This Delicious Garlic Confit Recipe Will Change Your Life

This homemade Garlic Confit recipe turns simple raw garlic cloves into the most buttery, sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth goodness you’ve ever tasted. It’s an easy recipe that’ll truly elevate everything, whether you’re spreading it on garlic bread, tossing it into pasta dishes, or whisking it into salad dressings.

Garlic Confit

Y’all, if you’re a garlic lover, get ready for something downright magical!

Making your own garlic confit is as easy as can be and what you end up with is nothing short of amazing.

Mash it up and spread it on bread, slip a couple cloves under the skin of chicken before roasting it, use the oil to saute in or dip bread in—the possibilities are endless!

Anything that you would use roasted garlic on, this would be perfect on.

But honestly, this concoction would even make cardboard taste good.

Y’all know me and my love for easy peasy-ness. Yes, easy peasy-ness. It’s a thing. Well, this recipe is about as easy as they come!

Trust me, once you try this, you’ll wonder how you ever cooked without it!

Ready to learn how to make garlic confit?

What is Garlic Confit?

The word confit is a French word that means to cook something slowly in its own fat or in oil.

If you love garlic, it’s a game-changer!

It takes raw garlic cloves and transforms them into buttery soft cloves with a mellow garlic flavor that’s sweet, rich, and irresistible.

The slow cooking process gently simmers the garlic in extra virgin olive oil, along with sprigs of fresh herbs.

As the garlic softens and turns a beautiful golden brown, you’re left with not just tender confit garlic cloves, but also a jar of rich, flavorful garlic-infused oil—a true liquid gold!

What You Need to Make Garlic Confit

• Peeled Garlic Cloves: You’ll need about 12 heads of garlic, all peeled. You can find helpful tips on peeling this massive amount of garlic below.
• Olive Oil: You’ll use enough olive oil to fully cover the garlic. If you prefer, you could use a neutral oil like avocado oil, but extra-virgin olive oil gives a better flavor.
• Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary: A few sprigs of fresh herbs like rosemary bring a woodsy, earthy note to the mix.
• Bay Leaves: They balance out the sweetness of the garlic and add a nice, mellow flavor.

Ways to Remove the Skin from Garlic Cloves

The hardest part about making homemade garlic confit is removing the garlic cloves from the skin. I advise against the pre-peeled garlic because it just doesn’t have the same wonderful garlicky flavor that freshly peeled garlic has.

But no worries—here are some helpful methods to make this job easier.

Mason Jar Shake

Grab a mason jar or any sturdy container with a lid. Place your raw garlic cloves inside, screw the lid on tight, and shake like you mean it.

The cloves will knock against the sides, loosening the skins. After a few seconds, you’ll see the magic happen—those skins will slide right off!

This is perfect if you’re peeling a large bag or a lot of garlic at once.

Smash-and-Peel Method

Place a clove on a cutting board and lay the flat side of a knife on top. Whack it with your knife until you hear a little pop.

The skin will loosen, and you can just pull it off.

Hot Water Trick

Soak the unpeeled garlic cloves in warm water for a couple of minutes. The skins soften and slip off easily.

Microwave Hack

Pop a clove into the microwave for about 10 seconds. The heat causes the skin to puff up, making it easy to peel.

Be careful not to overdo it—just enough to loosen the skins without cooking the garlic.

Rub-and-Roll

If you don’t have a Mason Jar, use two bowls, plates, or these handy dandy garlic peelers.

Place the cloves between them, hold them tightly together, and shake or rub. The skins will peel away without bruising the garlic.

How to Make Garlic Confit

Prep the Garlic and Pan: Start with peeled garlic cloves—you’ll need about 12 heads worth. Spread them out in a large baking dish or a rimmed sheet pan in an even layer. Make sure the garlic isn’t piled up; we want each clove to get some love from the oil.

Add Enough Olive Oil: Pour extra virgin olive oil over the garlic until it’s completely covered. Tuck the cloves into the oil if needed. The key to this cooking method is making sure the garlic stays submerged. This way, it roasts gently and turns into those soft, sweet, little garlicky treasures.

Add Aromatics: Add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and a couple of bay leaves.

Bake at a Low Temperature: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the garlic uncovered for about 45 minutes. As it cooks, the cloves will soften, and you’ll see those tiny bubbles in the oil. Your house will smell absolutely heavenly!

Cool and Store: Once the garlic is done, let it cool to room temperature. Remove the sprigs of fresh herbs and bay leaves, then transfer the garlic oil and cloves to a Mason Jar or another airtight container.

Garlic Confit Flavor Variations

• Fresh Thyme and Lemon Zest: Add sprigs of fresh thyme to your cloves of garlic and a bit of lemon zest. This is perfect for mixing into vinaigrettes or drizzling over veggies.
• Black Peppercorns and Red Pepper Flakes: This combination adds a gentle heat that’s fantastic for brushing onto garlic bread or stirring into pasta dishes.

How to Elevate Your Dishes with Garlic Confit

1. Spread It on Bread: Spread some directly onto toasted bread. I like it on this Herb Focaccia Bread, but it’s also good on my Copycat Longhorn Bread or any other other type of savory bread.
2. Whisk It into Salad Dressings: Mash a few confit garlic cloves and mix them into your favorite salad dressing, such as my delicious balsamic vinaigrette.
3. Stir Into Pasta Dishes: Adding it to my seafood alfredo makes it really go off! You can elevate any pasta dish using it.
4. Use It for Sautéing: Replace your usual cooking oils with the garlic-infused oil when sautéing vegetables or meats.
5. Elevate Your Breakfast: Spread the buttery soft cloves onto your avocado toast, or stir them into scrambled eggs and onions.
6. Soups and Stews: Drop a few whole confit garlic cloves into your fave soups, beef stew or vegetable beef soup.
7. Use It as a Pizza Topping: Man, oh man, y’all—this is just amazing! Trust me on this, add some to your next pizza!

How to Store Garlic Confit

Once your garlic confit has cooled, scoop it into clean jars with tight lids (I like to sterilize the jars first) and put it straight in the fridge.

Don’t leave it sitting out at room temperature, or it could go bad and make you sick. Nobody wants the risk of botulism!

You can store them in the refrigerator for 4-6 weeks, but honestly, it NEVER lasts that long in my house!

Freezing Garlic Confit with Ice Cube Trays

If you want to keep your garlic confit longer, freezing works great. Here’s how you do it:

• Scoop the garlic cloves and some of the garlic oil into an ice cube tray.
• Make sure the oil covers the garlic completely.
• Freeze the tray until it’s solid, then pop out the cubes and put them in a freezer bag or container.

These frozen garlic cubes will last 2-3 months.

This garlic confit is nothing short of magnificent. Please, don’t waste anymore time without having this in your life—make it today!