Garlic Confit

By Ali Slagle

Published Dec. 12, 2023

Garlic Confit
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Rating
4(222)
Comments
Read comments

These golden, jammy jewels of garlic cloves and the infused oil in which they were cooked can be used anywhere you’d use caramelized onions: Spread the softened cloves on toast or pizza, buzz them into a dip or mashed potatoes, or mix them into a grain salad. Use the oil for pasta, salad dressings, roasting potatoes or frying eggs. While cooking foods submerged in fat over a low temperature was originally necessary for food preservation, this process, known as confit, has survived the introduction of refrigeration because ingredients emerge from the warm bath supremely sweet and tender.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:About 2 cups
  • 3heads garlic (about 30 cloves), peeled
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, to cover (1 to 2 cups, depending on the vessel)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)

395 calories; 43 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 32 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 2 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 275 degrees. Place the garlic in an oven-safe saucepan, skillet or baking dish that snuggly fits the cloves. Add enough olive oil to just cover the cloves. Bake until the cloves are golden and tender enough to easily smash with a fork, 1 to 1½ hours. Let cool.

  2. Step 2

    To store, transfer the cloves and oil to a clean, resealable container; if the cloves aren’t covered in oil, add more oil or try a different vessel. Because garlic confit is not very acidic, it will not keep on the counter; refrigerate up to 2 weeks and use a clean utensil to get what you need from the container.

Ratings

4 out of 5
222 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

dah

I learned about this from a CIA-trained chef. He would confit the garlic, drain it, and purée the garlic and put into ziplock bags, flatten them out and store in the freezer. Then, when you need garlic, just break off a piece. It thaws very quickly and you can use it however you want.

Avoid Botulism

To avoid botulism, please read the USDA recommendations regarding the storage of garlic confit. It should NOT be stored for 2 weeks. Never store it for more than 7 days, always have at least 1/2" headspace in the container, and make sure to store it at 40F or lower.

GreenSageSJ

Every couple months, I buy a bag of peeled garlic cloves at Costco, put them in a 9x13 inch pan, cover them w/ a liter of olive oil & bake at 250º for 2 hrs until the cloves are lightly golden & just tender. I drain the oil into 1 pint bottles, adding sprigs of fresh herbs to a couple bottles, leaving others w/ garlic infused oil. The oil stays in the fridge till needed. I freeze the cloves in ½ pint containers, putting one in the fridge to use for cooking. Easy, delicious, brilliant!

Joby

It works. Like the onesyou get at the deli condiment bar but fresher. Keep the temperature low. No short cuts.

Jen V.

1 hour to make, 24 hours to recover from the heartburn. Ouch.

AWW

Add two or three sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf, makes all the difference in the flavor profile.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.