Garlic Confit - Easy Homemade Stovetop Recipe

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Stovetop garlic confit is very easy to make.
• Garlic confit can be used in so many different ways!
• They will last 1-2 weeks if properly stored in the refrigerator
• The byproduct of garlic confit is garlic olive oil, which is also a great ingredient to use in a variety of recipes!

What is Garlic Confit?

Garlic confit is simply whole garlic cloves gently cooked in olive oil until they are soft and delicious. All of the spicy hotness is taken away from the garlic when cooked in this method. The cloves stay intact, but are buttery-soft, spreadable and very tasty!

Ingredients

Here is what you need to make this recipe:

• Garlic: Whole peeled cloves are used for this recipe.
• Olive Oil: Pure or less expensive extra virgin olive oil is best here. You need enough to cover the garlic completely.

See recipe card below for quantities.

Substitutions

Here are a couple of common substitutions for the ingredients in this recipe:

• Olive Oil: You could use a nice-flavored neutral oil other than olive. We prefer olive oil, but avocado or grape seed oils are good substitutes and make nice garlic-infused oil.
• Head of Garlic: If you can find pre-peeled cloves of garlic, you can certainly use them and it will save some time in prep. We often will buy raw garlic cloves that are pre-peeled from grocery stores for this application.

How to Make Easy Homemade Stovetop Garlic Confit

This is quite the simple recipe with great rewards. Once the garlic cloves are peeled, you just need to simmer them in the olive oil for about 30 minutes! Once cool, they can be kept in the fridge until you want to use them!

Equipment

Here is what you need to make this homemade garlic confit recipe:

• A heavy saucepan or small dutch oven

Step-by-Step Instructions

Peel the Garlic

• Peel the fresh garlic cloves. You can gently crack them with the flat side of your knife to loosen the skins if desired, but do not smash the garlic. You want to keep the cloves whole and intact. If using pre-peeled garlic, you can skip this step.

Cook the Garlic

• Add the garlic and the oil to the saucepan and cook on low. You need enough olive oil to cover the garlic cloves completely. Keep an eye on the oil - it should barely be bubbling. If there are too many bubbles, you are frying the garlic and the heat needs to be reduced immediately. After 30 minutes, pull one clove out and test it. It should be soft throughout.  

Store

• Remove the garlic to a glass container and pour the cooking oil over the top. The garlic needs to be completely submerged in its oil. Once cooled, cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 weeks.

Variations

Here are a couple ways to change up this recipe with additional flavors:

• Add fresh herbs! Add sprigs of fresh rosemary (or some fresh thyme or any sprigs of fresh herbs really) to the oil while it simmers on the stove. Although the flavor infusion will be minor with the garlic, it will perfume and flavor the oil when you use it to cook with. Remove before storing.
• You can try this recipe with small pearl onions as well!
• Make it spicy by adding a pinch of red pepper flakes or chili flakes to the oil.
• Add a lemon peel.

Storage

How to store stovetop garlic confit:

• Store in the refrigerator oil and all in an airtight container (preferably a clean glass container) for 1-2 weeks.

How long does garlic confit last?

• It will last up to 1-2 weeks when stored in its oil in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Should you refrigerate homemade garlic confit?

Yes, always refrigerate garlic confit. Although oil is a preservative, there is not enough acid in garlic to keep it from being a health risk of botulism if left on the countertop at room temperature for more than a day or so.

Troubleshooting

This recipe is pretty straightforward, so don’t worry too much. One thing you may notice is that the oil seems cloudy. Refrigerating olive oil with the garlic confit will cause it to be cloudy but that is natural.

What to Make with stovetop Garlic Confit

There are so many applications! Here are some of our favorite ways to use Garlic Confit:

• Try garlic confit in pasta dishes.
• Garlic confit is wonderful as the basis for garlic bread especially with a bit of Parmesan cheese.
• The infused garlic oil can be used to pan-fry just about anything where you would use regular olive oil.
• The garlic is wonderful in sauces, such as pasta sauce, or as a nice sauce to add to meats.
• It is great to spread on toast or used on a charcuterie board. 
• Or use it along with the oil blended in a vinaigrette.