Roasted Garlic

By Kia Damon

Published May 16, 2024

Roasted Garlic — Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: about 1 hour
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Rating: 4(8)
Notes: Read community notes

Unlike sautéing, which enhances garlic’s aromatic bite, roasting garlic transforms it almost entirely, making it immensely soft and sweet, with a rich caramel color. It becomes ultra fragrant and easy to spread. Using roasted garlic is a simple way to add depth to dressings, sauces, dips and sides like mashed potatoes, grains and vegetables. Add it to your avocado toast or tuna sandwich for a little upgrade. Carefully peel the roasted garlic and refrigerate in a sealed container for up to two weeks or in the freezer for a month. Alternatively, you can squeeze the garlic out to use and store as a paste.

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Ingredients

Yield:3 heads garlic

3heads garlic
1tablespoon olive oil
Salt

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut about ½ inch off the top of the garlic heads to reveal a cross-cut of the cloves. Set each head cut-side up on a sheet of aluminum foil that’s large enough to wrap around the garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon salt, and then fold the foil over to completely enclose the garlic, leaving a bit of space at the top to prevent the caramelized cloves from sticking to the foil.
Step 2
Set the packet directly on the middle rack of the oven and roast until the garlic is very tender and caramelized. Depending on your oven, this could take 1 to 1½ hours. Let cool slightly. If not using right away, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 1 month.

Ratings

4 out of 5

8 user ratings

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Alex2 weeks ago

Slow roasted garlic spread on some good bread with some brie or a steak is the best!

Vivian Malta1 month ago

May I ask a novice question? How do you handle the papery "skins" of the entire garlic head when making this recipe? Do the outer layers get peeled prior to roasting? Thanks.

KatieC4 weeks ago

Nope. Just slice through the upper part of the whole head. Once roasted you can fish out the individual cloves with the tip of a knife or just squeeze the whole thing from below and they all squish out. (Very rewarding!) Perfect to smear on bread.

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