Buttery and lightly caramelized, roasted garlic takes a meal from mundane to restaurant-worthy in seconds. Once roasted, garlic cloves take on a soft and spreadable texture, making them great for mixing into a compound butter and smearing on toast, swirling into mashed potatoes, puréeing into marinades, or whisking into aioli.
Smashed roasted garlic cloves can be substituted into any recipe that calls for freshly chopped garlic for a nuttier, sweeter, and less pungent flavor. In this Roast Chicken with Basil Vinaigrette, you combine a heavy dose of roasted garlic (five heads to be exact) with Dijon mustard to give the marinade a mellow sweetness and savory richness. For these Carrots Steaks, roasted garlic cloves are added to a quick blender hollandaise sauce for an extra touch of nuttiness to complement the caramelized carrots.
Here’s how to roast garlic in the oven, air fryer, and even the microwave.
How to roast garlic in the oven
The beauty of roasting garlic is that you can roast one head or 10 heads at a time using the same process. Just follow the steps below, wrapping up to four heads in each foil packet.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut off the top 1/4 inch of each garlic head to reveal the cloves. Place up to 4 garlic heads, cut side up, on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle each head with a teaspoon of olive oil and sprinkle each with a pinch of salt. Fold foil to completely enclose the garlic heads.
- Transfer the foil packet(s) to the oven and roast until garlic cloves are softened and starting to brown, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the garlic from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes. Squeeze the garlic cloves into a small bowl, discarding the papery skin.
How to roast garlic in the air fryer
An air fryer is essentially a countertop convection oven, so roasting garlic in an air fryer yields almost identical results to roasting garlic in a regular oven. Since air fryers are much smaller, stick to roasting four or fewer garlic heads at a time.
- Preheat the air fryer to 375°F. Cut off the top 1/4 inch of each garlic head to reveal the cloves. Place up to 4 garlic heads, cut side up, on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle each head with a teaspoon of olive oil and sprinkle each with a pinch of salt. Fold foil to completely enclose the garlic heads.
- Transfer the foil packet to the air fryer and cook until the garlic cloves are softened and starting to brown, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the garlic from the air fryer and let it cool for 15 minutes. Squeeze the garlic cloves into a small bowl, discarding the papery skin.
How to roast garlic in the microwave
Garlic cooked in the microwave won’t have the same depth and complexity as slow-roasted garlic cooked in the oven, but it’s a great shortcut when you’re tight on time. While the garlic is technically steamed in the microwave rather than roasted, the softened cloves are still delicious. You can cook up to four heads at a time in the microwave.
- Cut off the top 1/4 inch of each garlic head to reveal the cloves. Place up to 4 garlic heads, cut side up, in a microwave-safe bowl and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of water to the bowl. Drizzle each head with a teaspoon of olive oil and sprinkle each with a pinch of salt.
- Cover the bowl with a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on medium power (50%) until the garlic cloves are very soft, 6 to 9 minutes, checking the garlic every minute after 6 minutes of cooking. Let the garlic cool completely, about 15 minutes. Squeeze the garlic cloves into a small bowl, discarding the papery skin.
How to roast garlic without aluminum foil
Roasting garlic in a Dutch oven is a great option if you don’t have aluminum foil. The Dutch oven creates a sealed environment, similar to a foil packet, allowing the garlic to soften and lightly caramelize. You can roast up to six heads of garlic at a time in a Dutch oven.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut off the top 1/4 inch of each garlic head to reveal the cloves. Place up to 6 garlic heads, cut side up, in a small Dutch oven. Drizzle the garlic with a teaspoon of olive oil and sprinkle it with a pinch of salt.
- Cover the Dutch oven with lid and roast until garlic cloves are softened and starting to brown, 45 minutes to an hour. Remove the garlic from the Dutch oven and let it cool for 15 minutes. Squeeze the garlic cloves into a small bowl, discarding the papery skin.
How to store roasted garlic
Squeeze the cloves into a small airtight container and discard the papery skin. Smash the cloves and spread into an even layer. Drizzle with a thin layer of olive oil. Cover with the lid and chill in the refrigerator for up to one week, or freeze for up to two months.
