Garlic Confit in the Oven Recipe

Share the Love!

Ready for a very basic recipe for garlic confit in the oven? When you’re done, try another twist: this Herby Tomato Garlic Confit Recipe. This post contains affiliate links.

---

Garlic confit has become a Shabbat staple in our home, and guests always comment on it. We serve it nice and hot, buttery and savory, on Friday night. But it’s also delicious spread on Challah bread for Shabbat lunch!

My favorite way to make garlic confit? In the oven! It’s so easy, and I use oven-to-table glassware to cook, serve, and put away.

Two ways to make garlic confit in the oven

Slow roasted and soft garlic confit

The absolute best way to ensure a creamy, unsharp, garlicky flavor is to let it go low and slow, covered in the oven. It comes out just as it’s beginning to crisp up and brown on the edges.

So good!

But what if you love it caramelized, so that it literally gets stuck into your teeth and even has a touch of sweet to it?

Caramelized, browned garlic confit

If you plan to use it unsmashed as a bread topping or whole-clove mix-in this is the way to do it!

Simply roast it for a bit at 350, open, after it’s cooked! It’s such a low-key way to make an incredible dish that everyone will rave about!

The bottom cloves will still be on the softer end, so you’ll end up with a mix of consistencies, to please everyone. This is how I prefer to finish mine off.

You can also add anything that would be a good flavor fit to your garlic confit in the oven! Chiles, herbs, tomatoes, and even lemon slices all add to the incredible flavor. I’ve even tried this in mega size with eggplant cubes when I had one I needed to use up easily, and while I haven’t refined that recipe yet, it had a convincing start.

Ironically, adding chopped onion didn’t seem to add much. I may try it again with cocktail onions.

To make this garlic confit in the oven recipe extremely easy, I use pre-peeled garlic. Purchased from Costco in those big bags, it isn’t even pricier than purchasing heads!

What can this oven garlic confit be served with?

The garlic confit itself

We like to eat garlic confit with fresh Challah bread (or not fresh – but it’s much better fresh.)

When cooked right, it can mimic butter in consistency, and spread beautifully on anything you’d want butter on – with a strong garlic kick. In its basic form, you can simply eat it on any carrier.

Some more ideas for how to serve garlic confit:

• You can spread it on toast for instant garlic bread too.
• You can use it to top burgers or other meat sandwiches.
• Use an immersion blender to turn it into a liquid dressing component or dip
• If you want a milder garlic dip, mash up some garlic confit, and mix it into hummus, tahini, mayo, greek yogurt, or whatever floats your boat
• Use it in marinades or sauces
• Smash it onto roasted green beans or zucchini
• Mash and mix into mashed potatoes
• Add flavor to anything that would benefit from the enriched garlic flavor. Mix it into pasta or rice, use it as a topping for poultry or chicken.

In a nutshell: make garlic confit in the oven and you have an easy component that is a better form of garlic in a huge variety of dishes. Think of it like the garlic counterpart to sauteed onions – only it’s delicious as a simple spread too!

Yes you can use the oil in so many things!

When your garlic confit in the oven is ready, you can borrow the oil (leave some with the garlic, though) – or repurpose the leftovers. My friend taught me this trick and it’s absolutely the best!

You basically have olive oil that is heavily infused with garlic and can be added to so many dishes! Use it in anything that you’d use olive oil in, that would benefit from a savory garlicky flavor. Some examples:

• Salad dressings
• Mashed potatoes
• Pasta, rice
• Salmon
• Rubs and marinades for chicken, roasts, steaks…
• And, of course, a dipping oil for breads

Storing and preserving your garlic confit

How long can garlic confit last in the fridge?

Garlic confit is often misunderstood as a canned or shelf-stable food item. It is not, and it can carry a risk of botulism if not refrigerated properly.

It can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks. I imagine that the oil would be the same, but as a non-food-scientist, I can’t tell you for sure.

If you have extras, I do recommend freezing it.

Can Garlic Confit be frozen?

Yes, this oven garlic confit recipe stores well in the freezer! That means that you can make it in bulk and freeze.

Because it’s so easy, I find that it just makes me more dishes. I only do this if I have more leftovers than I can use in two weeks, which rarely happens. I also plan to prepare a lot for after my baby is born.

The oil can be frozen in smaller amounts in condiment cups, or even ice cube trays. Make sure to label and double wrap to keep things fresh. You can do this with the confit itself too if you like to use it in smaller amounts.

The official recommendation for storing the frozen garlic and/or oil would be about two months.

Fail-proof Recipe for Garlic Confit in the Oven

Ingredients

• 4 heads of garlic (or about 1.5 cups pre-peeled cloves)
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (you can use other oils, but I personally like the flavor that EVOO adds)
• A sprinkle of salt on top
• Any other seasonings you’d like to add, such as fresh or dried herbs, pepper, etc.

You’ll also need an oven safe dish and foil to cover it with.

How to make it:

1. Place your cloves in an oven safe dish. Cover with the oil (it’s okay if cloves are sticking out a bit, just make sure that they’re all coated) Sprinkle on some salt and add anything else you’re making with it.

2. Cover. Bake at 250 for about two hours, or until your cloves are totally soft and golden.

3. Optional: If you like when the outside gets roasted and chewy, and even a bit caramelized, raise the oven temp to 350 for about 20 minutes. I recommend checking on it every few.

What will you be serving your garlic confit with? Comment below!

Share the Love!