Roasted Elephant-Garlic Spears

These roasted garlic spears make a simple savory side dish that highlights this fabulous seasonal vegetable. Roasting the spears gives them a sweet, mild garlic flavor and a tender texture. You can serve these as a healthy side dish the same way you would serve green beans or our roasted asparagus with sauce.

Garlic spears are also known as garlic scapes. If you see them in the market, grab them before they are gone. They are easy to prepare and delicious to eat.

Oh my goodness!  These roasted garlic spears are just amazing!  I saw these elephant-garlic spears in bundles at Central Market and my curiosity got the best of me.  I have prepared them the same as my roasted asparagus and we ate the entire bundle for dinner. 

What are Garlic Spears:

Garlic spears (also known as garlic scapes) are the top portion or stem of the garlic bulb. It is typically cut off and harvested early in the season in order to give the garlic bulb a chance to grow larger.

They have a milder flavor than the garlic bulb but in their raw state, they are still fairly assertive. Cooking them makes them sweet and tender with a mild garlic flavor that is reminiscent of roasted garlic.

These would be really delicious chopped raw in a salad, provided the chop is small as they are pretty hot and spicy in their raw state.  It is surprising what a difference cooking makes though, as after they are roasted they have a very mild garlic flavor.  

Can You Eat Garlic Scapes?

Yes, you can eat the entire scape or spear, including the flower bulb at the top which is maybe the best part. You can eat them raw or cooked and serve them as an excellent side dish or blend them into pesto or other sauces.

I have a garlic soup recipe that would taste wonderful with some roasted elephant-garlic spears included.

Ingredients Needed:

This is a simple recipe that highlights the flavor of the garlic spear. Here is what you need.

• Garlic spears. Also sold as garlic scapes. This recipe works for regular garlic spears or elephant garlic spears.
• Cooking oil.
• Salt.
• Lemon.

That’s all you need to bring out the amazing flavors of this vegetable. The oven does all the work to transform the garlic scapes into a tender, delicious side dish with a hint of garlicky flavor.

The serving fork shown in the photo was a wedding gift to my grandma Prentice in 1903.  It is part of a two-piece set, the mate to it is a long pickle fork and the gold plating is almost worn off both of them from so much use.

Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love:

This green bean salad with bacon and tomatoes is perfect for picnics and family barbecues. You can make it ahead of time and it travels well without getting smashed.

Our sesame snap peas are easy to prepare and make a great side dish for just about any meal. The mild sesame flavor goes well with the peas and gives them a nutty flavor.

This roasted Romanesco is a delicious vegetable side dish with a play on flavor and texture. The parmesan panko topping adds an incredible flavor the the Romanesco

This recipe was originally published on June 8, 2015. We updated the photos but left some of the originals below.