Roasting full heads of garlic in olive oil results in meltingly tender and caramelized cloves with a rich, sweet and concentrated garlic flavor! And the infused garlic olive is just as equally valuable!
Store cooled garlic confit in the refrigerator and use within 2 weeks.
Slowly roasting garlic in lots of oil and fresh herbs will fill your home with the most deliciously dreamy of aromas.
Why this Recipe Works
- Transforms brash raw garlic flavor. Slow roasting whole heads of garlic at a low temperature in olive oil caramelizes the cloves, bringing out their natural sweetness and concentrating their flavor. The result is tender, rich, jammy cloves that melt in your mouth.
- No need to peel individual cloves. Simply trim the tops of the garlic heads to expose the cloves and skip peeling each one. Once roasted, they easily squeeze right out.
- Versatile and stores well. Make it once, refrigerate for up to 2 weeks, and use it in countless ways — on sandwiches, pizza, roasted vegetables and more. The recipe can be halved or doubled, with customized herbs and spices.
- The infused garlic oil. The resulting fragrant, deeply flavored garlic oil is just as valuable.
I’m an allium confit lover. Garlic, onions, shallots… I’ll take any allium, confit style, any day!
Let’s Get Confit-ing!
Confit simply means cooking food slowly in fat — and for this garlic confit recipe, the fat of choice is olive oil. choice.
Traditionally a French preservation technique, confit isn’t just for meat. Slow-roasting whole heads of garlic in olive oil gently caramelizes the cloves, transforming them into something tender, sweet and deeply flavorful. It may sound fancy, but garlic confit is surprisingly simple to make at home.
How to Make Garlic Confit
Trim the tops of the garlic heads to expose the cloves. Place them in a small baking dish or heavy pot, sprinkle with salt, and pour in enough olive oil to fully submerge the garlic. Add fresh herbs or spices, if desired.
Roast low and slow until the cloves are soft and caramelized, about 1 hour. The garlic easily squeezes out into sweet, tender, spreadable cloves.
Uses for Garlic Confit & Garlic-Infused Oil
These meltingly tender, spreadable cloves and their fragrant infused oil are kitchen gold — a savory, oil-infused delicacy that instantly elevates everyday cooking.
Spread the cloves onto toast, pizza, flatbreads, or sandwiches. Stir them into pasta, sauces, soups, and salad dressings. Add to roasted veggies, fish, chicken, meat, hummus, or grain bowls for instant depth and an umami-rich boost. I haven’t yet met a savory dish that isn’t better with garlic confit.
And don’t forget the oil — drizzle it over vegetables, whisk into vinaigrettes, spoon over warm bread, or use it anywhere you’d reach for olive oil and want it infused with garlic.
Once you have a jar in the fridge, you’ll keep finding reasons to use it.
Cooks Tips
- Store cooled garlic confit, in an airtight container, in the refrigerator and use within 2 weeks. It cannot be kept at room temperature.
- Don’t toss the garlic-infused olive oil — it’s liquid gold. Pour it over everything.
- Play with flavors – Customize herbs and spices for a choose-your-own-garlic-confit-flavor-adventure.
- When possible, buy local and organic garlic.
More Confit Recipes
If you love this slow, olive-oil magic, try these other easy confit recipes - same technique, different seasonal personality:
Shallot Confit - jammy, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth shallots with equally delicious infused shallot oil
Tomato Confit - low-and-slow roasted cherry tomatoes in olive oil until sweet, jammy, sweet and bursting with umami.
Tried this recipe? I’d love to hear how you’re using your garlic confit. Leave a comment below and tag me on Instagram, @danielagerson, so I can oogle your deliciously garlic creations.
You can also follow along on Pinterest for more seasonal, colorful cooking.
Let’s make waves in the kitchen.
Garlic Confit
Ingredients
- 8 heads of garlic
- 12 sprigs or thyme and/or oregano other herbs, spices and bay leaves can be added
- 2 cups of olive oil use more as necessary to cover garlic heads
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Using your fingers, peel off the loose, papery outer layers around the head of garlic. Trim the tops of the garlic heads with a knife to expose the cloves (about the top 1/3-1/4 off of the head of garlic).
- Place garlic, with exposed cloves, cut side up, in a baking dish or pot. Add herbs and olive oil to just cover the garlic. Depending on the size of the dish or pot, you may need to add more olive oil to cover the heads of garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and transfer baking dish or pot to the oven.
- Bake until heads of garlic are soft, fragrant and lightly browned; 1hr – 1hr 15min.
- Let cool completely and transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 2 weeks. Oil can be strained after a day or two and refrigerated separately.
Notes
- Store cooled garlic confit, in an airtight container, in the refrigerator and use within 2 weeks. It cannot be kept at room temperature.
- Don’t toss the garlic-infused olive oil — it’s liquid gold. Pour it over everything.
- Play with flavors – Customize herbs and spices for a choose-your-own-garlic-confit-flavor-adventure.
- When possible, buy local and organic garlic.
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