Air Fryer Roasted Garlic

Air Fryer Roasted Garlic brings out the naturally sweet, mellow flavors of garlic by roasting it to soft, caramelized perfection. Using an air fryer or Ninja Foodi speeds up the process, creating tender cloves that spread like butter!

As a chef, I love roasted garlic because it’s like a little magic ingredient that makes everything taste better. When garlic roasts, it mellows out and takes on this sweet, buttery flavor with just the right amount of richness. You can use it in so many ways! Spread it on toast, stir it into mashed potatoes, or toss it into pasta sauces for an extra culinary indulgence that you just can’t get with raw garlic.

The texture gets super soft, making it easy to blend into soups, dips, and even salad dressings. Honestly, once you start adding roasted garlic to your cooking, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it!

Using the air fryer to make roasted garlic has been a delight. It’s so much faster than using the oven. It takes just 20 or 30 minutes to make, it doesn’t heat up the whole kitchen, and the air fryer is small enough to make sure garlic cooks evenly, and wrapping it in foil keeps the cloves moist and tender, so there’s no chance of them drying out or burning!

All you need is a head of garlic, cooking oil, and some heavy duty aluminum foil!

📖 How to Make Roasted Garlic in the Air Fryer

1️⃣ Preheat air fryer: Program temperature to 400 degree F and preheat the air fryer for 3 to 5 minutes.

2️⃣ Prep garlic: Slice off the top of the garlic bulb to expose the cloves and place on a sheet of foil. Drizzle the top with oil. Fold the foil around the bulb to make a sealed packet.

3️⃣ Roast garlic in air fryer: Carefully transfer foil packet to preheated 400 degree F air fryer and roast for 20 to 30 minutes or until garlic cloves are soft, creamy and beginning to caramelize.

4️⃣ Cool roasted garlic and peel: Let garlic cool in the air fryer basket for 10 to 15 minutes or until it’s cool enough to handle. Using your hands or a small spoon, pop each clove out of the bulb and mash into a paste (or keep whole) to use in recipes.

🚫Roasted Garlic Without Foil

You can still roast garlic directly in your air fryer without aluminum foil. Start by cutting the top off a garlic bulb to expose the cloves. Drizzle olive oil over the exposed surface, coating fully. Place the garlic bulb directly in the air fryer basket, cut side up, and air fry at 375°F for 15-20 minutes. Without foil, the garlic can brown quickly, so check every few minutes toward the end.

👩🏻‍🍳 Chef’s Tips

• Need less than a whole head of garlic? You can peel the garlic and cook the amount of cloves you need in a foil packet. However, it is much easier to remove the peel if the bulb is roasted in the air fryer whole.
• The air frying time will vary depending on the size of the garlic. To check for doneness, carefully open the foil packet and press into a clove with a butter knife. It should be soft and spreadable.
• Avocado oil can be replaced with any neutral tasting oil with a high smoking point (like sunflower or light tasting olive oil).
• Feel free to season the garlic head with salt and pepper or a pinch of a dried herb blend like Greek, Italian or Cajun.
• Be sure to seal the foil packet, so the garlic steams as it roasts creating a soft and buttery texture (like softened cream cheese).

♨ How to Make Roasted Garlic in the Oven

No air fryer? That’s okay. To make roasted garlic in the oven, first preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and then roast garlic in a foil packet on a baking sheet for 45 minutes or until the cloves are soft and spreadable.

🍴Creative Ways to Use Roasted Garlic in Everyday Recipes

Creamy roasted garlic is delicious on it’s own as well as added to a variety of sauces, dips and spreads. Check out more ways to use roasted garlic below:

• As a pizza topping
• Spread on top of garlic bread, breadsticks or garlic knots.
• Mix with mayonnaise to make homemade roasted garlic aioli
• Smash it into mashed potatoes
• Use roasted garlic instead of raw garlic in any recipe.
• Spread on crackers, pita, toasted baguette, etc.
• Mix with cream cheese and spread on bagels
• Blend into salad dressings
• Blend into carrot ginger soup or cream of mushroom soup.

♻️ Storing & Freezing

Storing – After separating the cloves from the skin, let them cool completely to room temperature and then store in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.

Storing In Oil – To store roasted garlic in oil, place the peeled cloves in a clean, airtight container and fully submerge them in olive oil. Keep the container in the refrigerator, where it will stay fresh for up to two weeks. This method not only preserves the garlic but also infuses the oil with a mild garlic flavor, perfect for dressings or sautéing.

Freezing – Once cooled completely to room temperature, remove cloves from their skins and arrange on a baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to freezer until the cloves are frozen solid. Store frozen roasted garlic cloves in the freezer in a freezer safe bag for 4 to 5 months.

❔FAQ