Yes, you can oven roast garlic successfully without any oil. Roasting garlic takes the “bite” out of the garlic. Once roasted it becomes, buttery, nutty, creamy and delicious. It still taste like garlic but a little sweeter and more mild. It can be added to so many sauces, dressings, dips and other recipes. Mashed potatoes made with roasted garlic are incredible. I love it salad dressings and sauces as well.

Simply use water instead of oil to keep it from drying out and sticking to the pan. It works like magic.

When I purchase this large bag of peeled garlic from Costco I know I can’t use it all up before it expires. So it’s the perfect time to oven roast it. I reserve some of it to use fresh and roast the rest 1 pound at a time.

I put a large amount of it in an 8 inch baking dish along with 2-3 tablespoons of water. Cover the top of the dish with foil or a glass lid if you have one that fits the dish. Put in a preheated 400 degree oven. In my oven it takes about 45 minutes. Check on the garlic about every 15 minutes to see if it needs a little more water – stir if you think it needs it. It’s done when it is golden and soft.

I like to use my Souper Cube freezer trays to divide the roasted garlic into small portions.

Once frozen, pop the cubes of garlic out of the trays and put them in freezer containers. They keep well in the freezer for months. Take out what you need for a recipe – it’s so easy.
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How To Use Roasted Garlic
Try it in my Oil Free Pesto
Garlic Mashed Potatoes – sub roasted for fresh garlic
Spread it over corn on the cob
Mash it and spread it on a baked potato or baked sweet potato
Add it to any vegetable or bean dish, soups and stews
Great addition to hummus and salad dressings.

Make this Creamy Roasted Garlic Hummus. It’s incredibly delicious.

Oven Roasted Garlic
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- fresh peeled garlic
- water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°
- In an 8 inch baking pan or smaller or larger depending on how much garlic you are roasting. Place the garlic along with 2-3 tablespoons water.
- Cover the pan with foil or a glass lid if it has one.
- Bake until golden brown and soft. Checking every 15 minutes to make sure there is a little water in the bottom of the pan to prevent it from sticking and burning.
- Once cool, divide into small portions and freeze in freezer safe containers.
- It will last for months when properly stored in the freezer.
Notes
Get Healthy Stay Healthy
One Meal At A Time
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What a great idea! I’m excited to try this. I think I will also try freezing them spread out on a tray until they are frozen and then putting them in a bag.
That works too!
This is so clever! I bought the big bag of peeled garlic from costco and this was a great way to use those up! Way cheaper option and now I have delicious roasted garlic ready-to-go in my freezer. Thanks for the awesome idea!
Hi Jess,
I am so glad you liked this method!
loved this recipe
I am so glad you like it!
Hi, Tami, again, another fabulous, healthy recipe. This was so easy! I just bought a small bag at Aldi and made it following your instructions. I checked them every 15min as you noted, and ended up needing to roast them for about an hour total. They’re soft and I’m not missing the oil. And starting with peeled garlic is just brilliant. I always trust your recipes, and I still use the ones I found when I was first learning my way around WFPB. I know they’ll turn out perfect, be healthy, and taste incredible. I’ll be using this garlic to make a batch of your Roasted Garlic Hummus. I plan to use it as a spread on some healthy pitas with lots of cut up veggies. Thank you for all you and Tom do to support the WFPB community. <3
Hi Lynn, Thank you so much for your kind and generous feedback! I’m always nervous about sharing my recipes – hoping others will like them. So getting feedback like this gives me confidence to keep doing what I’m doing.
Happy healthy cooking!
Thank you SO much! Finally a clear recipe on the interwebs for oven rosted garlic WITHOUT oil!! *Has 3 bulbs and was in a “I don’t want to waste them, what to do?!”- mode*
You are welcome!
I’ve never roasted garlic before. But, I found myself with a lot of garlic that came in my CSA bag. I used this method to roast the garlic and I’m addicted! This works great and the garlic is so yummy!
Thank you!
I am so glad you tried it and liked it! Roasted garlic is fabulous!