Add delicious garlic flavor to your favorite dishes with this homemade garlic confit recipe. It’s made with garlic, olive oil, and an optional selection of fresh herbs!
A nice, warm piece of toasted bread is often made complete with a dollop of butter smeared on top. But what if we had something with even more flavor to add delicious taste to your favorite bread… or pasta and soup, for that matter?
Lucky for you, we do! This delicious, spreadable mix is coming to you in the form of garlic confit.
I couldn’t be more excited about this recipe and the options for customization! We’re making it with 3 flavorful herbs, but you can also make it without for a more original-style garlic confit.
Then, you can take things further by choosing to remove or leave the garlic paper on! It’s a have-it-your-way garlic confit recipe that you’re going to be adding to all of your favorite dishes. Let’s get started!
What is garlic confit?
Garlic confit is a fancy name describing garlic that’s been cooked in olive oil. For this recipe, we’ll simply bake the combo to allow the garlic to “roast” to a golden brown color and absorb some of the flavors from the oil.
When all is said and done, you have a delicious confit to add to dishes like pasta and soup, or to use as a smashable spread for bread and toast! The process of roasting it cuts any bitterness and makes for a rich and flavor-packed confit.
And the best part? This recipe is actually two in one! You get the soft and spreadable garlic cloves (perfect for on toast or pizza), along with a powerful garlic infused oil (great in salad dressings or as a bread dip).
Hungry For More?
We love confit around here! Here’s how to make tomato confit!
Ingredients in this garlic confit recipe
You need only 2 ingredients for garlic confit: garlic and olive oil. Then, you can optionally take things a step further by adding extra flavor with thyme, rosemary, and/or bay leaves.
- Garlic: First up, you will need 3 whole heads of nutritious garlic. We’ll be separating the individual cloves prior to cooking.
- Olive Oil: Next, you will need 1 ½ cups of good quality olive oil.
- Herbs: Optionally, you can choose to add herbs for extra flavor. I recommend 6 sprigs of thyme, 3 sprigs of rosemary, and/or 3 bay leaves.
How to make homemade garlic confit
We’ll start by removing the garlic cloves from the head of garlic, followed by adding it to a dish with oil. Then, we’ll let it bake!
Step 1: Prep the garlic
Preheat oven to 250°F (121°C). Either peel the garlic cloves completely, or separate the cloves from the head, leaving the paper on (if you go with this approach, you’ll just squeeze out each clove before serving).
Step 2: Assemble the dish
Add the garlic and oil to an oven-safe pan (like a cast iron or casserole dish). If the garlic is not submerged completely, add a bit more oil. If desired, add a few hearty herbs to the pan.
In the cast iron (above) we did just plain garlic with the papery skins removed. And in the baking dish (below), we left the papery skins on and added herbs!
Step 3: Cook the confit
Cook for 2 hours, or until the garlic cloves are golden brown and soft. Remove the pan from oven and let it cool.
Garlic confit storage
Garlic confit can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Be sure to use within that timeframe and discard if any signs of spoiled garlic appear.
Garlic confit uses
For delicious meals rich in herby flavor, consider adding your garlic confit to vegan garlic bread, pressed eggplant sandwiches, caprese paninis, or even buffalo tempeh sandwiches! You can add a dollop to cooked pasta (like veggie carbonara), or use it to add extra flavor to your favorite soup (like this acorn squash recipe)! It makes a great spread for adding flavor to many dishes, particularly sandwiches.
P.S. Looking for another take on garlic? Here’s how to roast garlic in the air fryer!
Ingredients
- 3 heads garlic
- 1 ½ cups olive oil 354 mL
- Optional Herbs: 6 sprigs thyme, 3 sprigs rosemary, and/or 3 bay leaves
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 250°F (121°C). Either peel the garlic cloves completely, or separate the cloves from the head, leaving the paper on.
- Assemble: Add garlic and oil to an oven-safe pan (like a cast iron or casserole dish). If garlic is not submerged completely, add a bit more oil. If desired, add a few hearty herbs to the pan.
- Cook: Cook for 2 hours, or until garlic cloves are golden brown and soft. Remove from oven and let cool.
Ramona says
Do you mash it or leave whole. And how do you use it?
Sarah Bond says
Either! I love it mashed on toast, sliced and thrown into pasta, with crackers, or veggies!
Michelle says
Wow! This sounds amazing! Could you make this with frozen garlic? Thinking flavor might not be as rich, but… need a way to use it up!
Sarah Bond says
I would think so! 😀
Hannah Grace says
Which part is the confit? Do you take the garlic cloves out of the olive oil, or is it supposed to all stay together? I’ve never heard of confit before, so just wondering what it should look like and how to use it.
Sarah Bond says
The confit is the garlic cloves, which you pluck out of the oil and use! The oil becomes very garlicky though – great on its own or for cooking!
Sara Johnson says
How long can you keep the oil around after you have used the garlic cloves and will it need to be stored in the fridge?
Sarah Bond says
Up to 2 weeks! And yes, we’d recommend storing it in the fridge.
Serena says
Can you extend the life of the confit by freezing it?
Sarah Bond says
Yes!
Miche,ke says
Can dried herbs work here? I’m assuming so but every recipe I see calls for fresh so I thought I’d ask. Thank you!
Sarah Bond says
Yes dried herbs should work! 😀
Maria Gardner says
Question: I put garlic in a jar and covered it with oil and put it on the counter. I have been using it all winter, but my friend said that it is not good to do that. Is it dangerous to do that?
I did the same thing with fresh, dry Basil leaves. Is it safe to use?
Thank you
Sarah Bond says
It is a bit risky, yes. When garlic is in an anaerobic environment for a long time (like submerged in oil), it can produce dangerous bacteria. Best to store it in the fridge and enjoy it within 2 weeks.
Basil leaves are a different story – they can be kept much longer because they don’t have this bacteria risk!