How To Make Roasted Garlic

Looking to learn how to make roasted garlic for the best flavor? It's easier than you think. After roasting, the cloves take on a whole different flavor profile. It's still pungent by itself; try this roasted garlic in recipes like Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic and you can't go wrong.

Closely related to the onion, garlic has been used medicinally for centuries. Research shows that it may have many health benefits, both raw and cooked, and it may also have significant antibiotic properties.

Raw garlic can be quite pungent, but roasted garlic has a richer, subtler flavor that can be the perfect addition for many dishes.

What is Allicin?

Allicin is a compound produced when garlic is crushed or chopped. It's been found to reduce inflammation and offer antioxidant benefits. 

You can purchase it in dietary supplement form, but I recommend just getting it from garlic itself!

The benefits of garlic

Garlic offers many health benefits, including but not limited to:

• boosts immune system
• reduces inflammation
• can reduce blood pressure
• can reduce cholesterol levels

You’ll get the most benefit from raw garlic. If you're looking for maximum health benefits, you don’t want to heat it above 140°F. Higher temperatures kill the allicin, so add garlic to your recipes when you’re almost done cooking.

Now, that being said, this roasted garlic is not going to be the garlic you use for the health benefits, as we are going to roast it in a 400° oven. However, it is going to be the garlic we use for maximum flavor!

How to make roasted garlic

Roasting garlic is one of the easiest things to do, and having roasted garlic on hand can add tons of flavor to so many dishes.

To roast garlic, you want to leave all the outside paper on - this is what's going to hold it together for now!

Cut the garlic in half through the middle of the cloves. This will leave one half with the root ball on it, and one half with the pointy end on it.

Take each half and place it on a piece of tinfoil, then drizzle generously with olive oil. (Best olive oil in the world can be found here. If you're skeptical and want to know why it's the best, read this info post about olive oil.)

Wrap it loosely in the foil (loosely is key - you want it to get a little bit of air circulation in there!

Roast at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until the edges and bottoms begin to brown. Time is largely going to depend on how many heads you are roasting at once. I found that 20 minutes was plenty for two heads, but four heads required closer to 25-30 minutes.

Once it has cooled, turn it upside down and squeeze gently. The roasted clove halves should slide out easily.

Now, what to do with your freshly roasted garlic?

I use it in my Garlic Mashed Cauliflower. Here are 30(!) other ideas of ways to use your roasted garlic from Hello Little Home!

Another awesome thing to have on hand is roasted garlic ghee. I mash some of the roasted garlic cloves up with a fork, then mix it into some soft ghee with a sprinkle of salt. Try it on vegetables like broccoli, spaghetti squash and more.

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