Wondering what to do with garlic oil? This guide covers how to pick it, cook it, store it, and swap it, plus 18 recipes to put it to work.

What is garlic oil?

Garlic oil is just what it sounds like: a cooking oil, usually olive or a neutral oil, infused with the flavor of garlic. It carries garlic's punch in a pourable, brushable form, without bits of garlic to burn or brown.

You can buy it bottled or make it, and the two are not quite the same thing. Commercial garlic oils are formulated and acidified to be shelf-stable.

A homemade jar of raw garlic sitting in oil is a different and more delicate creature, with a real safety rule attached (more on that below).

The appeal is convenience and control. A drizzle delivers even garlic flavor across a whole dish, where chopped cloves can scorch in the pan and turn bitter.

How to Use It

Garlic oil works best where it stays raw or barely warmed, so its flavor lands clean. Drizzle it over finished pasta, soup, pizza, or grilled vegetables, or whisk it into a vinaigrette as in a Blue Cheese Salad or a classic Ceasar Salad.

It is a natural for bread. Brush it onto focaccia before and after baking the way Jill's Focaccia does, or paint it on pizza dough as a base layer.

Pour a little into a shallow dish and you have an instant dip for crusty bread.

For cooking, use it to start a saute or to finish a stir-fry off the heat. Spicy Egg Noodles (Bamee Haeng) and Aztec Couscous both lean on garlic oil to season the dish without frying raw cloves.

One caution. Garlic oil scorches faster than plain oil, since the infused solids brown quickly. For a hard sear, cook in plain oil and add the garlic oil at the end.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Garlic flatters almost everything savory, so garlic oil pairs as widely as garlic itself. It loves tomatoes, greens, beans, seafood, eggs, and good bread, and it sits comfortably alongside lemon, chili, herbs, and Parmesan.

The most common mistake is treating it like a deep-frying fat. Pour it into a screaming-hot pan and the garlic flavor turns harsh and acrid instead of sweet. Keep the heat moderate, or save it for the finish.

The other mistake is using too much. Garlic oil is concentrated, and a heavy hand turns a dish sharp and greasy. Start with a teaspoon or two and build up.

Substitutes

If you have no garlic oil, the simplest stand-in is plain olive oil plus fresh garlic, cooked together gently until fragrant. Warm the oil over low heat with sliced or crushed cloves for a few minutes, then fish them out.

That gentle warming is also the safe way to make garlic oil to use right away.

Garlic-infused oil sold for low-FODMAP diets works identically, since it carries flavor without the garlic solids. In a pinch, a little garlic powder bloomed in warm oil gets you part of the way, though it lacks the fresh, green bite of real garlic.

Buying and Storing

The safety note here is the one to take seriously. Garlic is a low-acid vegetable, and raw garlic submerged in oil with no air creates exactly the oxygen-free conditions that let Clostridium botulinum produce its toxin, which is potentially fatal and gives off no smell or taste.

Homemade garlic oil is not shelf-stable. Make it fresh in small amounts, keep it refrigerated, and use it within 3 to 4 days, then throw out the rest.

Never leave a jar of garlic in oil at room temperature, and do not can it or store it long-term at home.

Commercial garlic oil is treated to prevent this, so follow the label. Store an opened bottle in a cool, dark cupboard or the fridge, away from heat and light that turn any oil rancid. Most keep for several months; the bottle will give a use-by date.

If garlic oil ever smells sharp or rancid or simply off, do not taste it to check. Pour it out.

Quick facts

In Chinese

大蒜油

British (UK) term

Garlic oil

en français

l'huile d'ail

en español

aceite de ajo

Recipes using garlic oil

There are 18 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 18 recipes