Some foods are divisive, but roasted garlic isn’t one of them. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who doesn’t love it! Because how couldn’t you? It takes garlic (which is already incredible) and mellows the sharp flavor into something sweeter and nuttier, almost rich. It’s amazing stuff. So what if you took that roasted garlic and tucked it into a dip that’s creamy and bubbly and cheesy? Well, that would be even more amazing and clearly something everyone would love. Yup, it is. It’s Roasted Garlic Dip. And those are the only three words I needed to hear.
Anytime I make roasted garlic, I can’t help spreading it onto something in order to have a little morsel of it before I add it to whatever recipe it’s meant to go in, so having an entire dip of it is pretty much my dream come true.
Predictably, you start with roasted garlic. If you haven’t made it before, here’s how you go about it:
You want to peel some of the outer papery layers of skin off of a head of garlic but leave the head intact. Then, you’ll slice off the top of the head of garlic, again leaving it intact, so the top of the bulbs is exposed. Like this:
Then you’ll place them in some foil (you definitely don’t need a fancy roaster), drizzle them with olive oil, season them with salt and pepper, and place them in a 375 degree oven.
For how long? That’s an excellent question. The garlic will be soft in as little as thirty minutes but if you can wait a full hour, the flavor will be deeper and sweeter and nuttier… and just better. It’s an exercise in patience, but it’s a worthy one.
Let the garlic cool a while before you unwrap it and then squeeze those cloves into a mixture of mayo and cream cheese and mozzarella and parm. (Are you drooling yet?)
And then, as if this could get even better, you bake it. So then it’s hot and bubbly and full of ooey-gooey cheese pulls.
I’m all for an ooey-gooey cheese pull. I’m also all for roasted garlic, so this is pretty much the only dip I’ll ever need. And I’m sure I’m not alone in that assessment.
Roasted Garlic Dip
Allergens: Milk
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 heads garlic
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
- 2 cups mozzarella, grated
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Crostini or crackers, for serving
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Slice the tops off the heads of garlic, leaving rest of head intact. Place on a sheet of foil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap foil tightly closed and place in oven. Roast for 1 hour.
- Let garlic cool for 15 minutes before opening foil. While garlic cools further, start to make the dip:
- In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, mayo, onion powder, and parsley until smooth. Squeeze in roasted garlic and stir to combine, making mixture mostly smooth but leaving some chunks of garlic.
- Stir in half of the mozzarella and half of the parmesan and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Transfer mixture to a baking dish and top with remaining cheese.
- Bake until mixture is bubble and top is lightly golden, about 15 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Spoon Fork Bacon.