I have been seeing roasted garlic confit all over my social media lately so I just couldn’t resist making it for myself. Not only does it fill your kitchen with delicious garlicky smells, but you’re left with this amazing buttery garlic spread that can be eaten with literally anything. Fresh garlic, olive oil and fresh herbs are slow-roasted together to form this silky, buttery, sweet and flavourful garlic confit.

If you’re already a garlic lover you’ll be spreading this roasted softened garlic over everything! But the excitement doesn’t end there. The oil it cooks in becomes infused with garlic! Two-for-one!

Guys I’m not kidding. You need to try this.

The process is super easy…

The hardest part of this recipe is peeling the garlic. The way I like to do it is to use the blade of a large knife and press on each clove with my hand. This helps the skin to easily come off. I will admit I kind of cheated here… I found a big bag of peeled garlic cloves at the markets last weekend which was perfect for this!

For 1 head of garlic, I use around a cup of oil or more. You can really measure with your heart here. It will also depend on how big your garlic cloves are.

Fill the dish with garlic, olive oil and whatever fresh herbs you have chosen. Slow roast at 120 degrees C for one and a half hours.

Something important to be aware of is botulism. This is something I’ve learnt while reading about garlic confit. Basically, it’s a food-borne illness that you do NOT want. It grows in airless conditions – such as garlic stored in oil…

But don’t worry! Just make sure you ALWAYS store the garlic confit and oil in the fridge and use it within 2 weeks. DO NOT attempt canning or any other ‘anaerobic’ (airless) storage methods.

The oil may solidify slightly in the fridge, but you can easily spoon out the garlic cloves/oil as needed and it will quickly come to room temperature.

Read more about botulism here.

How to use this roasted garlic confit:

I’m not exaggerating when I say you can use this softened garlic on anything. It’s easily become my new favourite condiment. Here are some ideas:

spread on toasted bread
stirred through pasta
on a sandwich
stirred through sautéed vegetables like broccolini or asparagus
as part of a cheese board
folded into creamy mash potatoes

You can also use the garlic oil in dips, sauces, spreads, vinaigrettes/dressings, etc. I love to use it as a dipping oil for bread or when sautéing, in place of vegetable oil.

Here are some more of my favourite side dishes and appetisers:

Lastly, if you like this Easy Roasted Garlic Confit be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!