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How To Roast Garlic + 10 Ways to Use It

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Roasting garlic gives it a sweeter, but still garlicky, flavor with less bite. It’s a great way to add a whole new depth of flavor to dishes. Follow this simple tutorial on how to roast garlic plus check out 10 delicious ways to use it!

A fork holding a roasted garlic clove over a white background

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I love garlic, but not until recently did I ever think to roast my own.  I usually just cook it in a little olive oil with other vegetables, or toss it into a recipe with the other ingredients.  It turns out that it’s actually not hard at all to roast your own garlic. It makes your house smell amazing (if you like the smell of roasted garlic), and it changes the flavor of your recipes, oh so slightly, but oh so wonderfully!

How to Roast Garlic

A head of garlic with the top cut off on a white background

  1. You want to start off by cutting the top 1/4-inch off of a whole bulb of garlic to expose the top of each of the cloves.  When I was first learning how to do this, I could not for the life of me tell which side was considered the top!  If you’re not sure either, I’ll make this easier on you – the top of the garlic is the widest end.  The pointed bottom should remain intact. Raw garlic with the top cut off wrapped in a piece of foil
  2. Place the head of garlic onto a piece of aluminum foil. Make sure the aluminum foil is large enough to wrap around the entire head of garlic.
  3. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil onto the garlic. Rub the oil all over the garlic so it’s fully coated.
  4. Wrap the garlic tightly in the aluminum foil. Roasted garlic bulb in foil
  5. Bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes, until the exposed cloves are golden brown and fork tender. A fork with a roasted garlic clove in front of a bulb of roasted garlic in foil
  6. Pop the cloves out easily with a fork to use in recipes or as a spread.
  7. Store unused garlic in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Use within a few days.

What Do You Eat with Roasted Garlic?

Now that you have all of this delicious, freshly roasted garlic, the next question is what are you going to do with it?  If you’re here to learn how to roast garlic, I imagine you already have at least one recipe that you plan to use it in, enjoy it on it’s own, or find it tasty to spread onto toast. But, if you have roasted cloves leftover that you want to use up in new ways, then these next 10 recipes are a great place to start.

10 Recipes That Use Roasted Garlic

  1. Roasted Garlic Lemon Aioli – Delicious Little Bites

An easy-to-make mayonnaise-based sauce that you can use on sandwiches, wraps, shrimp cakes, chicken, potatoes and more!

2 Keto Shrimp Cakes topped with Roasted Garlic Lemon Aioli on a white plate with a second plate, blue bowl with aioli, a lemon, and a balck and white napkin in the background all over a white backdrop

2. Spinach Ricotta Pizza with Roasted Garlic – Delicious Little Bites

Spinach Ricotta Pizza with Roasted Garlic makes a great vegetarian meal!  Use a cauliflower pizza crust to make it gluten free and much lower in carbs than traditional pizza!

Spinach Ricotta Pizza with Roasted Garlic on a white plate

3. Creamy Roasted Garlic Mushroom Risotto – House of Nash Eats

Creamy Roasted Garlic & Mushroom Risotto is a  restaurant quality dish that is perfect for a special occasion dinner and can be served as either a meatless main dish, side dish, or  appetizer depending on how you portion each serving.

Mushroom Risotto in a cast iron skillet and a wood dish over a white background

4. Lemon Piccata Potato Salad – Spabettie

Lemon Piccata Potato Salad is a bright and briny take on the summertime classic.  The best potluck recipe just got a new flavor!

Lemon Piccata Potato Salad in a white bowl on a gray table with a plant in the background

5. Roasted Garlic Hummus – Beyond the Chicken Coop

Here’s a recipe you’ve really got to try!  Roasted Garlic Hummus: it’s easy, it’s inexpensive, and it’s delicious!

Hummus in a blue bowl surrounded by vegetables on a white background

 

6. Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Soup – Living Well Kitchen

This immune-boosting, inflammation-fighting soup filled with veggies will be your new staple even when you’re not trying to fight that annoying cold.

2 white bowls of roasted garlic soup on a wood background

7. Sun-dried Tomato Walnut Linguine – Three Olives Branch

Roasted garlic and sun-dried tomatoes are the stars of this pasta dish topped with Parmesan cream sauce.

pasta with sun-dried tomatoes in a white bowl over a wood background

8. Roasted Garlic Parmesan Ranch Dressing – Mom Foodie

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Ranch Dressing is a rich buttermilk garlic ranch dressing recipe with Parmesan cheese. The recipe is sort of the best of two worlds, between a ranch salad dressing and Caesar. It’s fantastic on salads, as a dip or even a marinade.

Parmesan salad dressing in a pitcher with garlic around it and a green towel

9. Roasted Garlic Vegan Mashed Potatoes – Loving it Vegan

Deliciously fluffy vegan mashed potatoes with roasted garlic. Creamy, buttery, garlicky and everything mashed potatoes should be.

Vegan Garlic Mashed Potatoes in a white square dish with potatoes, garlic, and a black spoon in the background

10. Whipped Roasted Garlic Butter – Who Needs a Cape

Whipped Roasted Garlic Butter is so simple to make and adds a wonderful depth of flavor to so many recipes. Try it on bread, you’ll love it.

Whipped butter in a blue dish with crackers and herbs in the background

Other Recipes to Try

 Love this Roasted Garlic recipe?  Follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for more!

A fork with a roasted garlic clove in front of a bulb of roasted garlic in foil
Print

How To Roast Garlic

A simple step-by-step tutorial on how to roast your own garlic!
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American, Gluten Free, Low Carb, Vegetarian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 15kcal
Author Lauren Vavala

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Cut the top 1/4-inch off of a whole bulb of garlic so that the top of each clove of garlic is exposed.
  • Drizzle the olive oil onto the garlic and rub it all over so it's all coated.
  • Wrap the garlic in a piece of aluminum foil.
  • Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the exposed cloves are golden brown and fork tender.

Notes

Tips and Techniques

  • Store unused garlic in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Use within a few days
  • You can freeze roasted garlic for up to 10 months.
** Nutritional information is an estimate and may vary.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 15kcal | Fat: 1g

This tutorial was originally published on May 16, 2016. It was updated with new images, more thorough instructions, and usage ideas in July 2019.

Comments

  3. Heidy L. McCallum says

    I love when bloggers bring back healthy, natural, tastier ways of the past. Kudos to you for teaching others just how simple it is to make your own roasted garlic instead of buying it with 100 chemicals added to it. I LOVE it!!!

    Reply

  4. Jill says

    Roasted garlic is the best! I didn’t know I could store the leftover (although I usually don’t have any leftover, LOL). Thanks for that tip!

    Reply

  11. Stephanie Cox says

    My love of garlic runs deep so this is right up my alley. I never thought it would be so easy! Thanks for the how-to!

    Reply

  13. Mackenzie says

    Ahhh yum!!! This looks absolutely delicious. I’ve always wondered how to do this. I love garlic on everything, so I definitely need to try this. Have you ever had roasted garlic on a slice of baguette? I’ve been to restaurants before where they’ve served olive oil, hummus, and also roasted garlic. TO DIE FOR. Except your breath doesn’t go back to normal for a while haha. Thanks for sharing how to do this!
    http://www.brunchonsunday.com

    Reply

    • ourlittleeverything says

      Yes. the breath effect is the only downside or I’d eat way too much! I have had it on bread but not with olive oil and hummus – gotta try that!

      Reply

  14. Trish says

    I LOVE roasted garlic but have never done this at home. Thanks so much for posting this! I’m going to pin your recipe as a reminder to try it.

    Reply

  15. Amber says

    Love garlic. I haven’t roasted any in a long time though! I’m thinking about a chicken and feta salad with a roasted garlic sauce now. Yum! You are giving me ideas!

    Reply

    • ourlittleeverything says

      It’s so easy, but I only just recently discovered it myself! Figured I’d share because it’s sooooo good!

      Reply

    • ourlittleeverything says

      Yes! I love the way my house smells when I make it! It will go excellent spread on toast for sure 🙂

      Reply

  22. Aimee-Ellar Bye says

    Oh gosh that looks lovely – I think I may add mine to some mayonnaise or homemade flatbreads!!

    Reply

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