Garlic Confit Recipe

Garlic Confit is a savory and flavorful mixture made from roasted garlic, olive oil, and fresh herbs. Perfect for garlic lovers, we use thyme and rosemary sprigs, but you can use your favorites. 

Try tucking some of your fresh garlic confit under the skin of this Garlic Herb Butter Roasted Chicken made with lemon and fresh butter. Another way to enjoy the flavor of your garlic confit is by adding it to this Instant Pot Beef Stew with stew meat, onions, and brown sugar.

Replace the minced garlic cloves in this recipe for Fondant Potatoes with garlic confit and see how amazing they taste! 

As you probably know, garlic cloves turn soft and sweet when you make garlic confit, giving them a unique flavor like no other. 

Similar to traditional roasted garlic, the sweet taste you get when roasted garlic is cooked slowly. Using extra virgin olive oil adds a little bit of extra taste to the flavor while being absorbed during the cooking process in this garlic confit recipe. 

Whether you use the garlic cloves with or without the skin, many people like to cut the ends off too. Then you can squeeze the gooey garlic out easily.

Roasted garlic on its own is good enough to eat with a spoon but it also works well as garlic oil to pour onto salads, soups, veggies, or meat. 

Ingredients needed:

These are the main ingredients for this garlic oil and garlic confit recipe. Scroll down to our recipe card for the step-by-step directions and measurements.

• Large heads of garlic: Cloves peeled and separated.
• Olive oil: We used extra virgin olive oil.
• Thyme sprigs: Fresh thyme for best results.
• Rosemary sprigs: Again, fresh is best.

How to make Garlic Confit recipe?

1. Preheat: Preheat the oven to 250°F.
2. Mix: Meanwhile, mix the herbs, olive oil, and garlic cloves in a small bowl or baking dish.
3. Bake: When the oven is ready, bake raw garlic until it is tender and lightly golden brown, about 1.5 to 2 hours. It is done when it is soft and jammy.
4. Store for future use: After it is done, use a slotted spoon to put your garlic confit and garlic oil into a clean jar and shake vigorously. Then, store your garlic confit in a clean jar in the refrigerator. Add more oil if needed. For safety, use it within two weeks. 

How to make stovetop garlic confit:

1. Prepare: First, prepare your garlic cloves for cooking as per the instructions above.
2. Preheat pan: Then, add the olive oil to a small saucepan on the stovetop on medium heat until it is simmering. 
3. Small pot: Use the smallest saucepan you have so you can keep the garlic cloves submerged while cooking. 
4. Brown the garlic: When the garlic cloves are light golden brown, turn the stove to low heat and add the herbs, letting them cook in the olive oil until it is soft. 
5. Chill and store: Finally, put your garlic confit in a glass jar and give it an ice bath to cool it quickly. Then, store in the fridge until use.

How to serve:

Anyone can make garlic confit with this super easy recipe that turns raw garlic cloves into tasty morsels of garlic heaven after you soak them in oil and roast them for a couple of hours. Use it on toast or try one of these great ideas:

• This is a great addition to lemon garlic roast.
• Garlic lovers will appreciate a spoonful of this added to any kind of dip on game day.
• Garlic roasted potatoes are also a terrific way to enjoy this garlic confit. 
• Add garlic oil to your favorite balsamic vinaigrette.
• You cannot beat this flavor addition to our amazing garlic brown sugar lamb ribs.
• When you finish all the garlic in the confit, use the garlic oil for whatever you like from hummus to salad dressing. 

Frequently asked questions

Is garlic confit safe? 

The food-borne illness, botulism, is a small but very important risk to know about when making garlic confit. Because garlic confit is so low in acid, the dangerous toxins can build up quickly at temperatures over 40 degrees F. 

As soon as your garlic confit is done cooking, cool it as fast as you can in a bowl of ice or cold water before putting it in the refrigerator. Store your garlic confit in the coldest part of your fridge, below 37 degrees F is best.

If you are not going to use it right away, you can freeze garlic confit with or without the oil.

What is garlic confit used for?

You can use your garlic confit for just about anything from salads to soups. Pasta dishes are another great way to use this delicious aromatic spread.

Try adding it to meat, mashed potatoes, or roasted vegetables as well as salad dressings. 

Or you can just spread it on a slice of crusty bread. Because you use the slow roast cooking process, the raw garlic turns buttery smooth, and sweet. You can also make garlic-infused oil that you can pour over any meat, pasta, or veggies.

The olive oil will add to the flavor and garlic lovers will tell you that garlic oil can be used on everything. 

What does it mean to confit garlic?

The word confit actually refers to a French cooking method of roasting and storing some type of ingredient in its own fats. Although other recipes consider confit as how to preserve fruit with sugary syrup. 

But you can use the confit process to preserve meats, veggies, fruits, or whatever you like. It is not just about how to confit garlic, but how to preserve the foods that you love in some kind of fat or sugar mixture. 

How do I freeze garlic confit?

You can freeze it in an airtight freezer-safe container or freeze it separately. In fact, if you want to freeze it in small amounts, use covered ice cube trays. That way you can just take out how much you need as you need it. 

How to store leftovers:

• Store: It is important to store your leftover garlic confit in a clean glass airtight container right away. Do not wait for it to come to room temperature on its own. Chill it in an ice bath or a bowl of ice to cool it right away. Then, seal it up and put it in the coldest part of your fridge for up to two weeks.
• Freeze: It is also safe to freeze your garlic confit for up to three months.
• Thaw: Remember to put your frozen leftovers in the fridge to thaw overnight before serving. Never leave the mixture out at room temperature. It should always be returned to the refrigerator immediately after use.

More easy spreads and dips: