Roasted garlic has a mellow, slightly sweet flavor without the sharp bite of raw garlic. A few cloves can turn plain yogurt into a quick sauce or give a vinaigrette more body.
Most roasted garlic recipes have you slice off the top of the head, drizzle it with olive oil, and wrap it in foil. It works, but you can skip all three steps.
Here’s how to roast garlic in the oven without oil, trimming, or peeling. Once cooked, the cloves are as soft as garlic confit: press one with a fork and it slips right out of its skin, so your fingers won’t smell like garlic for hours.
PREP TIME
2 min
COOK TIME
30 min
DIFFICULTY
Very easy
STORAGE
4 days
Have you ever wondered what gives raw garlic its bite? As soon as you chop or crush a clove, an enzyme called alliinase kicks in and produces pungent sulfur compounds. Heat deactivates that enzyme, so cloves cooked whole develop very little of that sharp flavor. They turn tender and mellow, and some people find cooked garlic easier on the stomach than raw.
How to Roast Whole Heads of Garlic
Choose firm heads of garlic with plump cloves. Avoid any that have started to sprout or feel soft when you squeeze them. Place the heads whole in a small baking dish. There’s no need to trim or peel them.
Roast at 350°F (180°C) for about 30 minutes, then check for doneness. Pierce a clove through its skin with the tip of a paring knife. If the knife slides in easily, the garlic is ready. If not, return it to the oven for a few more minutes and check again.
Don’t go by the color of the skins, which may brown a little. What matters is how tender the cloves are. Let the garlic cool until you can handle it, then separate the cloves.
My Tip: Roast It While the Oven Is Already On
There’s no need to heat the oven just for garlic. I tuck it in next to another dish, even if the oven is set to a different temperature, and keep a separate eye on it. The hotter the oven, the faster it cooks, so I take it out as soon as the cloves are tender. The only thing I avoid is roasting it alongside a dessert. If the oven seems too hot, I wrap the heads in a parchment or foil packet (en papillote). The skins keep the garlic itself from touching the foil.
You can also put the garlic in the oven right after you’ve finished cooking something else, turn the oven off, and let the residual heat cook it for an hour or two before refrigerating it. Check that the cloves are tender; if they’re still firm, finish cooking them with the oven on.
How to Use Roasted Garlic
I separate only the cloves I need and press each one, skin on, with the back of a fork. The soft garlic squeezes right out. Then I mash it before stirring it into whatever I’m making.
- In a yogurt sauce: Mix one mashed clove with 2 tablespoons of plain Greek yogurt, a pinch of salt, and a little lemon juice. Taste and adjust. Serve it as a dip with raw vegetables, or spoon it over roasted ones.
- In a vinaigrette: Whisk one or two finely mashed cloves into your usual vinaigrette. The garlic helps thicken the dressing and makes it creamier.
- In hummus: Use roasted garlic instead of raw, for example in my red lentil hummus. You still taste the garlic, but it’s more subtle.
- In mashed potatoes: For roasted garlic mashed potatoes, add a few mashed cloves along with the butter. You get garlic flavor without overpowering the potatoes.
- With pasta: Toss the pasta with the garlic, a drizzle of olive oil (or my garlic confit oil, for a stronger garlic flavor), and a splash of pasta water, in the spirit of aglio e olio. Finish with plenty of black pepper.
- On toast: Spread the soft garlic on toasted bread, add a pinch of flaky sea salt, and drizzle with olive oil if you like. It’s also great on my hummus and avocado toast.
You’ll find more ideas in my guide to homemade sauces and condiments.
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Oven-Roasted Garlic (No Oil)
Soft, slightly sweet garlic that mashes easily with a fork. Roast the heads whole, with no oil and no peeling, then use the cloves in sauces, hummus, or mashed potatoes.
2
heads of garlic2
minutes30
minutesPour garder la recette visible pendant que je cuisine
Ingrédients
2 whole heads of garlic, firm, with plump cloves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Place the whole heads of garlic in a small baking dish. Don’t trim or peel them.
- Roast for about 30 minutes.
- Pierce a clove through its skin with the tip of a paring knife. It should slide in easily. If it doesn’t, roast for a few more minutes and check again.
- Let cool until easy to handle, then separate the cloves. Press each one with a fork to squeeze the soft garlic out of its skin.
La cuisine est encore plus belle lorsqu’elle se partage
Roasted Garlic FAQs
Can you roast garlic without oil?
Yes, and that’s what makes this method so simple. The skins hold in moisture and keep the cloves from drying out. You can always add oil later, when you serve the garlic or use it in another dish.
What’s the difference between garlic confit and roasted garlic?
Strictly speaking, garlic confit is cooked slowly at a low temperature, submerged in oil, as in my garlic confit oil. But many recipes also use the name for a head of garlic roasted with a drizzle of oil (in French, ail confit au four), which is basically this method with oil added. The results are very similar. Garlic confit can be a bit silkier, depending on how much oil you use, while roasted garlic picks up a lightly toasted, even caramelized flavor.
Should you cut the top off the garlic before roasting?
Not with this method. Without oil, the exposed cloves tend to dry out and brown. With the skins left intact, the cloves stay tender and are easy to squeeze out after cooking.
Do you need to wrap garlic in foil?
No, the skins are enough to protect the cloves. Wrapping the heads traps steam, which keeps the garlic even softer.
It’s mostly useful when you’re roasting garlic next to a dish that needs a very hot oven, as I mentioned above. A single sheet of foil is enough: it only touches the skin, not the garlic itself.
How do you store roasted garlic?
Refrigerate it in a covered container within two hours of cooking and use it within 4 days. For longer storage, freeze it.
If you add oil, the same rule applies: keep it in the fridge and use it within 4 days, since oil doesn’t help it keep longer. Why the fridge? Garlic covered in oil and left at room temperature can, in rare cases, allow botulism bacteria to grow, so food safety guidelines recommend refrigeration. Kept cold, it’s a handy condiment to have ready for the next few days.
Can you freeze roasted garlic?
Yes. Peel the cloves, then freeze them whole or mashed. Portion the garlic into an ice cube tray, for example, so you can take out only what you need.
Why is my garlic still firm after 30 minutes?
Cooking time depends on the size of the heads and on your oven. Keep roasting, checking every few minutes, until the tip of a knife slides easily into a clove.
Recipes to Try with Your Roasted Garlic
Four recipes from the blog that use roasted garlic or give you a chance to roast it while the oven is already on.
Easy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
A sauce for pasta, or a dip to serve with drinks. Instead of toasting raw garlic with the bread, use two cloves of roasted garlic: they’re softer and sweeter.
Kale and Hazelnut Pesto
A winter pesto made with kale and hazelnuts. One clove of roasted garlic instead of raw gives it a rounder, mellower flavor. Soon to be adapted in English.
Lighter Homemade Mayonnaise
Some of the oil is replaced with fromage blanc. Stir in a mashed clove of roasted garlic for an aioli-style sauce. Soon to be adapted in English.
Ottolenghi-Style Miso Onions
Tender onions baked with butter and miso at 475°F. Wrap the garlic in a foil packet and roast it alongside. Soon to be adapted in English.
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