Roasted Garlic Butter

Name: Roasted Garlic Butter
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 100 min
Ingredients: 1 head garlic; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 stick butter (softened, unsalted or salted); kosher salt (to taste, if using unsalted butter); fresh herbs (optional)

Mellow, sweet, savory Roasted Garlic Butter is delicious spread on toast, pasta, roasted vegetables and meats, mixed into sauces, or on grilled steak, chicken, or fish, and perfect to add to a charcuterie or cheese board with a good baguette!

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A log of roasted garlic butter is shown on a white dish with a butter knife and a red linen.

Why You'll Love This Dish

It's super easy. We have two foolproof roasted garlic recipes you can use as your base: a regular Roasted Garlic made in the oven with moderate heat to avoid any of those bitter burnt edges, and this easy Air Fryer Roasted Garlic.

The butter is versatile. It's amazing on toast, roasted vegetables, roast chicken and other roast meats, grilled meats and vegetables, mixed into mashed potatoes, stirred into sauces, or added to an hors d'oeuvres spread with good quality bread.

You can customize this recipe with different herbs. This would be wonderful with rosemary, thyme, basil, Italian seasoning, Herbs de Provence. You could also make things spicy with some thinly sliced chilis!

And, not sure it even needs to be stated, but it's wildly delicious. Once you've made this, you'll want to keep some on hand for all occasions.

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Why You'll Love This Dish
What You'll Need
How to Make Roasted Garlic Butter
FAQ
Variations
How to Store
How to Serve
Expert Tips
More Recipes You'll Love
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💬 Comments

The labeled ingredients for roasted garlic butter are shown on a white marble counter.

What You'll Need

Roasted Garlic Use either this Roasted Garlic recipe or this Air Fryer Roasted Garlic recipe as a base.
Butter It is my preference to use unsalted butter so that I can choose how much salt to add. If you prefer salted butter, go for it! Just omit the salt in the recipe.
Salt Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is my brand of choice. It coats food evenly and is less salty than traditional table salt by volume, making it much easier to taste as you go!

Optional

Fresh Herbs Try rosemary, thyme, basil, Italian seasoning blends, or Herbs de Provence.

How to Make Roasted Garlic Butter

Step One Roast one head of garlic per stick of butter you plan to make using either this Roasted Garlic recipe or this Air Fryer Roasted Garlic recipe. Let cool.

Garlic sliced crosswise to expose the flesh of the cloves on a wooden cutting board.

A head of garlic cut crosswise is brushed with olive oil.

A head of garlic is shown wrapped in a foil pouch.

Partially roasted garlic is shown in tin foil; a paring knife is inserted into one of the cloves to test doneness.

Three heads of roasted garlic sit on a white plate with a red linen in the background.

Step Two Take your softened butter and add to a bowl. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into the bowl. Mash with a fork until well combined, sprinkling with salt if using unsalted butter. Taste for seasoning.

Roasted garlic is smashed into softened butter with a fork.

Step Three Roll the roasted garlic butter in a piece of plastic wrap, tightening the ends. You can use right away or place in the fridge to harden.

Roasted garlic butter is shaped into a log in a piece of plastic wrap.

The edges of the plastic wrap around a log of roast garlic butter are cinched.

Step Four Once the garlic butter has cooled, slice and use in a variety of dishes or as a spread on toast, potatoes, roasted vegetables, or roast meats.

A log of roasted garlic butter is shown on a white butter dish with a butter knife.

FAQ

Why does my roasted garlic taste bitter?

It is likely you roasted your garlic at too high a heat for too long of a time and it burned. Be sure to use the recipes recommended in this post and invest in a good-quality oven thermometer to properly gauge your oven temperature.

How long does garlic-infused butter last?

This roasted garlic butter can be refrigerated for about 5 days or it can be frozen for up to 2 months. To use the frozen butter, thaw in the fridge overnight.

Can you freeze roasted garlic butter?

You can! Once you've rolled your garlic butter into a log, add to an airtight freezer container, like a gallon storage bag, and place in the freezer. It will be good for up to 2 months.

Should garlic butter be refrigerated?

Yes. Store in the fridge and eat within 5 days.

What do you serve garlic butter with?

Check out the "How to Serve" section for ideas!

Variations

Fresh Herbs This butter is wonderful with added rosemary, thyme, basil, an Italian seasoning blend, or Herbs be Provence. Add the herbs in when you are smashing the garlic into the butter.

Chilis Try adding some very finely sliced chili peppers, like Fresno or serrano chilis, for a spicy kick.

Spices You can mix a variety of dried spices into this butter mixture as well. Try something smoky like paprika or chili powder for a bit of color and flavor.

How to Store

Fridge Store this roasted garlic butter in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. For softened butter, bring to room temperature before slicing.

Freezer Once you've wrapped the garlic butter in plastic wrap, add to a freezer safe container like a gallon plastic bag, place in the freezer, and store for up to 2 months.

To use, thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

How to Serve

This Roasted Garlic Butter recipe can be used in countless ways. Try these:

Toast Prepare your favorite toast and smear with roasted garlic butter. I love this Air Fryer Toast recipe as the base for an amazing crostini.

Potatoes Serve over roasted, mashed, or smashed potatoes.

Pasta Pasta is an amazing way to highlight this roasted garlic butter. Try it mixed into plain noodles with some roasted vegetables, or as an extra garlicky boost to this Aglio Olio e Peperoncino.

Roasted Vegetables This is delicious over roasted vegetables like this Roasted Tenderstem Broccoli or these Roasted Cherry Tomatoes on the Vine.

Roasted Meats A simple roast chicken would be delicious accompanied by a slick of butter. It would also be wonderful with some cast iron chicken thighs.

Sauces This would be wonderful added to a variety of sauces, including in place of the olive oil in this Sauce for Lobster Ravioli.

Soups Try a pat of this butter mixed into your next soup or stew, like this Instant Pot Chicken Stew or this Chicken Pastina Soup.

Tomatoes This would be wonderful over warm roasted tomatoes, like these Air Fryer Tomatoes.

Expert Tips

Roast your garlic at a moderate temperature or you will risk it turning out bitter.
Soften your butter. It will be very hard to smashed the roasted garlic cloves into a cold butter straight from the fridge.
Is your butter a bit bland? Add a pinch more salt and see if the taste improves. Is it too salty? Add a bit more unsalted butter and mix thoroughly.

More Recipes You'll Love

Looking for more recipes that boost the flavor of your food? Try the suggestions below!

Caramelized Mushrooms and Onions

Chipotle Southwest Sauce

Tomato Mascarpone Sauce

Pineapple Habanero Sauce

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