Air Fryer Roasted Garlic

Roasted garlic has a sweet nutty flavor that is the perfect addition to pastas, spreads or soups!  Make roasted garlic in the air fryer in just 25 minutes without the hassle of heating up your conventional oven!

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Why this is the best way to roast garlic

• Quicker to make than the traditional oven method.  It cooks in less time plus there’s no wait time for the oven to preheat!
• No need to heat up the entire oven just to roast a small garlic bulb.  Most air fryers are more energy efficient than conventional ovens.

Equipment Needed

PowerXL Air Fryer 7 QT Maxx Classic- is my favorite air fryer model that I use daily for anything from sides to entrees!

Key Ingredients

A recipe can’t get any easier when you only have 2 ingredients!!  Make sure you use fresh heads of garlic and a really high quality extra virgin olive oil.  You can substitute for avocado oil if you prefer.  You can roast just 1 whole head of garlic.  There is a ton of flavor in each clove!

Step-By-Step instructions

The first step to roasting garlic is to cut a ¼ inch off the stem end of the top of the garlic bulbs leaving the root end intact.  This will expose the individual garlic cloves.  Remove the loose papery outer layers off the bulb, still leaving the cloves connected.

Cut small squares of aluminum foil.  Place the garlic in the center of a piece of aluminum foil.  Loosely wrap whole garlic in foil and drizzle the top of the garlic with a teaspoon of olive oil.  Place foil wrapped garlic in the air fryer basket.

Set air fryer to 400 degrees and time for 25 minutes.  After the garlic has cooked, carefully unwrap and check for a roasted golden brown color.  Depending on the size of your garlic bulbs the cook time may vary.  Small heads of garlic may cook quicker while larger cloves may need an additional 5 minutes.

When garlic has finished roasting, you can remove the individual cloves by squeezing them until they pop loose of the paper skins or use a butter knife to work them loose.

Expert Tips

A commonly asked question is if it is safe to use aluminum foil in the air fryer?   The answer is yes, however always check with your brand and models specific guidelines first.

how to use roasted garlic

When garlic is roasted it takes away the sharp pungent flavor of raw garlic, making the cloves sweet and caramelized.  These roasted garlic cloves are a wonderful addition to so many dishes.  Here are my favorite ways to use them.

• pasta- perfect addition to pasta dishes, pasta sauce or risotto!
• soup- try this easy Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup recipe that has roasted garlic blended in the soup.
• hummus- add to your favorite hummus recipe or try my favorite Roasted Garlic Hummus
• spread- make a butter compound by combing softened butter and garlic.  This makes a great addition to delicious garlic bread!
• salad dressings- delicious added to marinades, salad dressing and vinaigrettes!
• garlic aioli-mix the roasted garlic with mayonnaise to make your sandwiches extra special!
• mashed potatoes- add a few cloves while you are mashing your potatoes for an amazing garlic flavor boost.

How to store

The best methods for storing roasted garlic are in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  There's a few ways to do this:

• Store the whole head of garlic in a container for 3-4 days.
• Remove the roasted cloves and place in a mason jar covered with olive oil for a week to 10 days.
• Freeze the entire garlic head or the individual cloves for later use.

looking for other tasty air fryer recipes? Try these!

Air Fryer Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings {Raw}

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