Name: Garlic Confit
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 125 min
Ingredients: 1 pound garlic cloves (peeled); 2 ½-3 cups olive oil; 4-6 sprigs rosemary; 4-6 sprigs thyme (optional); 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional); 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns (optional)

^{Calling all garlic lovers – Become addicted to making this recipe every weekend and using it in almost everything. This garlic confit is insane and it’s so easy to throw together!}

I read a meme recently that garlic should never be measured by what the recipe says – you measure that with your heart. I’m here to confirm that that is the correct way to measure and also, there’s no such thing as too much garlic in anything. I also can confirm that if you make roasted garlic or this garlic confit, it’s almost necessary to add it to all meals including breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I’m absolutely obsessed with making garlic confit! Why is it so perfect? Well, let me tell you…Once you have experienced soft, creamy, roasted garlic you crave it in a lot of different ways. This is one way to get more of it and in a large batch. I absolutely love making this for tons of recipes and it requires little to no work (if you do it the easy way).

Confit is a French cooking method that typically refers to slow cooking something in a liquid. Confit is generally associated with slow cooking ingredients like meat, garlic or even vegetables in fat at a lower temperature (slightly different than frying). It usually causes the cooked product to retain a rich, fatty flavor and fall apart since it becomes super tender.

If you’re all about the garlic scent, this warm garlic smell embodies the entire kitchen and just gives you all the feels of a comforting home. It’s a unique concept for those of us who prefer garlic and herb smells over lavenders and flowers but it’s worth it in my mind. Every time you take it out of the container to use, the smell overpowers everything in such a fantastic way. I’m one of those girls who doesn’t want anyone to apologize if they reek of garlic, it’s like one of my favorite scents ever!

Believe it or not, this recipe makes two different components that are both necessities in the Side of Veggies kitchen. Silky, smooth garlic and herb and garlic infused oil! The oil itself is reusable (thank god, because it uses a lot!). It develops such a rich and earthy flavor that works well on a majority of your savory dishes. It’s even a winner as a bread dipping oil (then again, how can you go wrong with bread and oil?).

I’m also a big fan of adding herbs. It’s not mandatory in order for you to achieve the overall goal of creamy garlic but it does add a nice flavor to the oil at the end. It’s a great opportunity to use up some herbs you may need to use up as well. Adding heartier herbs like rosemary, thyme or oregano sprigs hold up well in the hot oil too.

Personally, I like making garlic because it offers so many health benefits and this is just another way to use one of my favorite ingredients for my wellbeing. Here are reasons you may want to as well…

Garlic is an anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-viral ingredient.
It is great for your immune system as well as your cardiovascular health.
It’s full of vitamin C and B6.
It’s also great for regulating your blood pressure levels.

*Now, all these health benefits are from basic research and conversations with health professionals, therefore, I make no claims to this altering your health in a significant way. Keep in mind these properties can change with raw and cooked garlic.

Storing the garlic is key. Garlic not stored properly can cause a food-borne illness called botulism. This can be super dangerous so make sure you read the storing directions in the recipe to prevent sickness.

Here are recipes to add this garlic to:

Don’t forget to serve this at your next dinner with some warm crusty bread!

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Garlic Confit

Print Recipe

Calling all garlic lovers – Become addicted to making this recipe every weekend and using it in almost everything. This garlic confit is insane and it’s so easy to throw together!

Prep Time:5 mins

Cook Time:2 hrs

Total Time:2 hrs 5 mins

Ingredients

1 pound garlic cloves peeled
2 ½-3 cups olive oil
4-6 sprigs rosemary
4-6 sprigs thyme optional
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250°.
In a medium baking dish (approximately 9 x 9) add one pound of garlic.
Cover the garlic with olive oil until all the cloves are completely covered in oil (adjust based on the recipe).
Add in rosemary and any additional ingredients to flavor the oil.
Bake in the oven for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Check the tenderness of the garlic at the 1 1/2 hour mark. Garlic should be soft and tender enough to spread or mush each clove.
Remove and let cool for about 10-15 minutes before carefully storing oil and garlic together in an air tight container.
Store in the fridge about 2 weeks.

Notes

IMPORTANT: How long does it last and where?

As stated before, if this garlic is not stored properly, it can cause a food-borne illness called botulism. Not to get into the details of how this can cause harm to your body, let’s focus on safely storing it instead.

Once the garlic cooks in the oil and cools slightly, add to a refrigerator-safe container that is well sealed. Submerge the cooked garlic in the oil and store in the fridge for about 2 weeks if not a little longer. This can also be frozen for future use (up to 3 months) if you prefer.

I personally don’t mind digging through the solidified oil to extract the little garlic gems. Using that oil in cooking helps use what you have as well. Just keep in mind that that is the correct way to store the garlic confit even though it does not look right. I have risked my health in more ways than I prefer to admit to see if there is a better way and being lucky so far, I’m choosing to stick to the safe way from now on to avoid sickness.

Alternative Ingredients?

Here is the BEST pro tip that I will repeat for your benefit. If you’re pressed for time and you don’t feel like peeling garlic all day…don’t. Buy the prepackaged, peeled garlic cloves and just drop them into the baking dish. This is my go-to method because I am lazy and eat garlic confit almost weekly. The good news is that there isn’t a massive price difference, and in my opinion, it’s worth the splurge.

As far as the herbs go, I think rosemary should be a must. Thyme and oregano are just an added flavor if you have them on hand but rosemary is easy to drop in and pick out. It has a rich, herbaceous aroma as well as flavor and is generally inexpensive. If you have your own herb garden too, you’ll notice that rosemary grows faster than you use it and is a low maintenance ingredient, therefore, any recipe that uses some is a great opportunity.

Stick with a decent quality olive oil for this. I’m also not advising for you to use a high-quality expense oil either. Use something you buy in large quantities that you use regularly. I have not used any other oil so I cannot say what the outcome would be if doing so.

Tips & Tricks

If you’re thinking that you want to serve this at dinner alongside your bread and cheese trays but are short on time…I got you! Add 2-3 bulbs of already peeled garlic to a small saucepan and submerge the garlic in oil. Cook for 30-45 minutes on medium high heat for a fast cook. Make sure that the garlic is soft and mush before removing it from the heat. Don’t leave this one unattended. You don’t want to burn the garlic and you absolutely don’t want the oil to boil too much.

For general measurements to adjust this recipe, there are about 10 medium sized heads in one pound of garlic. One generic, pre-peeled bag of garlic cloves is about 6 oz.

Use about 2 1/2 cups of oil per 1 lb of garlic. Adjust based on the amount you want to make. Also adjust your baking dish as well.