Condiments

Garlic Confit Recipe – 3 Ways (With Video)

By Samira Kazan

updated August 29, 2024

Learn how to make garlic confit at home with one of my three methods, top tips, and a video tutorial. The slowly cooked cloves will become soft and tender, with a mellow, rich taste, and are a great addition to any meal.

A saucepan with homemade garlic confit and a spoon removing some cloves and oil. - 1

I’m a big fan of garlic and love experimenting with recipes where it takes center stage. Whether it’s oven-roasted garlic adding depth to dishes, the creamy kick of Lebanese garlic sauce , or the sweet heat of fermented garlic honey , these staples are always in my kitchen. That’s how much I love this versatile ingredient!

So, it should be no surprise that I am sharing how to make garlic confit—it is another of my favorites. I am even sharing three methods so you can choose the one that best fits your needs – on the stovetop ( taking less than 30 minutes! ), in the oven, and in a crockpot.

The garlic cloves become tender, soft, and smooth like butter, and their flavor is milder and slightly sweet. I love to add the garlic confit to so many dishes or even just spread it on some toasted bread. For anyone who’s even slightly a fan of garlic, I’m sure you will love this garlic confit recipe just as much as I do.

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  • Watch the garlic confit video
  • What is garlic confit?
  • Ingredients
  • How to make garlic confit
  • Recipe tips and notes
  • Ways to use garlic confit
  • More garlic recipes
  • How to Make Garlic Confit (with Video) Recipe

Watch the garlic confit video

What is garlic confit?

Confit (pronounced “kon-FEE”) is a French cooking method for preserving food (like this tomato confit recipe ). Garlic confit is made by cooking garlic in generous amounts of fat (in this case, extra virgin olive oil) at low heat until tender and lightly browned.

Once ready, the garlic cloves become soft, sweet, rich, and flavorful without the bitterness of raw garlic. Best of all, this method yields TWO delicious products: tender, buttery garlic, AND fragrant garlicky oil.

A close up of homemade garlic confit showing the individual cloves in oil. - 2

Ingredients

Ingredients for homemade garlic confit. - 3
  • Garlic : Use as much or as little as you want. Fresh, firm bulbs will have the best flavor, though pre-peeled garlic cloves will also work.
  • Extra virgin olive oil : It is the best option because of its flavor, but other cooking oils, such as vegetable oil, grape seed oil, canola oil, and avocado oil, will work, too, even if they slightly affect the flavor. You will need enough oil to cover the cloves in your pan.
  • Herbs: (optional) I used rosemary. However, you can experiment with others, such as oregano, chili flakes , thyme, peppercorns, fennel, bay leaves, etc.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to make garlic confit

Prepare the garlic: If you don’t have peeled garlic, you can use one of these easy methods to peel garlic . Once peeled, you can also optionally remove the stem end of the cloves.

A bowl with lots of peeled garlic with stems cut off. - 4

On the stovetop

Place the rosemary and garlic cloves in a medium-sized saucepan. Then, cover them with enough oil to submerge the garlic fully.

Heat on low heat and cook for about 20-30 minutes. Keep an eye on them and stir occasionally. If the oil is bubbling too much or it seems like the cloves are starting to burn at the bottom, lower the heat even more.

Within 20-30 minutes, the cloves will become soft like butter. You can remove the pot from the heat whenever you are happy with garlic confit softness and creaminess—test by taking one and spreading it over a cracker or toasted bread.

Making garlic confit on the stovetop. - 5

In the oven

Preheat the oven to 210ºF/100ºC. It’s best to use a smaller dish with high sides, like a deep baking tray, casserole dish, or an oven-proof skillet.

Add the ingredients to the dish. I like to place the rosemary first, then the garlic cloves, and finally, pour the olive oil over them. Make sure you add enough oil to submerge the garlic entirely so the cloves don’t burn.

Place the dish in the oven and slow-cook the garlic at 210ºF/100ºC for about 2 hours. I recommend checking at 1:30 hours and then every 10-15 minutes, as each oven is different.

When ready, the confit garlic cloves will be tender and lightly golden but not too browned. Test their softness by spreading one on some toast or a cracker.

Making homemade garlic confit in the oven. - 6

If using a cast iron skillet/pan, the garlic might take 10-15 minutes longer to cook as the pan takes longer to heat.

In the crockpot

Place the garlic cloves and rosemary in the slow cooker, and then pour the oil over them, making sure all the cloves are submerged. Close the lid of the crockpot, and then select the LOW temperature setting.

Let the garlic and oil slow-cook for 2 hours, and then test the softness of the cloves. If you want them more browed and more tender, increase the time and check on them every 10 minutes or so. Keep in mind that even if you turn off the crockpot, if you leave the confit inside, it will continue to cook as the machine is hot.

That’s why, as soon as you are happy with the creaminess, I recommend carefully transferring the garlic confit (cloves and oil) to another heat-proof dish where it can cool.

Cooking garlic confit in a crockpot. - 7

Cool the garlic confit and store

Once ready, allow the garlic confit to cool to room temperature. To speed up the cooldown time, place the confit in a sterilized glass jar and place the jar in an ice bath (a bowl with ice-cold water). Optionally, you can remove the herbs. Finally, place the jar in the refrigerator as soon as it cools enough.

Two cloves of garlic confit in a spoon - 8

Recipe tips and notes

  • To peel garlic quickly , break the garlic head into cloves by pressing it lightly with the palm of your hand. Place the cloves in a Tupperware container, a mason jar with a lid, or between two metal bowls, and shake for 20-30 seconds. The cloves may not be fully peeled, but the skins will be loose enough to remove easily. For more methods, check out my post on Check my post for how to peel garlic .
  • Opt for high-quality oil.
  • Cook slowly over low heat !
  • Store the garlic confit in the refrigerator . The oil may solidify in the fridge, but you can easily spoon out the garlic cloves or the oil, and they will quickly come to room temperature.

Ways to use garlic confit

I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said that I use this garlic confit recipe on everything. Here are my favorite ways to use it:

  • Spread over toasted bread or crackers (like these seeded crackers )- alone or with cream cheese and other spreads.
  • As part of a cheese board – with veggies, antipasti, and lots of cheese.
  • Add it to roasted vegetables or mash the cloves into dishes like creamy mashed potatoes or crispy smashed potatoes .
  • Smash it over this Burrata Caprese salad or other salad bowls.
  • Flavor pasta dishes and bakes – like this one-pot pasta or pasta with roasted red pepper sauce .

You can also use the cloves or the garlic oil in dips, sauces, spreads, vinaigrettes, dressings (like this roasted garlic dressing ), etc. I love to use the oil as a dipping oil for bread or when sauteeing instead of vegetable oil.

Garlic confit spread on toasted bread next to a pan with the confit. - 9

More garlic recipes

Roasted garlic in foil - 10 Roasted garlic in foil - 11 ferment honey garlic in a jar - 12 ferment honey garlic in a jar - 13 Hand holding half a head of black garlic - 14 Hand holding half a head of black garlic - 15

IngredientsUS CustomaryMetric1x2x3x

  • ▢ 3 heads garlic or use pre-peeled cloves
  • ▢ 1.5 cups extra virgin olive oil or neutral vegetable oil (canola, avocado, etc.)
  • ▢ few sprigs rosemary or any other herb of your choice

This will yield about3cups of confit.

Instructions

  • Stovetop method: Simmer garlic and rosemary in oil over low heat for 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until garlic is soft and lightly golden.
  • Oven method: Bake garlic and rosemary fully submerged in oil at 210ºF (100ºC) for 2 hours, or until soft and spreadable.
  • Slow Cooker method: Cook garlic and rosemary in oil on LOW for 2 hours, until tender and creamy.
  • Let the confit cool completely, then transfer to a sterilized jar and refrigerate.

Video

Notes

  • Keep heat low
  • Fully submerge garlicÂ
  • Use clean utensils

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

A close up of homemade garlic confit showing the individual cloves in oil. - 16

Garlic Confit (3 Easy Methods)

Ingredients

  • 3 heads garlic or use pre-peeled cloves
  • 1.5 cups extra virgin olive oil or neutral vegetable oil (canola, avocado, etc.)
  • few sprigs rosemary or any other herb of your choice

This will yield about3cups of confit.

Instructions

  • Stovetop method: Simmer garlic and rosemary in oil over low heat for 20–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until garlic is soft and lightly golden.
  • Oven method: Bake garlic and rosemary fully submerged in oil at 210ºF (100ºC) for 2 hours, or until soft and spreadable.
  • Slow Cooker method: Cook garlic and rosemary in oil on LOW for 2 hours, until tender and creamy.
  • Let the confit cool completely, then transfer to a sterilized jar and refrigerate.

Video

Notes

  • Keep heat low
  • Fully submerge garlic
  • Use clean utensils

Nutrition

Recipe on Alphafoodie: https://www.alphafoodie.com/how-to-make-garlic-confit/