Roasted Garlic Appetizer Recipe (For Garlic Lovers)
Here’s a recipe for a roasted garlic appetizer featuring soft, mellow, golden garlic cloves roasted with olive oil on warm Focaccia bread. Simple and popular with garlic fans.
Serving oven-roasted garlic as an appetizer on warm bread is a treat. I had something similar in a restaurant a few months ago and tried it out on a group of friends soon after—big thumbs up.
What to expect
Garlic is roasted until slightly sweet and caramelized, then added to warm bread. Your garlic lover guests will inhale it!
When garlic is roasted, it loses its pungent bite and becomes sweet-flavored and mellow.
The roasting process for the garlic takes 40-50 minutes, but the hands-on time for this recipe is only about 7 minutes. You can even make the oven-roasted garlic days ahead which means you only have to do some warming and drizzling to assemble the appetizer just before serving.
Roasted garlic, of course, can be used in many other dishes – stay tuned…
Ingredients – tailored to your taste
Variations
- Herbs: Add sprigs or leaves of fresh rosemary, thyme, or parsley to the foil when roasting the garlic cloves.
- Balsamic vinegar: Drizzle balsamic vinegar over the garlic cloves along with olive oil before roasting. It gives the roasted cloves a sweet and tangy flavor that pairs well with the mellow flavor of the caramelized garlic.
- Heat: Add some heat with red pepper flakes, black pepper or minced chili peppers.
- Other toppings for the garlic appetizer: Once you’ve added the garlic to the bread, you can top it with some parmesan cheese, diced tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes or olive salad to the top of the bread. A sprinkle of chopped fresh thyme or fresh basil adds a nice garnish.
- Bread: Instead of soft focaccia, you can use toasted baguette slices
Step by step instructions
Tips for roasting garlic
How to peel garlic – two ways
- Smash whole garlic heads with the palm of your hand to separate the cloves. Place the flat part of a chef’s knife over each clove and press down firmly. Cut off the flat root end, then easily remove the outer skin. Here’s a video for how to peel garlic by Jamie Oliver.
- (Faster easy method): Smash whole heads of garlic with the palm of your hand to separate the cloves. Place the cloves in a large container or jar. Close the container and shake vigorously for 15-20 seconds. Peels will fall off and the cloves will separate from the root end. Here is a video for peeling garlic the shaking way by Saveur
Roasting with Parchment (instead of foil)
- If you’re concerned about foil touching your food, Chef Tori Avey suggests wrapping the garlic and oil in parchment first, then a second layer of foil (not touching the food). The fresh garlic, however, does not caramelize with this method. To brown it, you can put it back in the oven, uncovered, for another 5-10 minutes.
Shortcuts
- See peeling tips above
- Buy pre-peeled garlic cloves. Costco sells them in bulk.
- Skillet method: you can achieve ‘roasted’ garlic in a skillet by sautéing cloves with oil (not extra virgin) over medium heat for 6-8 minutes until soft, glazed and golden.
Make Ahead
- To store: Let the roasted garlic cool to room temperature and then place it in an airtight container (or ziploc bag) and cover it with olive oil. Seal and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- To freeze, lay garlic in a single layer on a tray. Freeze it for an hour, then transfer it to a freezer-safe bag. Freezes for up to a month.
Favorite ways to use roasted garlic
Roasted garlic on warm crusty bread is sensational. But there are several other ways to use roasted, mashed garlic. It’s delicious in:
- mashed potatoes
- aioli
- garlic butter
- pasta
- tossed with cooked vegetables
- added to salad dressings
- on pizza
- in guacamole, or
- in a dip with sour cream and chives
The added bonus is the garlic-infused oil the garlic cooks in which is great for drizzling on bread, pasta, vegetables or salads. So versatile!
More easy appetizer recipes
- spinach dip in a bread bowl
- dukkah appetizer (10 minutes) – unique nut-seed dip
- baked brie with preserves
- smoked salmon canapes on cucumber
- stuffed mini peppers with goat cheese
Be sure to check out our 20 vegetarian appetizers (with serving tips).
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Roasted Garlic Appetizer (For Garlic Lovers)
Here is a recipe for an oven roasted garlic appetizer featuring soft, spreadable, mellow, golden garlic cloves on warm Focaccia bread. Simple and popular.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 12 garlic cloves, peeled, Note 1
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- pinch salt and sugar (optional)
- 1/2 Focaccia bread or baguette
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (optional Garnish)
Instructions
- HEAT OVEN to 375F/190C.
- PREPARE GARLIC FOR ROASTING: Place peeled individual cloves on a double layer of aluminum foil. Give them a drizzle of oil and add a pinch of salt and sugar if desired (I do), Lift edges of foil upward to enclose garlic. Scrunch top of tin foil together to seal garlic pouch. Lay it on a small baking sheet in case of leaking.
- ROAST GARLIC: Roast for 40-55 minutes, depending on size of garlic cloves. Garlic is ready when it's soft, golden and slightly caramelized.
- MAKE APPETIZER AND SERVE: Heat Focaccia (or other bread) in 350F/177C pre-heated oven for 5-6 minutes or until warmed through and slightly crisped up. Transfer to cutting board and cut into bite size pieces. Drizzle with garlic cloves along with the garlic-infused oil. Top with chopped parsley if desired. Serve with a butter knife if guests want to spread garlic on bread.
Recipe Notes
- How to peel garlic:
- Option 1: Smash whole head of garlic with palm of hand to separate cloves. Place flat of chef’s knife over each clove and press down firmly. Cut off hard flat root ends. Remove skin. Video by Jamie Oliver.
- Option 2 – faster: Smash whole head of garlic with palm of hand to separate cloves. Place cloves in a large container or jar. Close container and shake vigorously for 15-20 seconds. Peels will fall off cloves. Video by Saveur.
- Variations:
- Herbs: Add sprigs or leaves of fresh rosemary, thyme, or parsley to the foil when roasting the garlic cloves.
- Balsamic vinegar: Drizzle balsamic vinegar over the garlic cloves along with olive oil before roasting for a sweet and tangy flavor.
- Heat: Add some heat with red pepper flakes, black pepper or minced chili peppers.
- Other toppings for the garlic appetizer: Once you’ve added the garlic to the bread, you can top it with parmesan cheese, diced tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes or olive salad.
- Make Ahead:
- To store: Let the roasted garlic cool to room temperature and then place it in an airtight container (or ziploc bag) and cover it with olive oil. Seal and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- To freeze, lay garlic in a single layer on a tray. Freeze it for an hour, then transfer it to a freezer-safe bag. Freezes for up to a month.
Nutrition
Calories: 128kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 178mg | Potassium: 2mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 0.05IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.04mg
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