Here I share with you some simple tips and tricks to perfectly roasting garlic in the oven. PLUS so delicious recipes to use it in!

Closeup of roasted garlic fresh out the oven

Oven Roasted Garlic

If you’ve never roasted garlic before your life is about to change forever. When you roast garlic you completely change to flavour and texture. It caramelizes and turn gorgeously sticky and sweet. The texture turns silky and soft. It’s just an all round good time.

We’ll chat about how to use it in just a sec, but first let’s see how easy it is to make.

How to Roast Garlic in the Oven (quick summary)

  1. Slice the tip off your garlic bulb to expose the cloves.
  2. Place on foil and drizzle with olive oil.
  3. Wrap.
  4. Place in the oven until deep golden, sticky and caramelized.
  5. Unwrap and allow to cool for a few mins.
Top Tip #1 – Low and slow is key! You’ll roast the garlic at 180c/356f for up to an hour to get best results. Don’t be tempted to crank up the heat to speed things up, the garlic won’t caramelize properly.

how to roast garlic - step by step

Top Tip #2 – Use a fresh bulb of garlic, not the one you just found knocking around at the back of your cupboards. Older garlic tends to come out more dry and slightly more chewy. Fresh is best!

From there it’s just a case of peeling away any outer layers from the garlic bulb and squeezing out the roasted garlic.

Roasted Garlic Butter

One of my favourite things to do with roasted garlic is to make roasted garlic butter. Perfect to melt on a steak, even better on baked bread!

How to make Roasted Garlic Butter (quick summary)

  1. Mash roasted garlic with salt until completely smooth.
  2. Add butter, parsley, olive oil and seasoning.
  3. Mash until completely smooth.

how to make roasted garlic butter - step by step

Mashing the roasted garlic with salt is great to smooth out the garlic if there is any tough or chewy bits!

And here’s my Roasted Garlic Bread Recipe if you fancied a ganders!

Roasted Garlic Bread fresh out the oven with roasted garlic by the side

How to use Roasted Garlic

Beside turning it into roasted garlic butter and spreading it on bread, here’s another couple of ideas:

Alrighty, let’s tuck into this how to roast garlic recipe already!

Spoonful of mac and cheese being pulled out of baking dish with cheese dripping down

How to Roast Garlic in the Oven (Full Recipe & Video)

Closeup of roasted garlic fresh out the oven
5 from 4 votes

How to Roast Garlic in the Oven

Here I share with you some simple tips and tricks to perfectly roasting garlic in the oven. PLUS so delicious recipes to use it in!
Prep: 2 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 47 minutes
Servings: 1 bulb
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Equipment

  • Chopping Board
  • Sharp Knife
  • Aluminium Foil

Ingredients 

  • 1 large bulb of Garlic
  • Olive Oil

Instructions 

  • Slice the tip off the garlic bulb to expose all the cloves (only the tips, don't slice off too much).
  • Drizzle with olive oil (1 tsp should suffice).
  • Wrap in foil and place in the oven at 180c/356f for 45-60mins, or until knife tender, golden brown and caramelized. Don't be tempted to whack up the temp, low and slow is the aim of the game.
  • Leave for a few minutes to cool down, then peel away the outer layers. Squeeze out as much as you can, making sure the outer peel doesn't mix in.
  • Use as a spread or in a butter, stir through a cheese sauce or even in a dip!

Video

Notes

a) Garlic - This works best with fresh garlic, step away from the garlic you've just discovered in the back of your cupboards. Chances are that's already started to firm up, meaning it'll come out quite dry and chewy.
b) Smooth - The garlic should squeeze out like a smooth paste. If for whatever reason it's a little firm/lumpy then squeeze it on to a flat surface, add a pinch of salt and smash with a fork. This is what I actually do with my Roasted Garlic Mac and Cheese to ensure it's as smooth as possible.
c) Measurements - 1 large bulb will give you about the same as two small bulbs. You're looking at around 1 heaped tbsp's worth of roasted garlic.
d) Time - Low and slow is the aim of the game, so don't whack up the heat to try and speed things up. You're looking for a deep caramelization, it should be sticky when you peel the foil away. You can check multiple times throughout to check how it's getting on.

Nutrition

Calories: 76kcal | Carbohydrates: 7.93g | Protein: 1.53g | Fat: 4.62g | Saturated Fat: 0.643g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.533g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3.286g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 96mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 0.24g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 7.5mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 0.43mg

Looking for more?

You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’


If you loved this Roasted Garlic recipe be sure to pin it for later! Already made it or got a question? Give me a shout in the comments and pick up your free ecookbook along the way!

Chris Collins, food blogger at Don't Go Bacon My Heart in white jumper eating a slice of garlic flatbread
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Recipe Rating




10 Comments

  1. georgie says:

    5 stars
    I’m obsessed with roast garlic, this looks SO flavourful and I love that you’ve roasted it whole!

    1. Chris Collins says:

      Thanks Georgie 🙂

  2. Tayo says:

    5 stars
    This is such an excellent post and I really appreciate all the tips. I shy away from using garlic but I will definitely try roasting it!

    1. Chris Collins says:

      You totally should 🙂

  3. Lisa Bryan says:

    Love this post! Roasting garlic itself can be overlooked, but a great way to make use of it while cooking to bring out flavors.

    1. Chris Collins says:

      Sure is! 🙂

  4. Sara Welch says:

    5 stars
    This is amazing! Thank you for sharing this; can’t wait to use this in some of my recipes! Delish!

    1. Chris Collins says:

      Enjoy! 🙂

  5. Beth says:

    5 stars
    I needed this recipe in my life! I love, love roasted garlic and can’t wait to mix this into everything!!

    1. Chris Collins says:

      Enjoy! 🙂