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Garlic Infused Olive Oil Recipe - 2 Ways!
Do you cook with a lot of olive oil? I know I do! Now what about garlic? For me, those are two big “yups!” They are two necessities that I can’t live without! The combination of the two are just incredible together, but have you ever wanted to switch things up with your regular cooking oil?
When I go to the grocery store, I love browsing speciality oils. The only problem with them is that they’re expensive. You’ve got plenty of options for sure, and one of them is garlic-infused oil. At the grocery store, a 1 cup (250 mL) bottle of garlic oil starts at $7.49 CAD. If you want to use your oil for everyday cooking, then I think you’d be going through a lot of bottles, and that’ll put a dent in your wallet!
You can easily make your own garlic oil for a fraction of the cost right from your own kitchen! This post will provide you two different methods on how to make the best homemade garlic-infused oil that will add tremendous flavor to elevate your daily meals.
If you’re ready for a versatile and delicious condiment that you’ll be grabbing for all the time now, then get ready to follow along with this easy recipe! You can watch exactly how both methods are executed by checking out the video. If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and don’t forget to hit the bell button so you get notifications when all of my video recipes are live! Let’s get mixing!
What Is Garlic Infused Oil?▼
Garlic Infused Oil is simply oil that was prepared with garlic cloves, but then the garlic is strained from the oil so you’re left with the flavours without actual pieces of garlic. This is excellent for cooking because you don’t have the bits of garlic mixed in with the oil without sacrificing flavour!
As I’ll describe soon, garlic oil is also ideal for individuals who suffer from digestive issues, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO).
Even if your gut can tolerate garlic, having an oil that’s infused with garlic is amazing to have in your pantry, and I’m really happy I’ve got plenty of it now! As I describe in my free motivational guide Make Cooking Fun!!, my top 5 tips to explore your potential in the kitchen, using what you have can give you inspiration to try out new recipes. Ever since making my garlic oil, I’ve really been looking forward to using it, particularly while pan-searing some salmon and incorporating it in pasta! I have to admit that by having the garlic flavour in the oil, you save tons of time peeling and mincing or chopping garlic. It may seem like a bit of a lengthy process to do when you’re making the oil, but in the long run you’ll save the time compared to doing it for every single meal. If you’re like me and use garlic for nearly every meal, then that’s a lot of minutes spent peeling!
You can incorporate this garlic oil to make a dish that will fit any of the four themes in my Live to Cook one month challenge! We’re well into January, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to follow through with that resolution to cook more at home, and a simple swap from regular olive oil to a homemade garlic oil can really take your food from average to restaurant quality! Get started on your cooking journey for free by singing up to my email newsletter!
All About Garlic
Garlic is one ingredient that I always have on hand, and I really couldn’t imagine cooking without it. If I run out of garlic without realizing I will make that trip to the grocery store in a heartbeat to go get it. Food just isn’t as delicious without using garlic!
If you’re familiar with the blog, nearly everything I cook contains garlic. Raw garlic is extremely strong and can be overbearing, but when you cook garlic and combine it with oil or butter, you just get that wonderful aroma that we all know and love! Just garlic and oil smells amazing, and this goes right into your food!
However, I’ve recently learned that some people can’t tolerate garlic. Garlic contains fructans, known as oligosaccharides, which make up the molecular structure of garlic. Some folks with digestive issues such as IBS cannot tolerate garlic. Additionally, patients who look to diagnose a digestive issue follow a low FODMAP (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols) diet. The purpose of this diet is to act as a temporary measure to alleviate the symptoms of digestive distress the person is facing and to have a “clean slate,” avoiding all high FODMAP food (where garlic is one of them). However, does this mean that people avoiding garlic should never have the joy of experiencing its delicious flavors? No!
Garlic is water soluble. This means that if you try adding whole cloves of garlic into a dish, then removing the pieces before serving, unfortunately some fructan content will still seep into your food and can cause digestive distress to those who can’t tolerate fructans. BUT garlic is not oil soluble!! This means you can add garlic to oil and then remove it, and the fructan content won’t seep into the food, and you’ll get the incredible garlic flavour you’re looking for.
As I’m currently preparing food for my lady who’s following the low FODMAP diet, I didn’t want to sacrifice any flavour! Of course you can’t use this oil for every single recipe that contains garlic - for instance, Indian butter chicken (murgh makhani), requires ginger-garlic paste. Sadly, you really need real garlic to make that! However, I will give you a list of ideas where you can incorporate this oil infused with garlic to replace minced garlic or chopped garlic, and that list will be quite extensive!
For more information about the low FODMAP diet and how to manage cooking with garlic while following the diet, check out the official article by Monash University.
Do I have to Use Olive Oil?▼
You don’t need to use olive oil to follow this recipe! I chose to use extra virgin olive oil because that’s the oil I typically use for cooking, and olive oil and garlic always pair so well together! You can of course follow the recipe with any neutral oil, such as sunflower oil, grape seed oil, canola oil, or safflower oil, if you don’t want to have the flavour that comes from olive oil.
No-Cook vs Cooked Garlic-Infused Methods
Both the no-cook and the cooked method are very easy. The no-cook method is the more “practical” version that requires the least amount of work and results in an end product that is pretty close to the cooked method. While the cooked method requires a tiny bit more of your time to produce a more aromatic, and intense garlic infused oil. No need to decide now, use both recipes as need arises.
Equipment to Make Garlic-Infused Oil
Ingredients for Homemade Garlic Oil
There are only two simple ingredients for this simple Homemade Garlic Oil recipe. Scroll to the bottom of this post FULL PRINTABLE recipe card to get all the measurements and recipe instructions to save for later. You can also scale the recipe based on how much garlic oil you want to make. You can make a large amount as you’ll see that this can last for quite some time, so if you really love the taste of garlic, then I recommend you make a fairly large portion! The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust for you so you don’t need to do any calculations!
- Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil is what you want to go for. Extra virgin olive oil is unrefined oil because it’s not treated with chemicals or heat treated. As a result, it retains its olive flavour, along with its antioxidants and vitamins that are excellent for your health.
- Garlic cloves: Fresh garlic cloves that will be either mashed or added in whole, depending on which method you’ll follow.
How to Make Garlic Infused Olive Oil
No-Cook Garlic Oil
Smash the garlic lightly with the help of a chef's knife and peel the cloves.
Chop the garlic finely or grind them in a mortar & pestle, or a garlic press.
Place the garlic in a bowl or jar and then add in the olive oil.
Let the garlic steep in the oil for at least 8 hours or preferable overnight in the fridge. Afterwards, you may discard the garlic to keep the garlic infused oil for a long time or keep the garlic in oil for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Cooked Garlic Oil
Smash the garlic lightly with the help of a chefs knife and peel the cloves. Chop the garlic finely or grind them in a mortar & pestle, or a garlic press.
Place the garlic in a saucepan and then add in the olive oil. Turn the heat to medium-low and warm up the oil. Start warming the oil till you see small bubbles around the garlic.
Then, continue cooking gently for 15-25 minutes or until the raw smell of the garlic is gone and you smell the nice roasted flavour. The garlic would also become lightly golden brown and you can use this for cooking. You may discard the garlic to keep the garlic infused oil for a long time or keep the garlic in oil for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Variations for Garlic Oil
Chili Garlic Oil
To make this Garlic-Infused Olive Oil have a hint of spice, you can simply add in some chilli flakes as well.
Herb Garlic Oil
You can chop up some fresh herbs to add into your oil such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, or basil. Alternatively, you can use dried spices.
Adding Spices
You can also try adding ground spices that commonly pair well with garlic. Examples include turmeric, cumin, and coriander.
How to Use Garlic Oil
- Pasta: Any pasta where you’ve got garlic and olive oil, you can simply omit adding minced or chopped garlic cloves and use the oil!
- Bread: Garlic bread anyone? You can brush on this oil over your baked bread and there you go - a super simple garlic bread!
- Potatoes: I love to drizzle olive oil on my all of my French fries (that aren’t deep fried!) and even my Air Fryer Baby Potatoes! Not only does olive oil add flavour to the potatoes, but it helps to get them crispy. Now drizzling the potatoes with the garlic oil will take them to new heights for sure!
- Pizza: If you’ve seen my pizza recipes, you know that I love to brush garlic oil on the crust. In the past, I’ve quickly made garlic oil by simply combining minced garlic with olive oil in a ramekin. The time taken in both the no-cook and the cooked methods really add tremendously more flavour to the oil, so pizzas are the perfect opportunity to use your delicious Garlic-Infused Oil! You can even use this oil to make an oil-based pizza sauce.
- Protein: If you want to cook up some simple protein such as seafood, poultry, beef, or even plant-based options, then swap your regular olive oil for our enhanced Garlic-Infused Oil! This oil would be fabulous to cook up Juicy Grilled Chicken Breast, Pan-Seared Curried Scallops, Crispy-Skinned Blackened Salmon, or even to sear your Meatballs! You can also add this to make an omelette if you like to cook your omelettes with olive oil. You can apply a drizzle of this over your Fresh and Tangy Egg Toast!
- Rice: You can use this garlic oil to top over Steamed White Riceor to pan-fry any stir fries or pulaos. Some recipes where this garlic oil would be perfect in include Indian-Style Cilantro-Lemon Rice,Indian-Style Egg Fried Rice, or Light & Healthy Vegetable Pulao.
- Salad dressing: This would be an awesome base for a vinaigrette or dressing!
- As a gift: Giving this oil as a gift to a passionate home cook would really be a special DIY gift that would be much appreciated! Nothing beats a thoughtful homemade gift!
How to Store Homemade Garlic Oil▼
Store your Homemade Garlic Oil in a mason jar or in a squeeze bottle. A squeeze bottle is handy so that you can easily apply it onto a pan or directly onto food. A mason jar is a great storage option if you want to spoon the oil onto food or spoon it to make a dressing. If you are keeping thegarlic in the oil, then be sure to store the garlic in oil for up to 4 days in the refrigerator and up to 3 months in the freezer. In case you are only keeping the garlic infused oil, keep reading.
How Long Will Garlic Oil Last?▼
Because garlic-infused oil does not contain the pieces of garlic, you don’t need to worry about botulism. With pieces of garlic, botulism is a major food safety warning. Botulism is a serious illness cause by toxins that affects a person’s nerves, resulting in weakness in the person’s body and heavy breathing. Typically, botulism comes from the bacteria that produce spores, acting as a protective layer. Under certain conditions, such as the garlic going bad, the spores grow and make botulinum toxin. If foods with the toxin are eaten, the person requires immediate medical attention. Otherwise, he or she can suffer from a serious illness or even death. To learn more about botulism, check out this information provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
With that being said, to be safe you should store your Garlic-Infused Oil in the fridge.
Can You Freeze Garlic-Infused Oil?▼
From what I’ve read, you can actually freeze garlic oil indefinitely. The key is how to freeze it so that you’re not defrosting a big batch. One idea is to use ice cube trays so that you have individual portions. Alternatively, ensure you freeze the oil in an airtight container that has a portion you intend on using immediately.
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