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Air fryer roasted garlic gives you soft, golden garlic cloves with a mellow, slightly sweet flavor in about 20 minutes. Wrapping the whole garlic head (or garlic bulb) in foil helps the cloves soften while the exposed tops caramelize.
Once you know how to roast garlic in the air fryer, you can use the softened cloves to make roasted garlic butter, blend them into my lemon garlic aioli, or add them to pasta sauce like my keto marinara sauce.
Why Roast Garlic Bulbs in the Air Fryer
- Faster than the oven: The air fryer gets a whole garlic bulb soft and golden in about 20 minutes.
- Mellow garlic flavor: Roasting takes away the sharp bite of raw garlic and makes the cloves soft, sweet, and easy to mash.
- Easy for small batches: Roast one bulb or a few at a time without heating the oven.
Ingredients Needed
- Whole garlic bulbs: Choose firm heads of garlic with the cloves still tightly attached.
- Olive oil: Drizzle it over the exposed cloves before wrapping the garlic.
- Sea salt and black pepper: Optional. Add a light sprinkle if you want the garlic seasoned before using it.
You’ll also need enough foil to wrap each garlic bulb.
How to Roast Garlic in the Air Fryer
Cut the garlic
Use a sharp knife to slice enough from the top of each garlic head to expose the tops of the cloves. Keep the bulb intact.
Add the oil
Place each garlic bulb in the center of a piece of foil. Drizzle olive oil over the exposed cloves, then add salt and black pepper if using.
Wrap the garlic
Bring the foil up around the bulb and seal it to make a packet.
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Air fry
Place the foil packets in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Air fry at 400°F for 15–20 minutes, or until the cloves are very soft and the exposed tops are lightly golden.
Cool
Let the packets cool for about 5 minutes before opening them. The foil and steam will be hot.
Tips for the Best Roasted Garlic
- Check smaller bulbs early. One smaller head may be ready around 15 minutes, while larger bulbs or several bulbs can take closer to 20 minutes.
- Look for softness, not just color. The cloves should be golden on top and soft enough to squeeze easily from their skins.
- Keep the bulb wrapped. The foil helps the garlic soften without the exposed cloves drying out.
- Add herbs if you want. Tuck a sprig of rosemary, thyme, or sage into the foil packet before cooking.
- Let it cool before squeezing. The cloves stay very hot inside their skins even after you open the foil.
How to Use Roasted Garlic
Once the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the softened cloves from the bottom of the bulb.
Use them to make my roasted garlic butter and roasted garlic cauliflower mash, add them to pasta sauce like my keto marinara sauce, or blend them into my lemon garlic aioli. You can also mash roasted garlic into brown butter mashed potatoes.
For a softer, sweeter garlic flavor, you can swap roasted garlic for any recipe requiring minced garlic, fresh garlic or garlic cloves. Some of my favorite recipes to use air fryer roasted garlic in are my shrimp scampi, cream of mushroom soup, Alfredo sauce, garlic butter rice, or lemon garlic shrimp.
Storage
- Refrigerate: Remove the roasted cloves from the bulb and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days.
- Freeze: Place the cloves in a small freezer-safe container or bag so you can take out what you need later.
Air Fryer Roasted Garlic FAQs
At 400°F, a whole head of garlic usually takes 15–20 minutes. Start checking around 15 minutes and continue cooking until the cloves are very soft.
For this method, yes. The foil helps hold in moisture so the cloves soften without the exposed garlic drying out while it cooks.
Yes. Keep the wrapped bulbs in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Several bulbs or larger heads may need closer to the full 20 minutes.
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Air Fryer Roasted Garlic
Use DRDAVINAHS at checkout to save on some equipment & ingredients!
Recommended Equipment
- Foil enough to wrap each garlic head
Ingredients
- 3 head Garlic
- 3 tsp Olive Oil
- ⅜ tsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt, optional, this is about a dash of sea salt per garlic head
- ⅜ tsp Black Pepper, optional, this is about a dash of black pepper per garlic head
Instructions
- Use a sharp knife to cut the tops off your heads of garlic. You want to expose the tops of the garlic cloves.
- Place each garlic bulb in the center of a piece of foil. Top the whole garlic head with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper
- Pull up the sides of the foil and close the foil around the bulb to create a bit of a foil packet
- Air Fry the closed packet for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees. Please see the blog post for how the garlic turns out depending on the time chosen.
- Turn off the air fryer and allow the packet to cool for about 5 minutes (or when it's cool to the touch)
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Recipe Notes
- Adjust the time for more garlic: One bulb usually takes 15–16 minutes; 3–4 bulbs may need 18–20 minutes, depending on size.
- Use as a garlic swap: Replace fresh, minced, or whole garlic cloves with roasted garlic for a softer, sweeter flavor.
- Cool before opening: Let the foil packet rest for about 5 minutes before handling.
- Add herbs: Tuck in fresh thyme, rosemary, or sage before sealing the foil packet.
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used.
