Roasted Garlic Cloves – 10 Great Ways to use Whole Garlic in your Cooking

I use garlic in so many recipes, it is probably my favorite ingredient ever. Garlic is extremely healthy and roasting the whole head is one my favorite ways to use it. Roasting caramelizes and adds sweetness to the garlic leaving it more mild and palatable to people who can’t tolerate raw garlic. It also gets soft so you can squeeze it out of its skin. Here are 10 different ways you can use your roasted cloves:

  1. Make a Spread –  Simple but delicious when spread on some crusty bread (see photo below)
  2. Use in Baked One-Pot Dishes – My Baked Sausage post is a good example
  3. Add to Pasta – A great way to add lots of flavor to pasta. See recipe here
  4. Pizza Topping – For a milder, sweeter flavor, use roasted garlic instead of raw
  5. Mashed Potatoes – Prepare as usual and mash in garlic together with the potatoes
  6. Make Herbed Garlic Butter – Soften butter, chop herbs and mix with mashed garlic
  7. Puree into a Dip – Throw in Food Processor with some white beans or yogurt
  8. Throw into a Salad – Roasted garlic would be a nice addition to a simple salad like this one
  9. Garlic-infused Oil – Roast a whole bunch of garlic heads and strain the leftover olive oil to keep for other recipes
  10. Eat by itself – If you truly love garlic, eat on its own!

Peel outer layers of bulbs before roasting

Left Image: Cut off about 1/4 inch - Right Image: Drizzle with plenty of olive oil

Wrap each garlic bulb individually in tin foil

One way to use the roasted garlic is to spread on crusty bread. Enjoy!


Roasted Garlic Recipe

  • 2 garlic bulbs
  • olive oil

    Preheat oven to 400°F.

    Peel away outer layers of the skin around the garlic bulb. With a knife, cut about 1/4 inch off the top of the bulbs. Drizzle with olive oil until well coated.

    Wrap each bulb with aluminum foil and place in a baking pan (see photo). A muffin pan would also work. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and soft inside (use a toothpick or fork to test).


    Total Time: 40-45 minutes

    Yield: Makes 2 roasted garlic bulbs

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    Comments

      • says

        Thanks for your input KAB. I agree that people need to be made aware of the potential dangers in garlic infused oils. Key here is that you should NOT soak raw garlic in oil and keep in an airtight bottle. That’s how the bacteria grow.

        The garlic and oil in my recipe is roasted at 400F for more than 30 minutes which should kill the bacteria.

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