Roasted garlic cloves are wonderfully creamy and flavorful. They make a wonderful topping for warm bread, mashed cauliflower, meat, or cooked vegetables.
I'm not a fan of raw garlic. I find it too sharp. But when cooked, it's so delicious, and I use it quite often in many of my recipes. Cooking removes its sharpness and makes it creamy and mild, although it's still very flavorful.
Creamy and almost-sweet, roasted garlic cloves are a delicacy. It's amazing how cooking eliminates their sharpness, replacing it with a creamy sweetness.
Ingredients
You'll only need three simple ingredients to make this easy recipe. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
Peeled garlic cloves: I buy them already peeled at Whole Foods (what can I say, I'm lazy!). Needless to say, you can peel them yourself.
Olive oil: I love cooking with this delicious oil. But if you'd rather use an oil with a higher smoke point, you can use avocado oil instead. Melted butter is another tasty option.
Kosher salt: If using fine salt instead, you might want to reduce the amount you use, or the dish could end up too salty.
Instructions
Roasting garlic cloves is so easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. These are the basic steps:
You start by placing the garlic cloves in a bowl and coating them in olive oil. I use about one tablespoon of oil.
Next, arrange them on a rimmed parchment-lined baking sheet. Season with salt.
Lastly, bake them in the oven until they are tender, golden, and creamy. Depending on how hot your oven is, this should take between 20-30 minutes in a 400°F oven, and you should stir them midway through baking.
Expert tip: use a whole garlic head or just the cloves
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 garlic cloves that I get at Whole Foods. It's just as tasty and it's so much easier.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! You can even eat them on their own if you wish - you'll be amazed at how creamy and sweet they become in the oven.
They are exquisite when mashed and spread on warm bread (if you eat bread), or on toasted almond flour bread. It's also wonderful as a topping for mashed cauliflower or soft-scrambled eggs.
I often serve it scattered on top of any vegetable dish that I might be making that night. Tonight I steamed some broccoli and topped it with melted butter and roasted garlic cloves. It truly elevated the simple dish and added so much flavor.
Yes! If you have leftovers, you can keep them in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days and gently reheat them in the microwave on 50% power. They'll be just as good as when freshly cooked.
Variations and substitutions
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 garlic is so very flavorful.
The best way to change this recipe up 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 some dried thyme. It adds an interesting layer of flavor to the dish.
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Roasted Garlic Cloves
INGREDIENTS
- 24 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the garlic cloves 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 the salt.
- Bake until golden brown and fork-tender, stirring halfway through cooking. Depending on your oven, the total baking time should be between 20-30 minutes.
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NOTES
NUTRITION PER SERVING
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 