10 Ways to Use Black Garlic in Autumn Cooking
One Ingredient, Endless Ways to Add Flavour This Autumn
As the nights draw in, cooking naturally shifts. From fresh and light to rich and warming. One ingredient makes that shift effortless: black garlic. Its deep, sweet umami flavour works quietly in the background of almost anything you're already cooking, without extra time or extra steps.
Here are ten ways to bring black garlic into your Autumn kitchen:
1. Stirred into a Bolognese or Ragu
A spoonful of paste, stirred in as the sauce simmers, adds a rich, almost slow-cooked depth in minutes. Works just as well in a classic beef ragu as it does in our Mushroom, Lentil & Walnut Bolognese.
2. Mashed into Butter
Mash a clove or a spoonful of The Original Black Garlic Pasteinto softened butter for an instant upgrade to jacket potatoes, warm bread, or a Sunday roast.
3. Whisked into a Salad Dressing
Black garlic's natural sweetness balances out sharp vinegars beautifully. Whisk it into a simple vinaigrette for a dressing that tastes far more flavourful than the effort involved.
4. Stirred through Soups
Add a spoonful of The Original Black Garlic Paste to the pot in the last few minutes of cooking for extra depth in any soup. Particularly good in tomato, lentil or squash-based recipes.
5. In a Rich Tomato Pasta Sauce
Slow-roast your tomatoes, then stir in a spoonful of The Original Black Garlic Paste to turn a simple sauce into something properly rich. Full recipe: Black Garlic & Tomato Pasta.
6. Tossed with Roasted Vegetables
Toss root vegetables like carrots, parsnips and squash, or a tray of roast potatoes, with olive oil and a mashed black garlic clove before roasting. It caramelises alongside the veg and adds a deep, savoury sweetness.
7. Stirred into a Sunday Roast Gravy
A spoonful whisked into gravy as it reduces adds a rounded, savoury depth without needing extra stock cubes or reductions. Recipe: Black Garlic Vegan Gravy.
8. In a Warming Daal or Curry
Our Black Garlic & Yellow Lentil Daaluses caramelised black garlic cloves as a spiced topping — proof that it holds its own alongside bold spices, not just subtle ones.
9. In a Smoky Bean Chilli
Our Mixed Bean Chilli with Black Garlic leans on a spoonful of paste to round out warm spices and smoky paprika — proper comfort food for the first cold snap.
10. Layered into a Shepherd's Pie
Our Vegan Shepherd's Pie with Black Garlic scatters whole cloves through a lentil filling before topping with mash — a proper Sunday-night classic, made richer.
The Real Autumn Win
None of these need extra time, extra skill, or an extra trip to the shops. Keep a jar of The Original Black Garlic Paste (or a pot of peeled cloves) in the kitchen, and turning an ordinary autumn dinner into something richer, more flavourful and naturally antioxidant-rich becomes the easy option, not the ambitious one.
Small addition. Extraordinary impact.