How to make garlic oil, plus tips for safety. Add as little or as much garlic as you wish. The recipe makes 1 cup, and 1 serving equals 1 tablespoon.
Use this oil for dipping bread, or adding to veggies for roasting like these cabbage steaks, or tossing with your next batch of roasted chickpeas before roasting.
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Flavored olive oils are fun and so easy to make. I almost always have rosemary olive oil on hand, and often make a chive oil too. And they make great hostess gifts!
👩⚕️ Is it safe to make homemade garlic oil?
There's good reason to take precautions. There is risk of botulism when making any homemade infused olive oil, and this seems to be particularly true of garlic oil as it has a low pH and harbors moisture.
It's believed that this combination promotes growth of Clostridium botulinum in an anaerobic environment, like oil. To be safe, here are some general recommendations to follow. Many home cooks do not follow these recommendations, and have had no problems. But risk still exists.
Safety Tips:
Cook the garlic in a little olive oil until softened before adding the remaining olive oil.
Once all the oil is added to the garlic, maintain a low oil temperature.
Store the garlic olive oil in the refrigerator and use within three weeks. If stored on the counter at room temperature, use within one week.
As a note: this is not true of commercially available garlic olive oils as manufacturers are required to include acidifying agents to raise the pH level, for example phosphoric or citric acid.
🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
The secret to faster and easier meals often lies in the ingredients. For example, store-bought items and ingredients you make ahead and store in the refrigerator (or freezer) can turn a 60-minute recipe into a 30-minutes meal or less.
For the all of the ingredients, measurements and directions, go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.
- Extra virgin olive oil - use a really good quality of olive oil.
- Garlic cloves
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🔪 Recommended Equipment
- Small skillet
- Chef's knife - for smashing the garlic cloves.
- Small strainer, mesh bag or coffee filter - for straining out the garlic.
👩🍳 Preparation Tips
Use the flat side of a chef's knife to smash the garlic cloves.
I find it easier to smash them with their skins intact, as the skins will be partially removed when smashed. Then it's easier to remove the skins. If there are a few pieces of skin left, it's not a problem, as they'll be strained out along with the garlic at the end.
Garlic Olive Oil
Equipment
- Small skillet or small pot
- Coffee filter or mesh bag
Ingredients
- 1 cup of your best olive oil divided
- 20 large garlic cloves peeled and smashed to smithereens
Instructions
- Warm one tablespoon of oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and sauté until just softened. Lower the heat to the lowest setting.
- Add the remaining oil and keep warm for 45 minutes. Small bubbles may appear around the garlic, but this should be more of an oil bath for the garlic. If the garlic begins to simmer, remove from the heat to cool before rewarming. This can cause the garlic oil to be bitter.
- Strain the oil into a jar using a coffee filter or a mesh bag.
- Label and store for up to three weeks in the refrigerator or one week on the counter at room temperature.
apuginthekitchen
Really good tips, I often wondered about the shelf life for homemade garlic olive oil. I keep it in the fridge but its still concerning. Found some the other day tucked in back of the shelf it had to be over a month old, Threw it out because you just don't know and it's better to be safe than sorry. Great post.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much Suzanne. It was surprising to me to learn there were some risks on this. I used to always leave my homemade flavored olive oils on the counter - but no more.
cheri
Good post and information. Thanks!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks so much cheri! I so enjoyed going through your blog this morning!!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
I love garlic oil and it's really easy to make. I don't make a lot and keep it in the fridge but bring it out to room temperature so I can get it out of the bottle.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I had always left mine on the counter until I started to research it. Now it always goes in the fridge - and you're right it warms up very quickly once it's back on the counter.
Liz
I'm so glad you mentioned the precautions when making flavored oils like this one. I remember Sara Moulton warning about botulism, but many recipes make no mention of it. I would have no trouble going through a batch of garlic oil in 3 weeks...your recipe looks terrific!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Thanks Liz! Chances are, nothing would happen. But why take the chance once you know the risk? And I agree - most recipes I looked at don't mention it at all.
mireya @myhealthyeatinghabits
Hi Susan,
Glad to see you informing others about the dangers of botulisum in garlic oil. I teach food safety and have found that few people are aware of this.
Norma Chang
Thanks for posting the safety warning about garlic oil, amazing how many people are still not aware of the problem.
Laura Dembowski
I had no idea there was a risk of food borne illness from homemade oils. That is good to know, but I don't think this would last long in my house anyway 🙂
John
Really good advice. Thanks for these!
I will be back 🙂
Oui, Chef
Hmmm...I've made chili oils in the past but never garlic, sounds like a nice thing to have around.