Oven Roasted Garlic is savory-sweet, buttery, and decadently spreadable. It is delicious as-is slathered over a hot slice of steak and just as wonderful mixed into butter, mashed potatoes, marinara or Alfredo sauce. Make roasted garlic once, and it'll become a go-to recipe for life. All you need is garlic, olive oil, an oven, and about 5 minutes of prep time.
After years of cooking and developing recipes, I've found that roasting garlic is one of the easiest ways to elevate everyday dishes into something restaurant-worthy. We've served it alongside steak for years, but more recently, I used it in a few different ways for a large bread board. I stirred it into a store-bought marinara for a quick flavor boost and mashed the rest into softened butter with a sprinkle of rosemary. People couldn't stay away from the butter! The roasted garlic absolutely made it.
I've tested this recipe using both foil and a covered baking dish, and both methods work beautifully. I'll walk you through both methods so you can choose whichever works best for you.
Table of contents
Ingredients
Whole Garlic Bulbs | Look for tight, firm bulbs of garlic with no sprouting or soft spots.
Olive Oil | Olive oil gets drizzled over the bulbs before cooking. It helps the cloves to retain moisture and promotes caramelization.
How to Roast Garlic in the Oven
Prep the Garlic
Remove any loose paper from the garlic bulb. Only the loose paper; you do not need to remove all of the papery skin. Lay the bulb on its side and use a sharp knife to cut about ¼ inch off the top. The goal is to expose as many cloves as you can without cutting away too much of each clove.
Add Oil and Cover (or Wrap)
There are two ways you can go about roasting garlic cloves: covered in a small baker or tightly wrapped in aluminum foil. Both methods work beautifully. The baking dish presents better, but there is far less sticking with the foil method.
In a Small Baker | If using a baker, drizzle the interior of the dish with a splash of olive oil and rub all over. Then, add the garlic bulbs cut-side up, drizzle the tops with olive oil and cover.
With Foil | Place two small sheets of aluminum foil on a work surface, place the garlic bulbs cut-side up, and drizzle the tops with olive oil. Wrap the foil tightly around the garlic bulbs and place on a small rimmed sheet pan to prevent any leaking onto the the oven floor.
Roast Until Tender
Transfer the dish or baking pan to a preheated 400°F oven and bake for about 40-50 minutes. Smaller garlic bulbs will take closer to 40 minutes to soften, while larger bulbs might need the full 50 minutes.
Remove the Cloves
Once removed from the oven, allow the roasted garlic to cool until it is comfortable enough to handle with your hands. Turn the garlic bulb upside down and squeeze cloves from the bulb. You can also remove cloves individually with a small fork if desired.
How to Tell When Garlic is Done
It is important to check whether the garlic is ready before you attempt to squeeze cloves from bulb, not after.
The clearest indicators are color and texture. The cloves should be golden brown with a caramelization around the edges, but most importantly, they should be soft enough to mash with a fork.
You can test for doneness by inserting a knife or fork into the center of a clove. It should slide in easily with almost no resistance.
If the garlic is still firm, return the garlic to the oven and continue to roast in 5-minute increments until ready.
Ways to Use Roasted Garlic
Roasted garlic can be used in a number of different ways. It can be served on its own as a condiment, but it is amazing as a flavor enhancer for sauces, potatoes, bread, and more.
As a general rule, 3-4 medium cloves equal about 1 tablespoon of mashed roasted garlic. One medium bulb typically yields about 2-4 tablespoons of mashed roasted garlic.
Sauces | Stir 3-6 cloves into a cup of alfredo or marinara for a richer, more savory flavor with subtle sweetness.
Potatoes | Add one whole head of roasted garlic to two pounds of potatoes for creamy, buttery mashed potatoes with a mellow garlic flavor.
Butter | This is one of my absolute favorite ways to use roasted garlic! Add 4-6 roasted cloves to a stick of butter for a quick compound butter to serve alongside warm, sliced bread. You can also use roasted garlic butter to flavor chicken before roasting or melt over a freshly grilled steak.
Garlic Bread | Rather than adding fresh garlic to a butter blend for garlic bread butter, try adding 4-6 roasted cloves instead. You'll end up with a sweeter, more mellow garlic flavor without the sharp bite of fresh garlic.
Dressings | I especially love using 2-4 roasted garlic cloves in the place of fresh garlic in a homemade Caesar dressing or a Dijon vinaigrette. It adds smooth, savory garlic flavor that blends beautifully with other ingredients.
How to Store Roasted Garlic
Roasted garlic is a wonderful make-ahead dish. Once it's cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves from the skins and transfer to an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
If you'd like to store roasted garlic longer than this, mash the cloves into a paste and freeze in tablespoon-sized portions (an ice cube tray is an excellent tool for this). Once frozen, transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container and store for 3-4 months.
Do not store homemade roasted garlic at room temperature.
Oven Roasted Garlic
Ingredients
- 4 whole garlic bulbs
- ¼ cup olive oil 1 tablespoon per bulb
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Remove any loose, papery skin from the garlic bulbs, leaving the bulbs intact. Lay each bulb on its side and use a sharp knife to cut about ¼ inch off the top, exposing as many cloves as possible.
- For a Baking Dish: Lightly grease the inside of a small, oven-safe baking dish with olive oil. Place the garlic bulbs cut-side up, drizzle the exposed cloves with the remaining olive oil, and cover with an oven-safe lid.
- For Foil: Alternatively, place the garlic bulbs cut-side up on two small sheets of aluminum foil. Drizzle the exposed cloves with olive oil and wrap tightly. Transfer to a small, rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake for 40–50 minutes, or until the cloves are golden, lightly caramelized, and completely tender. A knife should slide into the center of a clove with almost no resistance.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool until comfortable enough to handle. Turn the garlic bulbs upside down and gently squeeze the roasted cloves from their skins. Alternatively, remove the cloves individually with a small fork.
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