Air Fryer Garlic Confit (250°F, Soft & Spreadable in 40 Min)

Air fryer garlic confit is the easiest way I know to turn a pile of peeled cloves into something soft enough to spread with a butter knife. Cover the garlic with olive oil in a small oven-safe dish, air fry at 250°F (120°C) for about 40 minutes, and you get mellow, golden cloves plus a jar of garlic oil you’ll want to put on everything.

The air fryer is a natural fit here. It holds a low, steady temperature, it doesn’t heat up the whole kitchen, and unlike the stovetop you don’t have to hover over a pot to keep the oil from creeping into frying territory.

If you’ve made my roasted garlic in the air fryer, think of this as its slower, silkier cousin: roasted garlic cooks whole heads in foil at a higher heat, while confit poaches peeled cloves gently in oil, so they turn creamy instead of caramelized and you get the infused oil as a bonus.

Quick answer: 250°F, about 40 minutes, covered with foil, until the cloves are pale gold and a fork slides through with no resistance. Refrigerate and use within 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

What Is Garlic Confit?

Garlic confit is peeled garlic cooked slowly in oil at a low temperature until the cloves are tender and spreadable. The name comes from the French confire, “to preserve,” but in a home kitchen it’s really about texture and flavor: the sharp bite of raw garlic disappears, and you’re left with something sweet, nutty and buttery.

Why Make Garlic Confit in the Air Fryer?

• Steady, low heat. Set it to 250°F and walk away. No watching a saucepan for bubbles.
• Small-batch friendly. A ramekin or mini loaf pan fits in almost any basket.
• Cool kitchen. No oven running for close to an hour.
• Easy cleanup. Everything cooks in one dish.

Ingredients for Air Fryer Garlic Confit

Exact amounts are in the recipe card below.

• Peeled garlic cloves. About 2 heads, or roughly 1 cup of cloves. Pre-peeled is fine; pick firm cloves with no green sprouts or soft spots.
• Olive oil. Regular or light olive oil is my go-to. Extra virgin works and tastes fruitier, but the low temperature keeps it well below its smoke point either way. Avocado oil is a good neutral swap.
• Fresh thyme. A few sprigs perfume the oil. Rosemary works too.
• Salt and black pepper. A pinch of each. You can also skip them and season whatever you use the confit in.

How to Make Garlic Confit in the Air Fryer

Step 1: Choose a small dish. Grab a small oven-safe ramekin, mini loaf pan or 6-inch cake pan that fits in your air fryer basket. A snug dish means you need less oil to cover the garlic.

Step 2: Add the garlic and seasonings. Arrange the peeled cloves in a single layer, tuck the thyme sprigs around them, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Step 3: Cover with olive oil. Pour in enough olive oil to completely submerge the cloves. Any garlic poking above the oil will brown instead of turning creamy.

Step 4: Cover the dish with foil. Crimp a piece of foil tightly over the top. It keeps the air fryer fan from splashing oil and stops the tops of the cloves from browning before the centers soften.

Step 5: Air fry at 250°F. Set the air fryer to 250°F (120°C) and cook for about 40 minutes, checking at 35 minutes. No preheating needed.

Step 6: Check for doneness. The cloves are ready when they’re pale golden and a fork slides through the thickest one with no resistance. If they’re still firm in the center, cook 5 minutes more.

Step 7: Cool in the basket. Leave the dish in the air fryer until it’s cool enough to handle. The oil is extremely hot and splatters easily.

Step 8: Store right away. Spoon the cloves and oil into a clean jar, keeping the garlic submerged. Refrigerate and use within 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe tips

• Keep the temperature low. At 300°F and above, the cloves fry and turn bitter before they get creamy.
• Don’t crowd the dish. One layer cooks evenly; a deep pile leaves raw centers at the bottom.
• Smaller cloves finish faster, so pull them out as they soften if your batch is uneven.

Garlic Confit Air Fryer Temperature and Time

The best temperature for garlic confit in the air fryer is 250°F (120°C). It’s low enough to poach the cloves gently in oil without frying them. Time depends mostly on how much garlic is in the dish:

Batch (peeled cloves)	Oil	Temperature	Time, covered
1 head (about ½ cup)	½ cup	250°F / 120°C	30–35 min
2 heads (about 1 cup)	¾–1 cup	250°F / 120°C	40–45 min
3–4 heads (about 2 cups)	1½–2 cups	250°F / 120°C	50–60 min

Every air fryer runs a little differently, so treat these as starting points and go by texture: done is when a fork slides through the thickest clove easily. Basket-style models with the fan close to the food may need foil more than oven-style models.the first time and write your number in the margin.

How Long Does Garlic Confit Last?

Homemade garlic confit keeps for up to 4 days in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. That’s shorter than some recipes claim, and it’s on purpose.

Garlic is a low-acid food, and covering it in oil cuts off oxygen, which is the environment Clostridium botulinum likes. University food-safety programs recommend that unacidified garlic-in-oil mixtures be refrigerated and used within 4 days or frozen, and the same rule applies to vegetables and herbs stored in oil. You can’t see, smell or taste the toxin, so the date matters more than how it looks.

• Refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking, in a clean jar with a lid.
• Never store it at room temperature, even sealed.
• Label the jar with the date you made it.
• Use a clean spoon every time you dip in.
• Freeze for longer storage. Spoon cloves and oil into an ice cube tray, freeze, then move the cubes to a freezer bag. Drop a cube straight into a pan or let it thaw in the fridge.

My habit: make a batch on the weekend, keep a few days’ worth in the fridge, and freeze the rest the same day.

How to Use Garlic Confit

Once you have a jar in the fridge, you’ll find a reason to use it every day. Here’s where it shows up in my kitchen:

• Spread it on bread. Mash a few cloves into soft butter and use it in place of minced garlic in my homemade air fryer garlic bread. It’s sweeter and won’t scorch.
• Toss it with potatoes. Drizzle a spoonful of the garlic oil over air fryer rosemary roasted potatoes right after they come out, or mash whole cloves into the fluffy centers of air fryer steakhouse potatoes.
• Finish fish. Brush the oil on before cooking, then smash a clove or two on top of air fryer sockeye salmon with a squeeze of lemon.
• Upgrade chicken. Rub a cloves-and-oil paste on air fryer thin chicken breast before it goes in, or stir mashed cloves into air fryer shredded chicken for tacos and wraps.
• Roast vegetables. Use the garlic oil in place of plain olive oil for air fryer potatoes and carrots.
• Make a quick sauce. Mash cloves into mayo for aioli, whisk the oil into vinaigrette, or melt a few cloves into a pan sauce or pasta with a splash of pasta water.
• Stir into dips. Blend cloves into hummus, white bean dip or sour cream.

Flavor Variations

• Chili garlic confit. Add ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 dried chile.
• Lemon thyme. Add 2 strips of lemon peel (no pith) with the thyme.
• Rosemary and peppercorn. Swap thyme for a rosemary sprig and add ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns.
• Shallot and garlic. Add 2 peeled, halved shallots; they cook in the same time.

Air Fryer Garlic Confit FAQ

What temperature do you cook garlic confit in the air fryer? 250°F (120°C). Higher temperatures fry the garlic and make it bitter before it softens.

How long does garlic confit take in the air fryer? About 40 minutes for 2 heads of peeled cloves, covered with foil. Smaller batches take 30–35 minutes; larger ones up to an hour.

Do I need to cover garlic confit in the air fryer? Yes, I recommend it. Foil keeps the fan from splashing oil and stops the tops of the cloves from browning early.

Is homemade garlic confit safe? Yes, when you refrigerate it promptly and use it within 4 days, or freeze it. Never keep garlic in oil at room temperature.

Can I use the leftover garlic oil? Absolutely. It follows the same storage rule as the cloves: refrigerate and use within 4 days, or freeze.

Can I use extra virgin olive oil? Yes. At 250°F it stays well below its smoke point. It has a stronger flavor than light olive oil, which some people prefer.

What’s the difference between garlic confit and roasted garlic? Confit gently poaches peeled cloves in oil for a soft, creamy texture. Roasted garlic cooks whole heads at higher heat for deeper caramelized flavor. For the roasted version, see my air fryer roasted garlic.