Can’t get enough of roasted garlic? Be sure to check out our other popular garlic-related articles, including How To Roast Garlic Without Foil and Roasted Garlic Butter.
Ingredients
You are on your way to creating a culinary delicacy with a few simple ingredients. Garlic is the star of the show for this Air Fryer Roasted Garlic recipe, so it’s essential to use the freshest garlic you can find at the grocery store.
Gather your fresh garlic, extra virgin olive oil (you can also use avocado oil), kosher salt, and black pepper. Salt and pepper are optional, so feel free to omit them if you like.
How To Roast Garlic In The Air Fryer
Roasting garlic in an air fryer is not only delicious but it’s also quick and easy. The best part is that you can air fry the whole head of garlic or just the cloves using your air fryer. Below are step-by-step instructions for each method:
Using Whole Cloves
I usually air fry garlic as a whole as I use a lot of it in my cooking and save whatever is left to use later. You can air fry one head of garlic or as many as you can fit in the air fryer basket following the method below:
- Preheat your air fryer to 400 F degrees.
- Prepare garlic bulbs for air frying: Use a sharp knife to slice off the top of the garlic bulb, just enough to expose the cloves inside. Place the garlic head on the center of a piece of aluminum foil. Save the top to use for making chicken stock later, or discard it.
- Season: Drizzle the garlic with olive oil. It is optional, but if you want, you can lightly season with salt and pepper.
- Form a pouch: Wrap the head of the garlic tightly with foil forming a small pouch. Repeat the same process with the rest of the garlic bulbs, if you want to air fry more than one bulb.
- Air Fry: Arrange the pouch in the air fryer basket. If you are roasting multiple heads of garlic, be sure not to overcrowd the basket. Cook for 18 minutes.
- Check for doneness: Remove the pouch from the air fryer basket and carefully open it to allow the steam to escape. Using a paring knife (or cake tester), check if the garlic cloves are soft and creamy. If they are not yet ready, re-wrap the foil and place it back in the air fryer cooking at 2-minute increments (watch closely to prevent overcooking) until your cloves have reached the desired consistency.
- Allow to cool: Let rest for 10 minutes before removing and venting the pouch. With the roasted garlic cooled to a manageable temperature, you can use your hands to squeeze the garlic from the whole head, or you can use a small spoon to scoop out the garlic from each individual clove.
Air Frying Garlic Cloves
Alternatively, you can roast individual garlic cloves in your air fryer. The good thing about air frying them individually is that they cook even faster. Here’s how I do it:
- Preheat the air fryer to 370° F
- Separate cloves: You can separate cloves from the whole head of garlic or use individual garlic cloves you already have on hand. You may peel the papery skin from the raw garlic cloves at this time, but I find it easier to peel them after they are roasted.
- Prepare garlic cloves for air frying: Arrange individual cloves of garlic in a ramekin (or an oven-proof small baking dish). If you do not have one, you can place garlic cloves on a sheet of aluminum foil instead.
- Season cloves: Drizzle with olive oil and lightly season with salt and pepper. Give it a toss to ensure each clove is evenly coated with oil and seasoning.
- Cover tightly to trap steam: Cover ramekin with foil or wrap foil tightly to create a pouch, depending on your chosen method.
- Air fry garlic cloves: Place pouch into the air fryer basket and air fry for 15 minutes.
- Check for doneness: Carefully open the tin foil allowing the steam to escape, and check a clove by gently squeezing it between your fingers. They should be soft and creamy. If they need more time, you can close the foil back up and cook at 1-minute increments (keep a close eye on cooking time to keep from burning the cloves).
- Peel the garlic: Once cloves are soft, remove and allow to cool for a few minutes before venting the pouch. Once you can handle the cloves, you can use your fingers to gently squeeze the garlic from its peel.
How To Store And Freeze
If you have leftover roasted garlic cloves or prefer to make a few batches to keep some air-fried garlic on hand, I have a few methods you can use to ensure lasting freshness for future meal preps.
Air Fried Garlic Cloves – Whole
- To Store: If you prefer your cloves whole, remove the outer layer of each clove and place them in an airtight container. Air fryer roasted garlic cloves can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also store your individual cloves in oil. Peel whole cloves, place them in a small glass jar (or mason jar), and cover with olive oil for up to 5 days. As an added bonus, use the roasted garlic-infused oil to incorporate garlic flavor into your recipes.
- To Freeze: If you want to freeze the garlic cloves as a whole, wait until they reach room temperature, remove the papery skin from each clove and place them in a single layer on a cooking sheet. Place in the freezer overnight. Once frozen, they can be transferred to a freezer bag or airtight container and stored for up to 1 month.
Air Fried Garlic – Mashed
- To Store: If you prefer garlic mashed, take your already peeled roasted cloves and mash with a fork in a small bowl. Transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- To Freeze: If you want to extend the life of your mashed garlic, you can store mashed garlic in an ice cube tray, cover it tightly, and freeze it in the fridge overnight. Once frozen, pop out the garlic cubes and store them in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to 2 months.
How To Use Air Fried Garlic
Air fryer garlic is the perfect substitute in any recipe calling for fresh garlic, especially if you are not a fan of the strong flavors of raw garlic. Not to mention, the creamy texture and the unique caramelized mellow garlic flavor are a great way to add a layer of complexity to any of your recipes.
Here are a few ways I use air fryer roasted garlic in my cooking:
Soups
Soups are practically begging for the addition of roasted garlic. The creamy texture melts into soups impeccably, and the delicious taste is hard to beat. Here are a few blended soup recipes you can try:
- Carrot Ginger Soup
- Vegan Sweet Potato Soup
- Pumpkin Ginger Soup
- Chilled Cucumber and Avocado Soup with Roasted Shrimp
Sauces, Dressings, & Marinades
Soups don’t get all the fun around here, though. Air fryer roasted garlic is also a wonderful addition to sauces, salad dressings, and marinades. It mixes easily and lends a sweet, roasted, and garlicky flavor when added to your favorite condiments and marinades. Below are a few fan favorites:
Spread on Toast
For an addictive and delicious snack idea, you can mix your mashed roasted garlic puree with ricotta cheese or cream cheese. Load up your butter knife and spread it all over toasted Olive Bread.
Roasted garlic cloves in the air fryer also make a great addition to compound butter. Get my recipe for Roasted Garlic Butter made by mixing roasted garlic with herbs and spices to create a spread for meats, vegetables or just to spread on a slice of freshly baked crusty bread.
Expert Tips
- Size, type, and age of the garlic matter: When it comes to cooking time, the type, age, and size of your garlic bulbs (or cloves) matter. Small heads of garlic (and small garlic cloves) will require less cooking time than larger ones. For this reason, I recommend keeping a close watch on your cooking times and only increasing time in 1 to 2-minute increments.
- Use the freshest garlic: This easy air fryer recipe is all about the garlic, so it stands to reason that you want to use the absolute best garlic you can find. When buying garlic for roasting, look for fresh bulbs that are heavy for their size, and avoid bulbs that have soft spots or mold.
- Be careful as you open the pouch: Hot steam will vent from the pouch as soon as you open it. To prevent burns, allow the pouch to cool for a few moments and then only open a small section to allow the steam to escape.
- Peeled garlic cooks faster: If you chose to air fryer peeled garlic cloves, be aware that they fry a few minutes quicker than garlic cloves with the skin on.
- If you have questions about tin foil and air fryers, be sure to check out this post on how to use aluminum foil in an air fryer?
FAQs
There are two ways you could attempt to roast garlic in an air fryer without foil, and they both involve parchment paper and baker’s twine. You can wrap the bulbs (or cloves) in parchment paper, fold the sides, form a pouch or envelope, and tie them with twine.
Another option is placing the bulbs (or cloves) in a ramekin and wrapping that with parchment and twine. Either option will be successful if you ensure it is tightly wrapped. The creation of steam is essential in roasting garlic in the air fryer.
It is a personal choice. Either way would work but keep in mind that peeled garlic cooks faster in the air fryer.
Whole bulbs of garlic will need to be roasted for about 20 minutes, whereas individual cloves require around 10 minutes of cooking time. Still, the air frying time might slightly differ based on the type, age, and size of the garlic you are using.
Other Tasty Air Fryer Recipes You Might Like:
- Air Fryer Corn
- Green Bean Fries in Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Elote
- Green Beans in Air Fryer
- Air Fried Asparagus
Can’t get enough? Check out all our Air Fryer recipes.
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Roasted Garlic in Air Fryer Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 whole head of garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, optional
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, optional
Instructions
If roasting a whole head of garlic:
- Preheat: Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F.
- Prep the garlic: Slice the top off the head of the garlic (1/3rd from the top) and place it on a piece of aluminum foil.
- Drizzle with oil: Pour olive oil over the garlic bulbs. If preferred, season with salt and black pepper.
- Wrap: Wrap it tightly. It should look like a small pouch.
- Roast: Place in the air fryer basket and air fry until garlic cloves are soft and creamy for 18 minutes. To check doneness, remove the pouch from the air fryer and carefully open it to let the steam out. Check the see if the garlic is fully roasted and soft. If not, wrap it tightly and let it air fry for 2 more minutes, keeping a close eye on it to prevent it from burning.
- Cool and remove: Let it cool for 10 minutes, and remove the now-roasted garlic either by squeezing the whole head with your hands or removing each garlic clove with a small spoon.
If roasting garlic cloves:
- Preheat: Preheat the air fryer to 370 degrees F.
- Prep the garlic: Remove the outer layer of the garlic bulb and break it into cloves. If you want to peel them, you can go ahead and do that at this point, but I find it easier to skip peeling as it is easier to remove the outer skin after they are roasted.
- Use foil: Place garlic cloves onto a square sheet of aluminum foil.
- Drizzle with oil: Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to make sure all the garlic cloves are equally coated with the oil and seasonings.
- Wrap: Wrap it tightly to make it a pouch.
- Roast: Place in the air fryer basket. Air fry for 10 minutes. To check doneness, open the pouch carefully and lightly squeeze one of the cloves. It should be soft. If not, wrap it tightly and air fry in 1-minute increments until fully softened.
- Let cool: When done, take the pouch out and let it cool for a few minutes. Carefully open and let the steam out.
- Squeeze out the garlic: Squeeze the now-roasted garlic out of each garlic clove by gently squeezing the garlic and removing it from its shell.
Notes
- Using more than one bulb? This recipe can be made with as many garlic bulbs as you air fryer can accommodate.
- Storing & Freezing Air Fried Garlic Cloves as a Whole:
- To Store: If you need the roasted garlic cloves to remain whole, carefully remove the outer layer of each clove and store them in an airtight container. It should keep fresh for up to 5 days. Alternatively, you can drizzle it with olive oil and use the “garlic-infused oil” in your recipes, but again it is best to use it within 5 days.
- To Freeze: If you prefer to freeze whole cloves, spread them out onto a sheet pan and place them in the freezer overnight. Once frozen, store them in a freezer bag or an airtight container.
- Storing & Freezing Air Fried Garlic – Mashed:
- To Store: If you prefer mashed garlic, then squeeze out the garlic from the roasted cloves and mash them in a small bowl. Place in a small airtight container and store in the fridge for upto 5 days.
- To Freeze: Place mashed garlic in an ice cube tray and freeze it overnight. The next day, pop out the cubes and place them in a freezer bag or an airtight container. Store for up to a month.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
