Creamy Roasted Garlic Cloves

These roasted garlic cloves make a wonderful topping for warm bread, mashed cauliflower, or any cooked vegetable.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 56kcal

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

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.

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.