Need Garlic-Infused Olive Oil for a recipe? It’s easy to make your own in minutes (with 2 ingredients), for salad dressings, veggies, & other dishes.
I love to use garlic-infused olive oil in various recipes, like vegetables, salad dressings, etc. For several years I have bought bottles of it from a local olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting room near our home.
Well, I ran out of it a couple months ago and discovered my local store had gone out of business… uh oh. POOF… it is gone! That made me very sad.
I knew of no other stores close to my home (worth making a separate trip to), so I decided to make some myself. Guess what my research showed me? The process is easy, and the resulting garlic-infused olive oil tastes wonderful!
In only a few minutes, I had a great tasting copycat for the product I was used to buying, it costs a lot less AND I made it in my own kitchen. Here’s how simple it is:
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Prepare The Fresh Garlic Cloves
To make your own garlic-infused olive oil, it’s important to use FRESH garlic, and a good quality olive oil. I do not recommend jarred or canned minced garlic for this recipe. Trust me- you want to use fresh garlic for the very best flavor!
Peel all the paper peel/skin off of the garlic cloves. This recipe yields 1 cup of infused olive oil, so you will need between 6-8 large garlic cloves (I used 6). Place one peeled clove at a time under the flat, wide blade of a large kitchen knife.
Pound the flat, broad side of the knife hard, with the ball of your hand, to smash the garlic clove underneath. It should only take one “pounding” to flatten and split the clove open.
Repeat with the other garlic cloves, smashing them one at a time. Discard all of the peels and now you’re ready to begin infusing the olive oil!
Infusing Garlic Into The Oil
Once you have “flattened” each of the garlic cloves, place them in a small saucepan with one cup of olive oil. Turn the heat to LOW and let the oil cook for 5 minutes.
The oil will begin to slightly boil as it is heated, and the flattened garlic cloves will release their aromatic flavor into the hot oil. This is how it becomes garlic-“infused” olive oil.
When done, use a slotted spoon to remove the browned, crispy garlic cloves from the oil because you do not want them in the oil any longer.
Discard the fried garlic cloves or use them in any other way you choose.
Finish Preparing The Garlic-Infused Olive Oil
You will probably have some leftover “crispy bits” left in the pan with the olive oil after removing the garlic. Strain the oil, once it has cooled, in order to remove them.
Place a small wire mesh strainer over a bowl or measuring cup and carefully pour the infused oil through the strainer into the container. The tiny bits of crispy garlic should now be removed from your oil.
Once the olive oil is completely cooled, pour it through a funnel into the bottle or jar that you will be storing the oil in. Olive oil should be stored (covered), away from direct sunlight, in a dark, cool location.
NOTE: There are differing opinions and research on how long a non-commercial infused olive oil can be safely stored. Homemade infused olive oil using the method I’ve described should ideally be used within 4-5 days. It can also be frozen for safe, long-term storage.
Now you have 8 ounces of delicious, garlic-infused olive oil to pan-sear meats, use in salad dressings, or stir-frys, etc. I hope you have the opportunity to try infusing olive oil and trust you will find it convenient to have in your own kitchen.
Thank you for stopping by, and I invite you to come back again soon for more family friendly recipes. Take care, may God bless you, and have a wonderful day.
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- Cilantro-Lime Enchilada Sauce
- Homemade Honey BBQ Sauce
- Homemade Tartar Sauce
- Easy Thai Peanut Sauce
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Need Garlic-Infused Olive Oil for a recipe? It's easy to make your own in minutes (with 2 ingredients), for salad dressings, veggies, & other dishes.
- 1 cup olive oil extra virgin or regular
- 6-8 large FRESH garlic cloves do NOT use canned or jarred minced garlic
Remove paper/skin off garlic cloves. Place one peeled clove at a time under the flat, wide blade of a large kitchen knife. Pound the flat, broad side of the knife hard, with the ball of your hand, to smash garlic clove underneath. Repeat with remaining cloves, one at a time.
Place one cup of olive oil in a small saucepan. Add smashed garlic cloves. Turn heat to LOW, and cook for 5 minutes. When done, use a slotted spoon to remove browned, crispy garlic cloves from oil. Discard cloves.
Strain oil, to remove any remaining crispy bits in oil. Place a wire mesh strainer over a bowl or measuring cup; carefully pour oil through strainer into container. Once oil has completely cooled, pour it through a funnel into a bottle or jar that you will be storing the oil in. Store oil (covered), away from sunlight, in a dark, cool location. Infused olive oil made using this method should be used within 4-5 days. It can also be frozen for safe long-term storage.
Caloric calculation made using extra virgin olive oil. One cup of oil will yield approx.16 Tablespoons. Each Tablespoon of this oil is approximately 13.62 calories.
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!
Intend to make this as birthday present for my son, who loves to cook.