Recipe This | Roasted Garlic In The Microwave (2024)

Roasting a head of garlic doesn’t get any better or any easier than roasted garlic in the microwave. So simple that my 7 year old makes it for me!

Microwave garlic is fast, its simple and its perfect for quickly peeling garlic, using for garlic bread or even for minced garlic for future homecooked recipes.

Microwave Roast Garlic

Anyone that knows me well, knows that my favourite kitchen ingredient is garlic.

I adore garlic and I went even more garlic crazy in the 13 years that I lived in Portugal.

Its like every savoury food item in Portugal starts with extra virgin olive oil, onion and garlic and I started every dish with it.

Then a neighbour introduced me cooking heads of garlic in bulk. She was a lovely elderly lady (sadly she has since passed) and I would watch her wrap garlic in foil and bulk cook on the outside grill.

I then thought, would this work with the air fryer? And our air fryer roasted garlic recipe was born.

So when I started cooking more and more with the microwave, I wanted to transfer our air fryer garlic to microwave garlic. Of course, you can’t use foil in the microwave like with the air fryer, and me and Sofia came up with the best microwaved garlic recipe ever and wanted to share it with you today.

Can You Roast Garlic In The Microwave?

Yes, you sure can. Microwave roast garlic is so simple to prep and cook and you will love it for saving you time whilst cooking in the kitchen.

You can then go on and use the roast garlic as an alternative to garlic puree or minced garlic in recipes.

Or even better, when you roast garlic in the microwave it becomes easy squeeze garlic, meaning there is no peeling of garlic cloves.

Is It OK To Microwave Garlic?

Yes, it is. It is totally safe to microwave garlic bulbs if you follow our method of doing so.

You can also peel and dice garlic and cook it in the microwave with other ingredients, such as a pasta or a rice dish.

Why Does Garlic Catch Fire In Microwave?

This happens because some cook garlic in the microwave, the same way they cook garlic in the air fryer.

Air fryers and microwaves are not the same.

And whilst the air fryer is fantastic for using foil, the microwave is not. So, when you try wrapping a head of garlic in foil and microwaving, its going to cause a fire.

Why Microwave Roast Garlic?

The garlic squeeze of course.

When you cook roasted garlic in the microwave, you can just squeeze out the garlic and it saves peeling and grating your garlic.

It also creates a roast garlic paste that you can use in any recipe that calls for garlic puree, minced garlic etc.

It is also the fastest way to roast garlic and you can then use the garlic in many, many recipes.

You can even store the garlic for meal prep to make your cooking even easier.

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Microwave Garlic Ingredients

Bulb – You will need a full garlic bulb, or as you might call it a head of garlic. Though you can do up to three garlic bulbs at once.

Water – The head of garlic sits in a bowl with water in the microwave, so you will need a large bowl and plenty of water.

Oil – Then after removing the tops off the garlic you will need a little extra virgin olive oil. This stops the garlic from drying out and makes it soft and squeezy.

Optional – You can also add some salt and pepper over the garlic with the oil, but this is optional.

Then for the kitchen gadgets that we have used in this microwaved garlic recipe it has just been our Panasonic Microwave Oven. We have this one and its wonderful for many types of microwave recipes.

How To Roast Garlic In Microwave?

• Liquid. Start by adding your water to your bowl and bringing it to about half full. As you want the bottom of the garlic to be submerged.
• Prep. Chop the tops off your garlic bulbs and then drizzle the top with extra virgin olive oil. Place the garlic bulbs into the water and then transfer to the microwave.
• Microwave. Next roast garlic in microwave. I recommend 8 minutes but this will vary depending on your microwave wattage.
• Squeeze. Check your microwave garlic is soft and then allow to cool and once cool enough to touch, you can squeeze the garlic from the cloves.
• Store. Then store your roasted peeled garlic in a plastic container for future garlic recipes.

And I am sure you can see now how easy it is roasting garlic in the microwave and how it can be a total time saver.

How Long To Roast A Head Of Garlic?

Garlic in the microwave takes JUST 8 minutes. That gives you perfect soft garlic that is ready to squeeze out of the cloves.

You can then allow it to cool and then use the garlic in your recipes.

Microwave Roasted Garlic Tips & Tricks

• Choose a big bowl that is shallow and easy to stand up heads of garlic in. I used my large bowl that I serve my air fryer chicken burrito bowls in.

• Make sure the bottom of your garlic cloves is submerged in the water and that will prevent your garlic from going dry and getting the right heat to roast the garlic.

• You can do as many garlic bulbs that will fit in your dish without overcrowding. My favourite option is to do 3 garlic bulbs at once.

• You can store your garlic (once cold) in a plastic mason style jar. These are the ones we recommend and then keep it in the fridge as it will last longer.

Top Microwave Trick – Many of us have a different microwave wattage. Start checking your roasted garlic at the half way point and adjust the cook time as necessary.

Listen To Microwave Roasted Garlic

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More Microwave Recipes

• Microwave Sweet Potatoes
• Microwave Jacket Potatoes
• Microwave Poached Eggs
• Microwave Soft Boiled Eggs
• Microwave Hard Boiled Eggs

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