How to Roast Garlic in the Oven

Learn how to easily roast garlic in the oven! It's easier than you think and the result is truly incredible. 5 mins of prep, 50 minutes in the oven, and 1000+ uses!

What ingredients do you need?

You only need two ingredients. Whole garlic bulbs and olive oil. You'll also need a baking dish and some aluminium foil. That's it! Only two ingredients and two tools! Roasting garlic is so much easier than you might think.

If you don't want to wrap the garlic directly with the aluminium foil, you can wrap it in some parchment paper and then wrap that in the aluminium foil.

How do you roast garlic?

It's easy and really simple. There are only about 5 minutes of active prep and then you just let the oven do its magic for 50 minutes and voila, you have amazing, creamy, and caramelized roasted garlic!

First preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).

Rub the garlic bulb gently to remove some of the loose outer layers but still keep the garlic whole and in tact.

Cut off the top part of the bulb (1-2cm or ½ inch), only enough to expose the garlic cloves. Be careful not to break the garlic apart doing this. If a few cloves fall off, it's ok, just try to keep them intact as much as you can.

You might have to cut off the tops of some smaller cloves separately so you don't remove too much of the other ones. Repeat with the rest of the garlic bulbs.

Place enough aluminium wrap in a baking dish to wrap all the bulbs, add the garlic, and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil covering each clove.

Wrap the garlic in the foil and transfer to the oven. Roast for 40-50 minutes. You'll know it's done when the cloves are slightly golden and very soft. It's better to overcook it than not cook it enough.

Oven Roasted Garlic Q&A:

What to do with roasted garlic?

There are so many uses for roasted garlic. You can use it in almost any recipe that calls for garlic! The simplest way to eat it is just smearing it on a piece of toast like you would butter.

You can add roasted garlic to any pasta sauces, dips, dressings, or spreads. I like using it in Spaghetti Aglio e Olio instead of regular raw garlic, it's life-changing. It goes really well with any breakfast egg dishes, sandwiches, or even soups.

How much roasted garlic can you eat in a day?

There is no hard rule about how much garlic you can eat in a day but try not to eat more than you would if it was regular raw garlic and you were chopping it up into your meals. Believe me, it's so incredibly delicious and buttery, it's not hard to eat a whole head of garlic in one day but your stomach might be upset at you afterward.

Be careful with eating too much garlic if you're on any blood regulating medication. It may interfere with it. It's also recommended not to eat garlic before any operation. If you are concern about any side effects of eating garlic please consult a doctor. This is not medical advice.

If you don't have any of those issues, your biggest problem after eating too much garlic would be smelling like a clove of garlic. And honestly, that's a price to pay I'm willing to accept.

How long can I keep roasted garlic?

You can keep it in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 days or the freezer for up to 1 month. I highly recommend keeping it in the freeze, not in the fridge, and definitely not at room temperature. Room temperature creates the perfect environment for the garlic to produce botulism toxin.

After you take the roasted garlic out of the oven, remove the cloves out of their skins as soon as possible and lay them out on a baking sheet or a freezer-safe plate.

When frozen, transfer to a freezer-safe airtight container. Keep in the freezer for a month.

Can garlic cause Botulism?

Potentially yes, if not stored properly.

Please refer to this PDF to learn more about garlic and botulism, how to store garlic, how to freeze it, and more.

But please don't let this discourage you from making roasted garlic! If you properly store it, there is nothing to fear. Just make sure to always keep it in the freezer.

Recipes where you can use roasted garlic in:

These are my favorite recipes to add roasted garlic to. Just use roasted instead of raw whenever the recipe calls for any.

• Whipped Goat Cheese Toast with Shiitake Mushroom
• Bell Pepper and Zucchini Breakfast Skillet
• Halloumi Orzo Bowl with Roasted Veg and Herby Yogurt Sauce
• Shiitake Tomato Spaghetti

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