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Get It NowIf you’re a garlic lover, learning how to roast garlic in the oven is a must-have basic skill — and this roasted garlic recipe is here to make it EASY for you! It takes just minutes to prep, but if you want to roast individual cloves or use a different cooking method, I have several other options for you below.
Plus, I’ll show you ideas for ways to use this recipe for roasted garlic once it’s ready. It adds amazing garlic flavor to anything and everything. After mastering garlic, try homemade roasted red peppers next!
Why You’ll Love This Oven Roasted Garlic Recipe
- Rich, nutty, and sweet flavor
- Smooth and creamy texture
- Made with just 2 basic ingredients
- The easiest method for roasting garlic
- Super versatile
Basic Ingredients
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for a roasted garlic head, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Garlic – We obviously need garlic to make oven roasted garlic cloves! Since we’ll be making whole roasted garlic, look for whole heads.
- Sea Salt & Black Pepper
- Olive Oil – Use a high quality olive oil for best flavor, but avocado oil would also work. The amount you’ll need is about 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil per head of garlic.
How To Roast Garlic In The Oven
This section shows how to make this roasted garlic recipe, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Peel. Peel and discard the loose, outer layers of the whole garlic heads.
- Trim. Use a sharp knife to slice 1/4 to 1/2 inch off the top of each head, so that you can see the garlic cloves inside.
- Season. Place whole heads of garlic onto a piece of aluminum foil inside a baking dish or baking sheet, cut side up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil over the top of the cloves. Wrap the foil around the garlic heads and seal.
TIP: Make sure oil runs over each clove.
It helps to pour slowly so you get a little bit on every surface.
- Roast garlic. Bake in the oven until soft and caramelized.
How Long To Roast Garlic?
Roasted garlic takes about 30-40 minutes in the oven.
What Temp To Roast Garlic?
This whole roasted garlic recipe is best baked at 400 degrees F.
How To Remove the Cloves After Roasting
Once the garlic has cooled enough to touch, you can use two fingers to squeeze out a roasted garlic clove from each opening in the top of the head.
Variations
In case you prefer another method, here is how to make roasted garlic as individual cloves or using other cooking methods:
- Roast garlic without foil – You don’t have to use foil for this roasted garlic recipe, but you do need it to be covered so that it “steams” the garlic a bit and it doesn’t dry out. If you don’t want the foil touching your garlic, you can place garlic bulbs in muffin tin (and top with another muffin tin) or a small pan topped with foil. Alternatively, you can also line the foil with parchment paper before placing the garlic on it. This way, the garlic does not have direct contact with the foil.
- Roast garlic cloves (unpeeled) – Drizzle raw garlic cloves (unpeeled) with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and roast for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown. Squeeze garlic out of skin when cool enough to touch. If you want to roast garlic cloves rather than a whole bulb, I prefer this method because squeezing the cloves out after roasting garlic is much less work than peeling beforehand.
- Roast peeled garlic – Peel and place individual cloves of garlic in a small baking dish. Season with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cover with foil and roast for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees F, stirring a few times during baking, until golden brown and soft. I think this method is more work, because you have to peel the cloves individually before roasting.
- Roast garlic in the air fryer – Trim and season the heads of garlic the same way as this recipe. Then, instead of baking, cook in air fryer at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes. (If this is your favorite method, check out my other healthy air fryer recipes.)
- Roast garlic in the microwave – Trim and season the garlic head as shown above. Place it into a shallow microwave safe dish and add a few tablespoons of water to the bottom of the dish. Microwave for about 5 minutes at 40% power.
- Seasonings – Sprinkle on some rosemary, thyme, or Italian seasoning before roasting. I don’t usually find this necessary.
How To Store Roasted Garlic
Storage is super easy! You can keep whole roasted garlic heads in an airtight container in the refrigerator, but they will last much longer if you remove the cloves from the skin and submerge them in olive oil before placing in the fridge.
How Long Does Roasted Garlic Last?
Finished roasted garlic recipes will last 3-4 days in the fridge, but cloves submerged in olive oil will last up to 2 weeks.
Can You Freeze Roasted Garlic?
Yes, you can freeze roasted garlic for 2-3 months.
What To Do With Roasted Garlic
There are so many ways to use this roasted garlic recipe! Here are some ideas:
- Salad Dressing – Roasted garlic will have people wondering what you added to your salad dressings! Try it in my creamy balsamic dressing, any vinaigrette-style dressing (like zesty Italian dressing), or even into Caesar salad dressing.
- Vegetables – Add a deeper garlic flavor to roasted vegetables by using roasted garlic, instead of minced. Try it in garlic roasted broccoli, roasted garlic cauliflower, oven roasted green beans, or stirred into regular potatoes, if that’s your preference.
- Marinades – These recipes all call for garlic, so add in roasted cloves to proteins like prime rib, Thanksgiving turkey, or pork tenderloin.
- Dips and Spreads – Level up your dips and spreads… or add both fresh and roasted to really bring up the flavor. Try roasted garlic cloves in cauliflower hummus, cream cheese dip, or cold crab dip (or hot crab dip).
- Sauces – Puree it into your favorite sauce, like lemon garlic aoili (or simply mayonnaise), tahini sauce, or just about any pasta sauce.
- Bread – Spread some butter and roasted garlic over your favorite bread or toast! You can also mash the garlic and mix with compound butter.
- Soups – Stir garlic into soups, like broccoli cheese soup, roasted cauliflower soup, or homemade vegetable soup.
Tools For Roasting Garlic
- Baking Dish – Use this baking dish for making this roasted garlic recipe in the oven.
Easy Roasted Garlic Recipe
Roasted Garlic Recipe (How To Roast Garlic)
Learn how to roast garlic in the oven, the easy way! This oven roasted garlic recipe makes perfectly creamy, caramelized garlic cloves.
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F (204 degrees C) .
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Peel and discard the outer layers of the whole garlic bulbs. Cut about 1/4 to 1/2 inch (0.6 to 1.3 cm) off the top of each head of garlic, exposing the cloves inside.
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Line a baking dish with a large piece of foil. Place the garlic heads onto the foil, cut side up.
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Sprinkle each head of garlic with salt and pepper. Drizzle 1-2 teaspoons of oil over each, making sure it runs between the cloves.
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Close the foil around the garlic and seal. Roast garlic in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
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Let the garlic cool from hot to warm. To remove the roasted garlic from the heads, squeeze from the root end into a bowl.
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Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1/4 head of garlic (about 3 cloves)
Recipe makes 8 heads of roasted garlic for a big batch, but you can easily scale to any number you like.
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
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102 Comments
Julie
0I love roasted garlic especially in dressings, sometime I take the garlic out of it’s skin to roast and add it it whole to dishes.
Julie DICKSON
0I love roasted garlic especially in dressings, sometime I take the garlic out of it’s skin to roast and add it it whole to dishes.
Sandra
0Wow! These are delicious! Thank You for posting this.
I didn’t know that you can freeze these until I made them, and that is an advantage.
I’ve been getting larger vegetables lately and using what I need, and chopping up what I don’t use into either pieces or cubing them. Then I spread them on waxpaper and use either the 1/2 or 1/4 sheet size pans and freeze them. These small pans work nicely in the freezer. I use garlic in many recipes.
Sandra W.
Krissie Thomson
0Just cooked the roasted garlic. The aroma is delightful. My family loves garlic.
Jill Bernstein
0I’m so glad to have found this recipe. I never made garlic this way before and was surprised how delicious it is. I spread it on almond flour biscuits and on some roasted veggies. Yum!
Joro
0Easily among my favorite foods and very easy to prepare! Giving it 4/5 mainly because I wouldnt eat it by itself but it goes along with pretty much anything that’s savory and drastically improves it ^_^
Lucinda
0Thank you so much for this recipe and information. I love roasted garlic but the way my grandmother taught me was difficult and time consuming. This is so simple, now I can use roasted garlic much more often.
Vivian
0I love what roasting does to the flavor of garlic! In the past, I only took advantage of this at bbqs – throw in a packet of garlic in foil while grilling your meats, and then you have a lovely spreadable garlic that pairs well. This is the perfect in-the-kitchen version, which I then add to my favorite salad dressings and sauces for that little extra something. It’s really superb.
Deb
0Wow, great idea, only way to eat garlic now!!!
Jeffrey Lonjers
0I make this frequently, easy when you throw it in with other roasting dishes. Smells great while roasting as well!
Kimberly Rickert
0If you have not tried this, you should. You won’t be sorry, Simple but big flavors . If you are just starting out cooking, wholesomeyum.com is the place to start
Jane Inniger
0Looks delicious. Will have to try this out. Lots of good comments.
Carol Clevenger
0This is a great recipe and the taste is very good. it is a mellow taste and very tasty in dips etc.
Lorraine Peterson
0I cook a lot with garlic so I know this trick, but thanks because not many do.
Shari
0The hardest part of this recipe is preparing & trimming the garlic! It makes our home smell amazing, and the taste is incredible! Thank you for such a handy, easy way to roast garlic at home!
Donna Branch
0So easy to prepare. I added roasted garlic to my Italian salad….not strong at all! Just a sweet garlic flavor. Can hardly wait to try it with steak.
Suzi Hodgins
0Great recipe! It really IS easy! Made it for a small holiday party I had last night. Everyone raved!
Linda J Kilcoin
0Never roasted garlic before. Sounds delicious. Some ideas for using would be appreciated.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Linda, There are tons of ideas on how to use roasted garlic in the article.
Niamh
0I had a bunch of garlic I was about to toss in the food bin and now they are sitting happy in my freezer, I had no idea you could do this with garlic, thank you for showing me a way to reduce food waste in our home and to have delicious seasoning on hand
Tara
0YUM!! Just spread over some nice bread! Delicious!
Elizabeth Harris
0I make this about once month, Love on meat, vegetables and keto bread. A great one
Nancy
0I needed alot of garlic for my chicken recipe, and this roasted garlic recipe reduced prepping time. This was so easy, and the aroma was absolutely inviting. Thank you!!!
Vic Jones
0So tasty looking!
Lucia
0I made this today right after I saw it!! It made my day- I put it ontop of bread as a spread and used some extra seasonings… I didnt expect it to taste so good?? Thanks so much for sharing!!! Will be making again:)
Kimberly Murphy
0It’s strange to me that people don’t utilize roasted garlic more often in the>r cooking! I use it in mashed potatoes, soups and chili, salad dressings, and for garlic bread. Its sweet flavor elevates any dish you use it in. Even on pizza crust!
Julie
0Made this tonight. Delish! I added it to my salad dressing and spread on low carb bread. Super easy and will definitely make it regularly.
Carol O'Connor-Eisenberg
0I tried this recipe the other night to use for making garlic bread. Very good.
Colleen Hope
0Who knew roasting garlic could be so easy, yet so delicious?! Roasting garlic this way will definitely elevate any dish! Highly recommend!
Laura
0Yum! This looks so easy and delicious!
Debbie
0I love roasted garlic! I could eat this stuff like candy. I made some homemade bread and three large roasted garlic clove bulb in my air fryer and indulged and it was SO good! Thank you.
Carrie Madden
0I’m a HUGE lover of anything garlic, however, I have made thinking it would be awesome on some fresh Italian bread, but not sure if my heads of garlic were not fresh enough, or what, but was a little disappointed with the final flavor, or lacking of. Maybe I baked them too long, or needed to add more season? So i’ll just stick to grating my garlic into some melted butter, onion powder, and basil to top off my garlic bread and sprinkle with some fresh (or canned) parmesan cheese.
Frederick Stuart Newman
0I’d forgot that my grandmother did this. Such a good flavor.
Frank B
0Nice and easy! Always a good recipe to have on hand.
Wendy
0I love how easy this recipe is and the taste is decadent, even though it’s easy to make and the ingredients aren’t expensive. It’s great to use on a snack tray when friends are coming over. Makes the whole house smell yummy. I like to serve with French baguette and brie.
Teri
0I love homemade garlic bread. This garlic was extremely spreadable and when added to a loaf of homemade bread delicious.
Smith Gail
0Love this with baguette spread and drizzled with EVOO and balsamic glaze.
Tabby
0Perfect side to go along your roared potatoes.
Debbie Y
0This is so good! It mellows the flavor of the garlic, adds so much flavor but not the sharpness garlic can sometimes have. We love it in soup.
RoxAnn
0My family loves this. We can eat it in no time. Try it and you will be addicted!
Renee Novak
0I’m the odd one in my home. I don’t like roasted garlic. But, I made this for my husband and he was in heaven. It was super easy to prepare. I used pink Himalayan salt instead of sea salt and added some parsley and allspice to accent the garlic flavor. I was asked to make this again VERY soon! LOL!
Melodie
0Yum, the only word needed.
Jackie
0Great, easy recipe! I love garlic, so this recipe is a staple in my house — and much better than store-bought garlic paste. I’ve never tried freezing it, though. What method is best to freeze?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Jackie, You can freeze the garlic in an air tight container for 2-3 months.
Chris
0I thought this would be difficult to get right. Very easy and tasty!
Rose
0Quick and easy way to get creamy sweet garlic. Added benefit is the garlic oil to be used on other things. The baked garlic can be used various ways. Amazing.