How to Roast Garlic

Learn How to Roast Garlic in the Oven using two different methods that are quick, easy, and will give you perfectly caramelized cloves every time.  This simple recipe is the perfect addition to any mashed cauliflower, potato, broccoli, or side dish recipe, too! 

Want a few other healthy garlic recipes?  You may also enjoy this Homemade Garlic Butter, Garlic & Herb Whole Roasted Cauliflower, Baked Lemon Garlic Chicken, and this Garlic Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower.

Learning to Roast Garlic

Roasting garlic in the oven is one of those simple cooking techniques that can initially seem intimidating.

After all, how can something SO deliciously sweet and succulently savory be quick and easy to do?

Aren’t the fancy schmancy restaurants and gourmet chefs the only people who have this seemingly mysterious knowledge of how to do this?

You are in luck today, my friend, because roasting a head of garlic in the oven is a foolproof way to add a burst of flavor to just about any dish.

Oven Roasted Garlic Cloves

Roasting garlic in the oven is more of a process than a recipe.  <– Does that make you feel a little more at ease?

Because frankly, there are only THREE ingredients required (yup, that’s it!) and your hands-on time is less than 5 minutes.

And in those 5 minutes you not only get ONE roasted garlic clove, but you can crank out an entire HEAD.  This is a secret weapon you can keep on hand when you want to add a little pizzazz to any dish.

How to Make

The basic process is quick, simple, and easy to do.  Here is the general overview of this roasted garlic recipe:

1. Cut and prepare the head of garlic.
   • You can just roast one head, or bulb, or as many as you would like!
2. Place the prepared garlic head in a pan or wrap it in packets.
   • Read more about this below!
3. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 40-60 minutes.

Cook’s Tip: The longer you roast the more soft, tender, and caramelized the garlic cloves will get.  Hence, the wide range of roasting time in the oven!

Ingredients & Utensils

For this recipe you will only need a few ingredients and some simple kitchen tools and items.

Ingredients:

• Garlic Heads – When selecting make sure you find ones that are free of mold and are a similar size if you are roasting more than just one at a time.
• Olive Oil – Choose a good quality olive oil for the best tasting.  You can also use avocado oil if you would prefer, too.
• Salt – You can choose to use a coarser sea salt or a finer salt.

Kitchen Utensils:

• Sharp Knife – To prepare the garlic heads.
• Loaf Pan or Muffin Pan – If using the pan method.
• Baking Sheet – If using the packet method.
• Parchment Paper
• Aluminum Foil

Preparing

No matter what roasting method you use below, you will need to cut and prepare the garlic the exact same way before roasting it in the oven.

To prepare:

1. Peel and remove any excess papers around the outer layer of the cloves.
2. Cut the end of the garlic head (the pointy side) to expose all of the cloves.
   • If you do not see all of the garlic cloves simply trim around the other cloves so they are all exposed.
3. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto the exposed cloves and rub it in. (step 1 and 2 below)
4. Sprinkle each head with 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of salt. (step 3 below)

Two Ways to Make in the Oven

Now that your head(s) of garlic are prepared, it’s time to move onto the two different ways you can roast them in the oven:

Made in a Pan (Preferred Method)

1. Place prepared garlic bulbs cut side-up in a loaf pan or in a muffin pan.
2. Cover the pan with a piece of parchment paper and then a piece of aluminum foil.
3. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 40-60 minutes.

Wrap in Parchment Paper and Foil Packets

1. Wrap prepared garlic heads in a piece of parchment paper and then in a piece of aluminum foil.
2. Place packets on a large baking sheet to catch any excess oil that drips out during roasting.
3. Cook in a 400 degree oven for 40-60 minutes.

Cook’s Tip: If you do not want to heat up your oven, you can also roast garlic in a skillet by following these instructions.  Fair warning: they will not get nearly as soft and tender as roasting them in the oven will produce!

Removing

Now that your head of garlic is perfectly roasted and caramelized, it’s time to get to those delicious cloves!

This part can seem a little scary, but trust me – the cloves will slide out with ease when you do this simple thing:

Place a small spoon around the rim of each garlic clove, twist it around to loosen up the skin, and push down to pop out the garlic clove.

FAQs

What Temperature to make this recipe?

Roast in a preheated oven 400-degree oven.

How Long to Roast Garlic?

Cook in the oven for 40-60 minutes, or until the cloves are soft and caramelized.

How to Store?

Roasted garlic will keep well in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator or up to a week if stored in olive oil.

Recipes and Uses

You have all of this roasted garlic, now what should you do with it?

Here are a few of my favorite roasted garlic recipes:

• Use it in this Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower recipe.
• Add it to a Roasted Broccoli Recipe
• Use it in an Instant Pot Chicken Vegetable Soup
  • (Or one of these other Healthy Soup Recipes.)
• Serve it up on a toasted baguette with some Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

4.72 from 7 votes

Print

How to Roast Garlic in the Oven

Learn How to Roast Garlic in the Oven using two different methods that are quick, easy, and will give you perfectly caramelized garlic cloves every time. 

Course Appetizer, Dinner, lunch, Seasoning, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword healthy, how to, seasoning, side

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 15 cloves

Calories 9 kcal

Author London

Ingredients

• 1 or more heads of garlic
• Olive oil
• Salt

Instructions

Preparing the Garlic:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel and remove any excess papers around the outer layer of the garlic cloves.
   
3. Cut the top of the head of garlic to expose all of the garlic cloves. You may need to go around and individually cut each clove on the sides if they were not originally cut.

4. Drizzle ½ - 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto each head of garlic and rub into the cloves. Sprinkle each head with ¼ - ½ teaspoon of salt.

   

Roasting in a Pan:

1. Place head(s) of garlic cut side up in a loaf pan or muffin pan. Cover pan with parchment paper and then aluminum foil.

   
2. Bake in oven for 40-60 minutes or until cloves are caramelized.

Roasting in Packets:

1. Wrap each head of garlic in a piece of parchment paper and then in a piece of aluminum foil.
   
2. Place packets on a baking sheet and roast in oven for 40-60 minutes or until cloves are caramelized.

3. Remove garlic cloves with a small spoon: Place the spoon around the rim of each garlic clove, twist it around to loosen up the skin, and push down to pop out the garlic clove. Repeat with remaining cloves.

   

4. Serve roasted garlic with a toasted baguette or use it in a Mashed Cauliflower recipe.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

• Nutritional Information is for 1 garlic clove and is calculated based on ~15 cloves of garlic in one head of garlic.

Nutrition Facts

How to Roast Garlic in the Oven

Amount Per Serving

Calories 9 Calories from Fat 9

% Daily Value*

Fat 1g2%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Sodium 64mg3%

Carbohydrates 1g0%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.