These roasted garlic cloves are wonderfully creamy and flavorful. They're ready in just 30 minutes and are very easy to make.
While raw garlic is sharp and pungent, cooked garlic is creamy, flavorful, and mild compared to raw. These roasted garlic cloves are a delicacy. They make a wonderful topping for bread, mashed cauliflower, meat, or cooked vegetables. It's amazing how cooking eliminates their sharpness, replacing it with a creamy sweetness.
Ingredients
Here's an overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below.
- Peeled garlic cloves: You'll need two or three heads of garlic for this recipe. To make life easier, you can buy peeled cloves at many grocery stores.
- Olive oil: I love cooking with this delicious oil. It adds wonderful flavor to the garlic.
- Kosher salt: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt.
Variations
I don't usually vary the basic recipe. It's really good, and I find that there really isn't much need for spices and seasonings since the garlic itself is so very flavorful.
The best way to change this recipe is to use melted butter instead of olive oil to coat the garlic. The combination of garlic, butter, and salt is wonderful. One more thing that I sometimes do is to sprinkle the garlic ever so lightly with dried thyme. It adds an interesting layer of flavor.
Instructions
Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps for making this recipe:
You start by placing the garlic cloves in a bowl and coating them in olive oil. I use about one tablespoon of oil.
Arrange them on a rimmed parchment-lined baking sheet. Season them with salt.
Bake them in the oven until they are tender, golden, and creamy. Depending on how hot your oven runs, this should take between 20-30 minutes in a 400°F oven, and you should stir them midway through baking.
Featured Comment
Thanks for making a recipe that isn’t based on whole heads of garlic! It’s so much cheaper to get a bag of peeled cloves at Sam's Club than to buy them whole. I used this for Guy Fieri’s garlic aioli. Yum! -Steph Read more comments
Recipe Tip
Most recipes for roasted garlic use a whole garlic head, but I'm a lazy cook, and I can't stand peeling it, so I use peeled cloves that I get at Whole Foods. It's just as tasty and so much easier.
Recipe FAQs
I wouldn't eat them raw, but when roasted, the answer is yes! You can even eat them on their own - you'll be amazed at how creamy and sweet they become in the oven. Kathy, in the comments below, says, "So mild and delicious. I ate them like popcorn." I totally agree with her! They are so good. However, they are typically used as a topping or addition to other recipes.
No, you can't. The garlic should be coated in some type of fat, such as olive oil or melted butter, before being baked.
You should roast it uncovered. You want the cloves to roast, not steam, and you want them to brown. The best way to achieve that is to avoid covering them.
Yes. You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Gently reheat them in the microwave at 50% power. They'll be just as good as when freshly cooked. You can also freeze the cooled leftovers in freezer bags or containers for up to three months.
Serving Suggestions
There are so many ways to use these garlic cloves! Here are just a few suggestions:
- Mash them on top of warm slices of almond flour bread.
- Use them to top mashed cauliflower or mashed butternut squash.
- They make a great topping for vegetables such as roasted radishes, steamed broccoli, roasted green beans, roasted vegetables, and roasted asparagus.
- Add them as a topping to salads such as asparagus salad, steak salad, or keto chicken salad.
- They make a great addition to soft-scrambled eggs, microwave eggs, or fluffy scrambled eggs.
- They're excellent with slow-cooked meats such as beef cheeks, slow cooker beef ribs, or boneless short ribs.
- Try them as a hamburger topping! I love them with turkey burgers, lamb burgers, and bison burgers.
- I also like adding them to pasta and noodle dishes such as Hearts of Palm pasta, zucchini noodles, and spaghetti squash noodles.
Recipe Card
Creamy Roasted Garlic Cloves
Video
Ingredients
- 24 garlic cloves - peeled, from 2-3 heads of garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ¼ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with high-heat-resistant parchment paper.
- Place the garlic in a bowl. Add the olive oil and mix to coat.
- Spread the garlic cloves on the prepared baking sheet, in a single layer. Season them with salt.
- Bake uncovered until golden brown and fork-tender, stirring halfway through. Depending on your oven and the size of the garlic cloves, the total baking time should be between 20 and 30 minutes (see notes below). Serve immediately.
Notes
- Oven temperatures vary, and garlic burns easily, so please keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn. The time in the oven can also be affected by the size of the cloves you use. After you make this recipe once, you'll know how long the garlic needs to spend in your oven. The first time you make this recipe, I recommend you start checking after 7 minutes and keep checking frequently
- The best way to change this recipe is to use melted butter instead of olive oil to coat the garlic. The combination of garlic, butter, and salt is wonderful. One more thing that I sometimes do is to sprinkle the cloves ever so lightly with dried thyme. It adds an interesting layer of flavor to the dish.
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Gently reheat them in the microwave at 50% power. They'll be just as good as when freshly cooked. You can also freeze the cooled leftovers in freezer bags or containers for up to three months.
Nutrition per Serving
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Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Cynthia says
Hi
Can i freeze them ?
Thanks!
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Cynthia,
Yes. When cool, you can freeze them in freezer bags or containers.
Jessie says
They came out perfect!
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm so glad this was a success, Jessie! Thanks for the comment.
Kathy Holley says
So mild and delicious. I ate them like popcorn.
Vered DeLeeuw says
"I ate them like popcorn" - right!? It's like a snack. So glad you enjoyed this recipe, kathy.
Bonnie Bercume says
I love onions. I panic when I run out! For those people who don't like them raw I would recommend VIDALIAs which are SWEET in their raw form. You didn't specify what type of onions you use.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Bonnie,
I think you meant to leave this comment on this roasted onions recipe. I use yellow onions. You are absolutely correct about Vidalia onions!
Steph says
Thanks for making a recipe that isn’t based on whole heads of garlic! It’s so much cheaper to get a bag of peeled cloves at sams club than to buy them whole. I used this for Guy Fieri’s garlic aioli. Yum!
Vered DeLeeuw says
You're very welcome, Steph! Glad you found this recipe useful.