Over the last few weeks, we’ve been experimenting in the kitchen, and this easy Roasted Garlic Aioli has become one of our new favorite condiments!
Similar to a homemade mayonnaise, aioli is a traditional sauce from the Provence region of France made with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and egg yolks, and some variations include mustard or even fruits such as pears.
We roasted our garlic before adding it to the aioli, and the roasting process gives the garlic a wonderfully mellow but intense flavor that is perfect for this sauce. We also recommend using a light olive oil when making this recipe (an extra virgin olive oil will give this sauce too strong a flavor).
Typically served at room temperature, this roasted garlic aioli is great on sandwiches, as a dip for our Roasted French-style Potatoes, or – as they do in Provence – over vegetables or fish.
PrintRoasted Garlic Aioli
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: serves 8
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1/2 large or one whole small head of garlic
- 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 coddled egg yolks (see How To Coddle An Egg here)
- Pinch of salt
- Few grinds of pepper
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 cup light olive oil (or canola oil, although olive oil is the traditional ingredient in aioli)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Cut top off the head of garlic (not root end). Place head in a small ramekin, cut side up. Pour the olive oil over cut top. Cover with foil and place in the oven and roast for 25-35 minutes until the garlic is soft.
- Once cooked, pinch cooked garlic out of each clove.
- In a food processor, place roasted garlic, coddled egg yolks, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Process the mixture until smooth.
- Extremely slowly, dribble oil into the processor with the motor running. It is very important that you pour the oil in very slowly to ensure proper emulsification.
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve at room temperature. This aioli may be kept 5-7 days in the refrigerator.
You may also like:
Grilled Chicken Club with Rosemary Aioli
Italian Sausage Sub with Toasted Fennel Aioli
Can I use Roadted minced garlic version of this recipe?
Hi Sara – I don’t think it will be the same. I’m guessing you mean the jarred minced garlic – which has already been cooked through the canning process and might also have some preservatives in the mix. When you roasted a fresh garlic glove, it gets soft and becomes the consistency of a spreadable paste. That’s what you want for this aioli – so it mixes in well with the other ingredients.
Is this something you can cook afterward? I want to make a breakfast pizza flatbreads and liked the idea of having a garlic aioli as the base to replace what would be the red sauce. Would you recommend baking the garlic aioli like that or would it ruin it?
What a great idea, wished I thought of it. I don’t see why not. We have a white BBQ sauce on our site which uses mayonnaise as a base and it is delicious and holds up well under heat. Although I have never tried, I can’t think of any reason why this wouldn’t work.
Let us know how it came out,
Jack.
Sorry for a late question but why coddle the egg?
Hi Mark – Coddling the egg essentially cooks the egg a bit which helps lend a thicker, creamier consistency in the recipe.
Thanks for that – I was worried that it was something to do with concerns over raw egg (which I do not have) nice to know you are that obsessive to get the quality right!!!
will try soon with eggs from our local farm in Hampshire (UK).
Hope you enjoy the recipe Mark!
Made this for dinner last night–it was delicious! I served it with roasted brussels sprouts and my husband actually ate them! Maybe I can make sprouts lovers of my family yet…
So glad you all enjoyed the recipe Kate! 🙂
Can this recipe be made ahead of time and kept in be fridge or an air tight container?
Hi Tiffany – Yes – you can make this a few days ahead and store in the refrigerator until you eat it. Enjoy!
This recipe didn’t turn out at all for me- followed it to a T, starting with room temp eggs and drizzled in oil very slowly, but I ended up with a runny mess. I’ve made mayo many times before and NEVER had this issue- I’m thinking this is because the acid is added so early. I tried a second batch adding the lemon juice later and it was pretty good.
Thanks for the feedback Haley! I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you and we appreciate you letting us know! We’ll test the recipe again to double check that it is written correctly!
Martha- is it necessary to coddle the egg? I have seen recipes for aioli with raw eggs and yolks, just wondering what the difference would be.
Hi Melissa – We recommend coddling the eggs for safety reasons – after coddling they are still soft like uncooked eggs but the coddling process kills any bacteria that might exist. If you are comfortable cooking with raw eggs – that is your choice! 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
I made this today and it turned out beautifully! I’ve tried other homemade mayonnaise/aioli recipes, and sometimes they work, sometimes they just turn out as liquid. This one was easy and turned out the perfect consistency. Thank you.
Hi Vickie – Thanks for much for writing to us and I’m so glad the recipes worked out for you!
Aioli originates from Spain but nonetheless it was delicious. Thank you
Thanks Clair!
Love this recipe! Made this with a whole head of garlic, wow! Served with blanched veggies and it was a hit. Thank you!
Sounds great Nikki! Glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for visiting our site – Martha