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Air Fryer Roasted Garlic is so simple to make, and even better, cooking it won’t heat up your house! Packed with flavor, roasted garlic cloves add a delicious and mellow garlic flavor to so many dishes.

heads of air fryer roasted garlic on a marbled board with sprigs of fresh thyme.

Roasting whole heads of garlic is one of those cooking techniques that can make you feel like a total kitchen pro. Unlike raw garlic, roasted garlic is milder, with a sweet carmelized flavor.

If raw garlic has you running for the hills, roasted garlic cloves might just be the solution you’ve been searching for.

If you don’t have an air fryer, this post on Instant Pot Roasted Garlic has pressure cooking and conventional oven instructions. You’ve got options and are out of excuses – roasted garlic is happening in your house!

Ingredients

two heads of garlic on a blue plate with a small bowl of olive oil.

Here’s what you’ll need to make roasted garlic in the air fryer:

Heads of fresh garlic
Olive oil
Salt – optional

How to Roast Garlic in an Air Fryer

*I’ll walk you through it here with some photos and tips, and you’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements, etc. You can also click “jump to recipe” to skip down.

Start by carefully cutting off the tops of the heads of garlic. Using a sharp chef’s knife is my preference here.

Pro/safety tip: Most garlic sold at grocery stores is soft-neck garlic. If you grow your own garlic or buy from a farmer’s market, you may be working with hardneck garlic.

Hardneck garlic will have a thick white “stem” coming out of the center (you can see it in the photo above). This can be tough to cut through, so take care when removing it.

Grab a piece of foil and place the garlic heads, root side down, cut side up. Drizzle ~1/2 tsp of olive oil over the tops of each head of garlic, making sure you cover the top.

olive oil being poured over cut heads of garlic.

Tightly wrap the garlic in foil and place it in the basket of the air fryer. If you’re using an oven-style air fryer, place the foil on the racks. Bake for 27-32 minutes or until the garlic is super soft, and lightly browned.

The garlic is fully roasted when you can easily pierce the largest clove with the tip of a sharp knife.

a bundle of foil in an air fryer basket.

Optional: carefully remove the foil from around the garlic and bake with the heads exposed for two minutes at 400˚F degrees. This gently browns the top of the bulbs even more.

HOW TO STORE Air Fryer ROASTED GARLIC

Having some roasted garlic ready to go can help streamline your easy meal prep and fast weeknight meals.

Allow the garlic to fully cool before storing.
Squeeze the cloves into a container with a lid, like a small mason jar.
Cover with olive oil and refrigerate for up to two weeks.
To freeze roasted garlic: gently mash the cloves and add to sections of an ice cube tray or 2 tbsp Souper Cubes. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top and freeze. Remove and store in freezer storage (we love these reusable silicone storage bags).

Pro tips

Adding salt is entirely optional in this recipe. I prefer to roast my garlic in the air fryer without salt. It gives me more flexibility for using it in various recipes. But you do you!
Avoid the urge to increase the temperature to make the garlic roast more quickly.
You can save all the little tips that you cut from the cloves, and use them in homemade garlic paste.

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