The other day at the market, I saw a pint jar of roasted garlic cloves swimming in olive oil selling for nearly $12 and I smiled to myself, knowing I had my homemade version in my fridge at home that I assemble in next to no time and for a fraction of the cost. I get the benefit of a kitchen filled with the aroma of roasting garlic plus the joy of spreading a warm clove of roasted garlic onto a slice of buttered sourdough toast. What's not to love?
Now, you can make this in your oven too, but it will take longer. If you opt for that route, preheat your oven to 400° F and put the aluminum foil packet holding your garlic into an oven proof baking dish. Then pop that in the preheated oven for 45 minutes and follow the cooling and peeling instructions below. If you have an air fryer, you can trim at least 15 minutes from your roasting time and nearly remove preheating entirely.
I like to choose large heads of garlic and I am fortunate enough to have them on hand regularly through the generosity of my CSA (community-supported agriculture) farm. Once everything has cooled and I have the cloves and oil in my jar, I lid it, and store the jar in the refrigerator. The garlic will keep for a few weeks, but mine is usually gone quickly because my family adores roasted garlic.
Apart from the aforementioned buttered toast (which you really should try), I like blending roasted garlic into almost every savory sauce I make. Chilled cloves can be easily diced and added to everything from baked chicken to stir fries and more. Really, if it is a dish that works well with garlic, roasted garlic is likely to be an excellent tweak. Try stuff out and find your new favorites!
Air Fryer Roasted Garlic
- 4 heads of garlic
- Aluminium foil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for storing
Cut the tops off the heads of the garlic and place them on a piece of aluminum foil.
Drizzle the olive oil over the tops of the cut garlic heads and bring the foil over them, creating a closed pouch.
Roast the garlic in the air fryer for 30 minutes at 400 °F. Allow them to cool and carefully press the roasted cloves out of the garlic heads and place them in a small jar. Add enough olive oil to the jar to cover the roasted garlic. Store the jar in the refrigerator and use the garlic on just about everything. It's excellent spread onto buttered toast and used in place of raw garlic in most recipes.
- Yields: About a cup of roasted garlic
- Preparation Time: 35 minutes