this reason, olive oil is not a good choice for high-heat cooking, such as searing meat or frying foods. The oil will break down and give off an odd taste, plus will make the food greasy. However, extra-virgin olive oil does have a smoke point of approximately 410 degrees (with "lighter" olive oils having a higher smoke point), so it still works when roasting garlic at 400 degrees. Though it's definitely cutting things close on the temperature gauge, I have never had a problem with using olive oil to roast garlic. I hope that helps!
Erica
Looove roasted garlic. Its a great way to add a ton of flavour without a ton of fat! Thanks Dara!
Jen at The Three Little Piglets
There's not much more heavenly than the smell of roasted garlic!!
Courtney
I love roasting garlic then putting it on top of a marinara pizza. So heavenly!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Ooo, does that ever sound good!