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    Home » CONDIMENTS

    How to Make Garlic Oil

    February 9, 2014 13 Comments

    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.

    Jump to Recipe
    A labeled jar of garlic oil, with a head of garlic and breads in the background.
    Jump to:
    • 👩‍⚕️ Is it safe to make homemade garlic oil?
    • 🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
    • 🔪 Recommended Equipment
    • 👩‍🍳 Preparation Tips
    • Garlic Olive Oil
    • 🌱 Sign up for my emails, and get my 5 tips for easy vegetarian meals!

    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

    Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and foods I use in my kitchen. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view my entire storefront of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, check out my shop on Amazon.

    🔪 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.

    A labeled jar of garlic oil, with a head of garlic and breads in the background.
    Print Recipe
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    Garlic Olive Oil

    Steps on 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.
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time45 mins
    Total Time1 hr
    Course: ingredient
    Cuisine: Any
    Keyword: how to make garlic oil
    Servings: 16
    Calories: 124.9kcal
    Author: The Wimpy Vegetarian

    Equipment

    • Small skillet or small pot
    • Chef's knife
    • 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.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 124.9kcal | Carbohydrates: 1.2g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 13.5g | Saturated Fat: 1.9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9.9g | Sodium: 0.9mg | Potassium: 15.2mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.04g | Vitamin A: 0.3IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 6.9mg | Iron: 0.1mg

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. apuginthekitchen

      February 09, 2014 at 5:08 am

      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.

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        February 09, 2014 at 11:01 am

        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.

        Reply
    2. cheri

      February 09, 2014 at 6:53 am

      Good post and information. Thanks!

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        February 09, 2014 at 11:02 am

        Thanks so much cheri! I so enjoyed going through your blog this morning!!

        Reply
    3. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef

      February 09, 2014 at 10:57 am

      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.

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        February 09, 2014 at 11:04 am

        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.

        Reply
    4. Liz

      February 09, 2014 at 6:01 pm

      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!

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        February 09, 2014 at 6:17 pm

        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.

        Reply
    5. mireya @myhealthyeatinghabits

      February 09, 2014 at 9:35 pm

      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.

      Reply
    6. Norma Chang

      February 10, 2014 at 4:36 am

      Thanks for posting the safety warning about garlic oil, amazing how many people are still not aware of the problem.

      Reply
    7. Laura Dembowski

      February 10, 2014 at 12:26 pm

      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 🙂

      Reply
    8. John

      February 12, 2014 at 11:54 am

      Really good advice. Thanks for these!

      I will be back 🙂

      Reply
    9. Oui, Chef

      February 25, 2014 at 10:20 am

      Hmmm...I've made chili oils in the past but never garlic, sounds like a nice thing to have around.

      Reply

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    A mostly vegetarian married to a mostly carnivore, living in the mountains with our doodle, on Lake Tahoe. My cookbook, Simply Vegetarian, was named #1 best cookbook for new vegetarians. Come join me in simplifying life, starting with dinner!

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