How to Make Garlic Confit and Homemade Garlic Oil
Let’s talk about this incredible garlic confit. Have you heard of garlic confit? Your life will be forever changed after this post. Learn how to make garlic chips while you’re at it!
Until a few years ago, my understanding of the term ‘confit’ was pretty limited. Sure, I knew that duck confit was a thing (a very delicious thing) and it was French–most likely learned when I butchered the word at some point or another, and someone in my family corrected me.
Before that, I was not intimately familiar with the cooking technique.
Food Safety Disclaimer: Garlic is a low-acid ingredient, and if stored improperly in oil (without oxygen) and in warm temperatures (at room temperature), it can produce a very serious toxin that causes botulism. Homemade garlic confit and garlic oil should always be made and immediately stored in the refrigerator for food safety reasons. Per food safety guidelines, it is recommended that you use them within 4 days of making – but if prepared and stored properly, it can often keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. Please use your own discretion, but be aware that storing homemade garlic confit and garlic oil improperly and for a long period poses an inherent food safety risk.
What Does It Mean to Confit Something?
When I started culinary school, I was introduced to all sorts of delicious French cuisine and classic cooking techniques. After school, I worked in a restaurant under a French-trained chef.
To confit became part of my daily routine. We confited so many foods. Garlic, tomatoes…you name it and we probably confited it.
For those unfamiliar, confit is a French cooking technique that involves submerging and cooking a food in fat over low heat for a long time. It was originally used as a preservation technique. For the most part, the fat is usually butter, oil, or animal fat (e.g. duck confit, which is cured duck legs cooked in duck fat).
Confiting is the polar opposite of frying, which is cooking a food in fat over high heat for a short amount of time.
What is Garlic Confit?
Of all the things I learned to confit over that year, garlic confit remains as one of my absolute favorites!
Whole garlic cloves cooked in lots of fragrant extra virgin olive oil, for about 20 minutes, until they are incredibly tender. While I’m partial to cooking these in olive oil, you can also use avocado or other oils.
Similar to roasted garlic, the cloves become very sweet, soft, and extremely flavorful.
What To Use Garlic Confit For?
As far as what you can do with garlic confit, the possibilities are endless. Since the garlic cloves are cooked through and soft, you can mash the garlic cloves easily and spread them on top of bread for a delicious spread or garlic bread. You can also add them to dips, such as homemade hummus, salads, Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, or roasted broccoli or other vegetables!
You can also leave the cloves intact and sprinkle them on top of homemade pizza, add them to a marinade (such as my easy chicken marinade), put them under the skin of roast chicken, or just add them to a hot pan for sautéing with any number of vegetables.
If you’d like to infuse the oil and garlic cloves with fresh herbs, such as rosemary or thyme, you can do that as well. Just follow the instructions in the recipe below!
Use the remaining homemade garlic oil for delicate cooking, drizzling on top of soups or dishes, adding to salad vinaigrette, or serving with a crusty baguette for dipping.
Does Garlic Confit Need to Be Refrigerated?
Yes, garlic confit and infused oils absolutely need to be refrigerated, due to a risk of developing botulism and other bacterias. Per food safety guidelines, it is recommended that you use them within 4 days of making – but if prepared and stored properly, it can often keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. Please use your own discretion, but be aware that storing homemade garlic confit and garlic oil improperly and for a long period poses an inherent food safety risk.
Feel free to spoon out the garlic cloves or oil and add directly to a pan for cooking, or let the oil come to room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour if you are using it for dipping or finishing, etc.
Can You Freeze Garlic Confit?
Yes, however this mixture should store in a refrigerator for up to a week or longer – if you are concerned about food safety, I recommend using it within 3 to 4 days of making.
Homemade Garlic Confit and Garlic Oil
Ingredients
- 3 whole heads of garlic dry, fresh cloves with zero bruising
- 2 cups (480 mL) extra virgin olive oil
- fresh herbs, such as thyme or rosemary, or dried chiles optional
Instructions
- Food Safety Note and Disclaimer: Garlic is a naturally low-acid ingredient, and if stored improperly in oil (without oxygen) and in warm temperatures (at room temperature), it can produce a very serious toxin that causes botulism. Homemade garlic confit and garlic oil should always be made and immediately stored in the refrigerator for food safety reasons. Per food safety guidelines, it is recommended that you use them within 4 days of making - but if prepared and stored properly, they can often keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. Please use your own discretion. .
- Use the palm of your hand to carefully separate the heads of garlic. Using a sharp small knife, trim the ends of each garlic clove and then peel each clove, leaving it intact. Discard any bruised cloves.
- Place the peeled garlic cloves in a small saucepan (2 quarts or larger), cover with the olive oil, and place over very low heat on the stove. As the oil begins to warm, you will slowly see small bubbles form. The bubbles will gradually get larger until the oil is simmering slowly.
- Continue to cook the garlic in the oil over very low heat, stirring carefully every few minutes, for 15 to 30 minutes (time will vary depending on your garlic clove sizes, adjust time as necessary), or until the garlic cloves are tender and cooked through, yet still retain their shape and aren't heavily caramelized. Use a long sharp knife to pierce the cloves, they should meet little to no resistance once they are finished cooking.
- Remove from the heat. Add fresh herbs to the oil, if using. Transfer to a clean heat proof jar, cover with a tight-fidding lid, and immediately refrigerate. Food Safety Storage Note: Homemade garlic confit and garlic oil should always be stored in the refrigerator for food safety reasons as infused garlic oils have a botulism risk if stored at room temperature. Per food safety guidelines, it is recommended that you use them within 4 days of making - but if prepared and stored properly, they can often keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. Please use your own discretion.
Does Garlic Confit Need to Be Refrigerated?
- Garlic is a low-acid ingredient, and if stored improperly in oil (without oxygen) and in warm temperatures (at room temperature), it can produce a very serious toxin that causes botulism. Homemade garlic confit and garlic oil should always be made and immediately stored in the refrigerator for food safety reasons. Per food safety guidelines, it is recommended that you use them within 4 days of making - but if prepared and stored properly, they can often keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. Please use your own discretion. .
Can You Freeze Garlic Confit?
- Yes, however this mixture will store well in a refrigerator for several weeks or up to a month. Please allow the mixture to thaw in the refrigerator before using.
121 Comments on “How to Make Garlic Confit and Homemade Garlic Oil”
Hi,
Quick question about storage. Is it 2-3 weeks in the fridge and then its fully infused and ready to eat? or must it be eating in 2-3 weeks before it goes bad.
Just preparing it now, thank you for the recipe, am super excited :—–)
It is ready to eat right away, but needs to be stored in the refrigerator if it contains the garlic cloves (this protects from botulism bacteria that can occur if you leave it out at room temperature). I would also personally use the garlic cloves in 2-3 weeks, but I’m also more conservative with storage tips, so if it smells good and looks good, you’re probably fine for longer than that.
Hi! I made some and when i put it in the fridge it solidified, is that normal? I used extra virgin olive oil.
Yes – olive oil will solidify between 45-50 degrees (if it didn’t solidify, I’d be concerned about the quality of the oil). You’ll want to let it come to room temperature if using the oil for dipping or finishing, but you can spoon out the oil or cloves to use for cooking, etc.
However, the oil/garlic combination should be stored in the refrigerator for food safety purposes.
Would any oil work? Thinking about rapeseed oil
Thanks
Yes it would work, but personally I would only use that oil for cooking and olive oil will be much tastier. A neutral oil like that doesn’t have very good flavor for dipping or finishing a dish.
Hi. I did use this recipe but mostly for the garlic infused oil to use for my sister’s low fodmap diet. It it does result in a wonderful flavor that I now prefer to using garlic. Because of the concern of botulism that I read about after I made it, I disposed of the garlic (almost a sin I know) and stored the oil in the freezer using chunks as needed. I have since purchase covered ice cube trays to make that easier. My question though is that I don’t see any mention of that risk in your recipe or comments. Is it really ok to keep the infused oil on the counter indefinitely? Does the 20 minutes of heating kill the botulism?
I store my garlic confit in the fridge, not on the countertop! The risk with botulism has to do with proper storage and using it in a certain amount of time, and that’s why I recommend storing this in the fridge. Hope this helps!
Is it possible to freeze this to enable storage for a lot longer?
Yes, you could freeze it too. I tend to go through it quickly enough that this isn’t really necessary, but it’s definitely an option – just thaw before using.
Heya!! This is amazing and I tried but mine turned lil brown like it’s not exact white, kinda roasted colour. So is it proper or I need to make some changes??
Yes! It usually should turn golden slightly, but you’ve still made garlic confit ? the cloves will have less of a roasted flavor but they’ll still be delicious!
Hi, this sounds great and I want to do this, but I don’t think we would be able to use all of it in two to three weeks. Can some of the garlic confit be frozen for use later on?
It should keep if left in the fridge and stored in the oil. You can also halve the recipe if you want!
I’ve seen some that tell you not to keep for more then 3-5days
If I just use the oil will it keep longer?
Smells amazing
The garlic oil can definitely keep it for longer than that, but needs to be stored in the fridge for food safety purposes. The idea is to store the confit garlic in the oil (this helps preserve the garlic cloves too). Hope this helps clarify!
This looks delicious! Going to make t his afternoon. Would it be okay to add basil?
You could, yes! I would add it after the fact – just during cooling. It will brown and oxidize though, so you might want to remove the leaves once they have infused the oil.
Is there a reason to add garlic and oil on the pan first, and then heat up the pan rather than adding garlic to heated oil? Does it enhance the flavor?
This is the method that I use because by the time the oil heats, the garlic cloves are basically lightly golden and cooked through. You can certainly heat the oil, then add the cloves and let them sit as it cools down. I haven’t made it that way, but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work! The key is to make sure that you don’t heat your oil any longer or at any higher heat than necessary, because olive oil has a low smoke point.
I’m going to try this tonight and add some crushed red pepper flakes and fresh cilantro while the oil cools. Hope it tastes wonderful!
That sounds awesome!! Hope you enjoy it.
So simple, yet so amazingly delish! Thank you Laura!!!
So glad you enjoyed it!!! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review- I really appreciate it. Stay safe and well. xo
So happy to hear that!
Hello everyone! Can I use avocado oil instead of olive oil? Also, can I take some of the oil out and keep on the counter and the rest in the garlic in the fridge? When I am boiling the garlic may I put herbs in? Kinda of like a garni a bouquet and just remove before storing?
Yes! You can definitely use avocado oil and leave a certain portion (of the oil) out on the countertop to use for cooking. I wouldn’t leave it out for an extensive amount of time – simply because it will degrade quicker – but if you’re using it quickly and for cooking, that’s totally OK! Great questions! If you’re adding herbs, I recommend adding them to the hot oil once it is done, allow it to infuse as the mixture cools, and remove before storing. Hope this helps!
Thank you, thank you for this delicious version of garlic oil! I use garlic oil all the time as a substitute for garlic in recipes that inevitably call for oil.
I’m on a little-known diet called a Low FODMAP diet used for IBS symptoms due to diet.
FODMAPs is an acronym referring to Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols. These are complex names for a collection of carbohydrates and sugars found in food, that can be poorly absorbed by some people.
Examples of FODMAPs are lactose, fructose, sorbitol and mannitol. Example foods almonds, soy, stone-seeded fruits, apples, celery, cauliflower and wheat products.
It may sound intimidating, but there are tons of online resources and delicious recipes.
Just my attempt at maybe helping someone who needs this type of diet. It is quite doable and yummy!
This garlic oil is the best homemade recipe I’ve come across!
Due to digestive issues, I can no longer eat garlic per se, however I can use garlic infused oil. I have taken storage one step further by pouring the cooled oil into ice cube trays, freezing it and storing the cubes in freezer bags. So convenient!
Anyone take it one step farther and water bath it so you can store it in your dry store for longer? Originally thats what recipe i was lookong for.
Do you mean to cook the garlic cloves in a water bath?
Can I can this in small jars for later use?
Store it, do you mean? Yes, you could definitely put it into different containers, but you’d still probably want to use it by a similar time if it’s refrigerated.
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! I have just read through mountains of recipes on how to store garlic. NONE of the pleased me much! Then I saw this Confit recipe. Like you once did, I associated Confit with duck. Now I never will again. My spell check doesn’t like the word Confit. But I sure do. I am tired of throwing away spoiled garlic. I live on the second story of a Senior Complex. I didn’t turn on my heat all winter. The rising heat from below is unreal. Unfortunate for my poor potatoes, onions, and garlic. Now at least I can save a few pennies on one produce. Thank you again. Barb..P.S. Can you save potatoes and onions too?
Wow, I’m really excited to try this.
I just want to add that once you’ve made this concoction, it is also a remedy for ear aches and infections….I kid you not. Just put several drops of garlic infused oil into your ear (make sure there’s no debris in the oil) with a cotton ball to cover the ear and prevent it from leaking out, and it will cure the worst ear pain within a couple of hours (even quicker if you lay down instead of remaining upright). Not just the pain though, the garlic kills anything that is the cause of an infection (viral, fungal, or bacterial).
Danielle, Thank you for taking the time to let us know of the amazing, medicinal treatment of garlic oil.
I love home remedies that are proven to work. I believe I heard a while back that garlic has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. This practical form in oil helps me think of a few other medicinal uses – e.g. a periodic fungal skin rash.