There are a slew of easy ways to use roasted garlic in a variety of dishes, but that all hinges on making sure it’s done right. Roasting garlic does take a little patience on your part, but the time is well spent when you taste the mild but nutty and flavorful notes in each bite of whatever dish you incorporate it into. Luckily, there are a few ways to tell if roasted garlic is ready to be used, and perhaps the easiest is the touch test.
When you touch roasted garlic, the bulbs should feel completely soft. Roasting garlic puts it through a slow process at a moderately-high temperature of somewhere around 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This softens the bulbs so that the garlic is essentially the consistency of a thick paste. When it’s soft to touch with your finger, that means it’s ready to eat and will also be easy to remove from the bulb to use in your meal.
Other ways to tell roasted garlic is ready to use — and how to use it deliciously
You should achieve garlic that’s soft to the touch with our simple oven-roasted garlic recipe that requires about 45 minutes in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If you aren’t sure by the touch of your finger, use a paring knife or a cake tester to check the softness of the garlic. Start with the largest clove of garlic, because it will likely reveal if the rest is ready to go. In addition to the touch test, another cue is that the bulbs are a light-brown color. And if you go to squeeze the garlic out into a bowl and it doesn’t come out of the bulb effortlessly, that’s another sign that it might need to go back into the oven for a while.
When the garlic is soft and squeezes, there are many ways to use the flavorful ingredient. An easy option is to use roasted garlic as a decadent pizza topping. It’s also easy to upgrade any homemade garlic bread recipe with roasted garlic for even more flavor. Roasted garlic gives a flavor punch to compound butters, dips like spinach artichoke dip, mashed potatoes, and even pasta dishes.
