What’s your weakness? Is it cooking? Eating? Cooking and eating? Or maybe it’s garlic?
Warm
Buttery
Sweet
Garlic
It’s all right, I understand, because garlic makes me weak too. Especially simple and easy oil-free roasted garlic.
Now I know that my food blogger friends are going to roll their eyes when they see that this is today’s “recipe.” Truth be told, it’s hard to call this a recipe, it’s more of a how to. And that’s okay, because there are a lot of people who have a hard time boiling water, much less roasting food.
This roasted garlic recipe, or tutorial, is for my friends who love roasted garlic, but fear that their culinary capabilities aren’t advanced enough to make this creamy and savory treat. I get you.
Roasting an entire head of garlic is one of life’s simple pleasures. It’s easy to do. It makes your kitchen smell like I’d imagine an Italian grandmother’s kitchen would smell like. And, you can eat it so many ways.
Here are some of my favorites:
Spread it on bread when it’s hot from the oven.
Put it in a dressing.
Add it to a pasta sauce.
Add it to hummus or guacamole.
Eat it all by itself.
You can probably think of a hundred ways to eat it too. So let’s just get to the nitty-gritty. How to make this glorious stuff!
First, you cut the top off of the head. You should be able to see the tops of all of the pretty little cloves. Just like this.
Then you peel off the loose outer layers of garlic paper and wrap it up tight in aluminum foil. Like this.
Now roast it in a 375° oven for approximately forty-five minutes or until you can easily pierce the garlic with a sharp knife.
When the garlic is done the cloves should look brown and caramelized. Like this
Mmmmm……
Use a small knife to dig the cloves out of the paper and spread it on bread or crackers, or anything else you can think of. Don’t even think about wasting a single bit of that garlic. If you can’t eat it all at once you can wrap it up in an airtight container and freeze it for up to three months.
See, I told you that it was a no-brainer to make simple and easy oil-free roasted garlic. Which brings me to the oil-free part.
Most recipes that you see will tell you to drizzle olive oil on the head of the garlic before you roast it. You can do that if you want. It will enhance the flavor a bit, but it isn’t necessary to get that soft and buttery texture and flavor.
On Friday I’m going to share a roasted root vegetable power bowl with you, along with a roasted garlic and tahini dressing to pour on top of it. Get excited! It’s really good.
Sneak peak....
Tell me:
What is your kitchen weakness?
What is your strength?
Have you ever made roasted garlic?
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Simple and Easy Oil-Free Roasted Garlic
Ingredients
- 1 head of garlic
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°
- First, you cut the top off of the head. You should be able to see the tops of all of the individual cloves.
- Peel off the loose outer layers of garlic paper and wrap it up tight in aluminum foil
- Roast it in the oven for approximately forty-five minutes or until you can easily pierce the garlic with a sharp knife.
- When the garlic is done the cloves should look brown and caramelized.
- Enjoy!
Lucie says
I LOVE roasted garlic!!! I'm a huge garlic fan in general but roasting it takes it to a whole new level <3
Linda Meyer says
Roasting it like this gives me an excuse to eat it with a spoon. Thanks, Lucie!
Mira says
So funny, I've always roasted it with oil so far and now I can totally skip it! Thanks for sharing Linda! It will be perfect on crostini or in a dip!
Linda Meyer says
I did too, Mira. Then I realized that the steam makes the garlic just as creamy so you don't need the oil. Love it on crostini. 🙂
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks says
Gah! I love some roasted garlic and can make a meal out of spreading it on bread! It's so awesome in dressings and I can't wait to see your roasted garlic tahini business on Friday! I'm already drooling! I've never roasted garlic without olive oil before. I usually add a bunch have some garlic infused olive oil on hand. Your oil free version is a fantastic alternative!
Linda Meyer says
It's the best! I used to drown mine in olive oil too, but then I realized that the steam inside the foil does a great job making it nice and creamy, so no need for the extra fat and calories.
The Vegan 8 says
This is almost exactly how I do mine too, except at a higher temp and less time! I always do mine in foil too (unless I'm only doing a couple of cloves), I'm always baffled when people oil the heck out of it, it doesn't need it! In fact, oil detracts from the amazing flavor of garlic. I love that you shared it, regardless of how simple it is, it always surprises me when readers ask me the simplest of things, so these are good to help people who are new in the kitchen!
Linda Meyer says
Exactly! I forget that not everyone knows their way around the kitchen like all of my food blogger friends do. I totally agree, no need to drown the garlic in oil when it tastes so amazing on its own.
Christine (Run Plant Based) says
Great post, thanks! I need to get more into roasting garlic and was thinking about adding it to our garden this year.
Linda Meyer says
You're welcome! Thanks for the idea, I'm going to plant garlic this year. 🙂
Natalie says
No eye rolling here, I had no clue how to make roasted garlic till now. And an oil free version, I'm all for that! And it's soft an spreadable when its done? So strange, I never would've imagined! Looking forward to your bowl 🙂
Linda Meyer says
One of my biggest flaws is that I assume that everyone has already tried the things that I want to share, so I hold back. Thank you, you've just made me realize (again) that I need to stop thinking that way.
Yes, it gets super soft and buttery. It's amazing on warm bread. Thanks, Natalie!
Strength and Sunshine says
I could breathe in garlic all day! Have you ever roasted elephant garlic? One of the best!!! It's simply amazing!!
Linda Meyer says
Yes, it's the best! And the smell is amazing.
Jenn S. says
I LOVE roasted garlic. I like to spread it on crunchy warm bread right out of the oven. I am certainly not rolling my eyes. I think lot of people need these how-to type posts. This post will be a classic that will likely always be popular! Your roasted veggie bowl sounds so good...can't wait to see it!
Linda Meyer says
Thanks, Jenn! Like I said to Natalie, I need to trust myself when it comes to sharing things that I think are obvious to everyone else. I hold back too much. 🙂
M says
I absolutely love roasted garlic! I actually do it quite often just by putting the cloves with peel between other vegetables I'm roasting. I shall try this method with the foil 🙂
Linda Meyer says
Hi M! That's a great way to roast garlic. Let me know what you think of this method. You can literally spread the garlic on bread like butter. It's so good. 🙂
Marfigs says
I need that dressing!! Also, I have two heads of garlic that are just begging to be roasted, so this is on the books for the week 🙂
Linda Meyer says
The dressing is delicious. It took me thirty minutes to get it just right, but it was worth taking the time to get it just right. The recipe will be on the blog on Friday. Thanks so much!