Simple And Easy Roasted Garlic Scape Recipe (Video)

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This simple and easy roasted garlic scape recipe is my favorite way to use garlic scapes when they are in season in the late spring and early summer.  This seasonal treat has a milder flavor than raw garlic cloves and is good plain, on burgers, steaks, or with almost any dish that goes well with garlic.  They have a subtle garlicky flavor, and remind me a bit of thin asparagus.  I like how quickly these roasted garlic scapes can be made, and while I typically cook them on the stovetop, you can also roast them on the grill or in the oven.  The possibilities are endless when it comes to garlic scapes!

What Are Garlic Scapes?

Garlic scapes are the flower bud portion of hardneck garlic plants.  Garlic is typically planted in the fall similar to a flower bulb like a tulip, and is one of the first things growing in the early spring garden.  As it grows, it gets bigger and produces more leaves and in early summer puts out this curly green stalk from the middle of the plant called a garlic scape.  For a nice tender scape, harvest when still fairly small.  You can harvest it by snapping it off where it joins the plant.  If left to grow, these scapes will turn into a garlic flower to help the garlic plant reproduce.  

Since we are most interested in harvesting a nice garlic bulb with good sized garlic cloves, we always make sure to pick off all the garlic scapes soon after they appear.  This encourages it to put all of the plant’s energy into growing a large bulb.  If you do not harvest the garlic scapes, the bulb of garlic will be small and not as useful for cooking or re-planting.  

How To Use Garlic Scapes

I love garlic scapes so much, that if all I got out of growing garlic were the scapes, then I would be happy!  They have a very mild garlic flavor and are amazing roasted or sauteed, in garlic scape pesto, pickled, dried into garlic powder, made into compound butter or used in cooking in place of regular garlic.  When I harvest garlic scapes, I’m usually running low on my stored garlic from the previous years garden, and ready for something fresh.  I use them in place of garlic until we harvest our garlic bulbs about 3-4 weeks after harvesting the scapes, usually in early July.  Garlic scapes can be stored in a grocery bag in the refrigerator for at least 4 weeks.  This is helpful because you don’t have to process right away after harvesting them.

Tips:

• I like to take off the thin woody stalks of the garlic scape before roasting, but you can use the whole scape too.  
• If you don’t have fresh garlic scapes from your own garden, you can usually find them at the farmer markets in late spring or early summer.  And I would encourage you to plant some garlic in the fall, so you can enjoy a bountiful harvest of scapes next year!
• Cast iron pans have such nice even heat, and give the scapes a beautiful crispy outside edge.
• You can roast scapes on a grill pan on the grill as well.  That way you don’t have to heat up your kitchen if you’re already cooking on the grill.
• If you have your oven running making dinner, you can also lay the scapes out on a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a roasting pan and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Add some brussel sprouts and fresh herbs for an extra special treat, and roast in the oven at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes until crispy.

Check out one of my favorite ways to use roasted garlic scapes in my creamy garlic mushroom chicken pasta dish.

Tools You May Need:

Cast iron skillet

Ingredients:

Fresh Garlic scapes

Butter – I like to use my own homemade butter

How To Make Roasted Garlic Scapes

Chop garlic scapes into small pieces if desired.

Preheat cast iron skillet over medium high heat.

Add plenty of butter to the skillet.

Add chopped garlic scapes and saute until tender and just starting to get crispy.  This usually takes about 10-15 minutes.

Season generously with sea salt and black pepper.  You could also sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Serve as a delicious side dish all by themselves, add to any dish that calls for garlic, or put on steaks, burgers, or chicken.

Can be stored in a plastic bag or other airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, although I highly doubt they’ll last that long.