Black Garlic Recipe

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 504 hrs
Total: 504 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 50 servings
Yield: 6 to 7 bulbs

Black garlic can be found on menus everywhere, but this unique ingredient isn’t anything new. It has been used for flavor and traditional medicinal purposes and in a variety of Asian cuisines for centuries. Black garlic is, simply put, the product of aging regular garlic bulbs over the course of weeks or months, a process called the Maillard reaction. It requires strictly regulated temperature and humidity to achieve its sticky consistency.

With a softer, molasses-like flavor, it is a more delicate option than the raw bulb. What’s the best part? It’s versatile and can be swapped out for regular garlic in most recipes. It is a beautiful addition to any cheese plate, bruschetta, chicken dishes, or even as a pizza topper. It also gives that extra something to a homemade vinaigrette. Keep in mind that its flavor is milder, so we recommend, as always, to taste as you add.

The process of making black garlic is less difficult than it is long. It can be aged for up to 60 days but will be ready to use after three weeks.

There are quite a few DIY methods, but the best approach without additional kitchenware is to age your bulbs in a slow cooker or rice cooker. The process is easy but takes patience to achieve that supersweet result.

As an additional warning, you will have that strong garlic smell wafting in your kitchen for the entire cooking process. When planning where to place the cooker, think about the best spot to minimize the odor.

Heads of black garlic cut in half diagonally

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"This recipe requires patience and strategic planning, but it worked out well! As it cooks and turns black, the garlic gets rock hard and seems like a failure. There’s one day (between two and three weeks) when it suddenly softens and becomes chewy. It’s a pleasant taste and an interesting recipe to try." —Colleen Graham

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Ingredients

  • 6 to 7 bulbs garlic, whole, unpeeled

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Garlic for black garlic recipe gathered

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  2. Remove any dirt from the garlic bulbs by scrubbing the bulbs gently with the rough side of a clean, unused sponge. Do not remove the cloves from the bulb and do not wash or wet the bulbs as this will disrupt the aging process. 

    Whole garlic heads being scrubbed clean with a small, dry, unused sponge

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  3. Set your slow cooker or rice cooker to warm (not low). The warm setting provides just the right temperature and humidity for aging without cooking.

    Rice cooker set to the "keep warm" setting

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  4. Place whole, unpeeled, scrubbed garlic bulbs into the cooker. Do not overcrowd the bulbs. Leave enough space between the bulbs so they that do not touch. Cover.

    Garlic heads placed in a rice cooker with ample space between them so they don't touch

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  5. Allow the bulbs to sit uninterrupted on the "warm" setting until the cloves are soft and black (2 to 3 weeks). Check the slow cooker occasionally to make sure the setting is still on "warm" not "low" and that it hasn't switched off.

    Rice cooker on countertop with the lid on

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  6. When ready, store the bulbs whole in an airtight container for up to three months. Squeeze out cloves, as needed.

    Black garlic heads stacked up in a storage jar with a tight-fitting wooden lid

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Tip

Even though the garlic isn't cooking, there will be a strong garlic odor throughout the process. It's especially pungent during the first few days and then diminishes significantly. If possible, set up the slow cooker in a ventilated area, such as the garage, to avoid overwhelming your home with the smell of garlic.

How to tell when black garlic is done?

In the slow cooker or rice cooker, the garlic will go through many transformations, and it can be difficult to know when it's done. Within the first week or so, you may notice that the bottom of the bulbs become charred and the skin browned; this is the effect of the heat on the papery skin. Around 14 days, the cloves will be black and rock hard, but let it go longer. At some point within the next week, the cloves will begin to shrivel so the paper feels loose. This is when you want to check for doneness: Press your finger firmly against one clove to feel if it's softening. When you feel that, pull one clove from the bulb and remove it from the paper for a closer examination. Black garlic is done when it's almost spongy-soft and chewy—similar to a dried date or fig. Some of the inner cloves may not quite be ready, so leaving it for a few extra days is a good idea.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
6 Calories
0g Fat
1g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 50
Amount per serving
Calories 6
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 1mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 1g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 1mg 7%
Calcium 8mg 1%
Iron 0mg 0%
Potassium 17mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)