Homemade Garlic Bread

This homemade garlic bread recipe with freshly toasted crusty bread slathered in herbed garlic butter will compliment any pasta meal.

Today we’re making some warm homemade garlic bread with freshly toasted slices smothered generously in a drippy, buttery herbed garlic butter. This 5-ingredient recipe uses any Italian or French bread, lots of minced garlic, grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan cheese and freshly chopped Italian parsley.

For best garlic bread results, the key is to keep the recipe simple and the ratio of butter to garlic just right. We’re using 4-6 cloves of garlic per loaf to load up on that garlicky goodness to pair with your favorite pasta meal. It’s perfect for sopping up any spaghetti or pasta sauce or just for dipping in some marinara. Like these Parmesan garlic knots, garlic bread is a classic side dish to bring to the table for date or pasta night and is really easy to make at home.

Pair it with this cheesy meatball skillet or eggs in purgatory and go nuts dipping into that rustic marinara sauce. Or go with a classic spaghetti meal made with some homemade spaghetti sauce. If you’re planning a special meal or date night, serve it with some fancy lasagna roll ups or spinach and three cheese manicotti. If this sounds tasty, let’s make some garlic bread!

Ingredients in Homemade Garlic Bread

HOMEMADE GARLIC BREAD RECIPE TIPS

Bread – I used a ciabatta loaf but French bread or a crusty baguette will also work. One of the reasons I like ciabatta is because it’s crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside. It also has big holes in the bread layers which is the perfect kind of texture to absorb all that herbed butter garlic goodness. PRO TIP – Use a serrated bread knife to slice the bread in half lengthwise.

Garlic – I minced my garlic but you can also grate it for a more pungent flavor. This garlic peeler works wonders for getting the sticky skin off the garlic. Use it on a cutting board so it has some grip when rolling, and roll with the palm of your hand. The skins should come off easily after. PRO TIP – Fresh garlic always works better than the jarred minced kind as it has a better, more pronounced flavor.

Parsley – I used Italian flat leaf parsley but you can also use parsley flakes in a pinch. Italian seasoning will also work if you don’t have any parsley on hand.

Cheese – Freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano works best but you can substitute it with grated Parmesan cheese. I used a microplane to finely grate a block of cheese. The cheese is to flavor the garlic bread and not to make it super cheesy. For cheesy garlic bread, scroll down to the cheesy garlic bread notes.

Leftovers – The garlic bread will keep well in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

Reheating leftovers in the oven – Wrap the garlic bread in foil so it doesn’t dry out, then bake it at 350°F for 10 minutes in the oven. For crispier garlic bread, remove the foil at the last 2 minutes of baking.

Reheating leftovers in the air fryer – Reheat the garlic bread by air frying at 350°F for 3-4 minutes.

Freezing garlic bread – Spread the garlic butter on the unbaked bread halves then freeze them until the garlic butter hardens up. Once the butter is solid, transfer the bread to a freezer-safe ziploc bag or container (slice if needed to make them fit) and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, transfer the frozen garlic bread slices to a baking sheet and bake according to recipe time and temp until golden brown. If baking from frozen, add about 5 minutes of cooking time.

How Long To Soften Butter?

Soften the butter so it mixes well and spreads just as easily. It can take anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes for chilled butter to soften to room temperature. If you don’t have a lot of time or forgot to plan ahead, these tricks will help you soften butter quickly. Spread a thick layer of garlic butter on the bread so it melts and permeates into the bread layers rather than just sitting on top.

Baking Garlic Bread in Foil

For softer garlic bread, bake the loaves in foil until the butter has melted. Wrap the two loaves of bread in foil and bake according to the recipe instructions.

What Pairs Well With Garlic Bread?

Garlic bread is a classic appetizer that compliments any Italian-inspired meal so here are some recipe ideas to pair with them:

Make Cheesy Garlic Bread

The Parmigiano Reggiano or Parmesan cheese in this recipe is for flavoring the garlic bread and not to make it cheesy. To make some cheesy garlic bread with gooey, melty cheese strings, add some good melting cheese before baking.

You can use any kind of shredded cheese with good melting properties like mozzarella, cheddar, provolone, Colby Jack, or Monterey Jack. Follow the recipe instructions and broil for the last 2 minutes to get a crispy, cheesy top. Serve with some store-bought marinara or homemade marinara sauce for the best flavor.

And that’s about it. Enjoy your homemade garlic bread and let me know how you liked it and what you paired it with in the comments below!

MORE BREAD APPETIZERS TO TRY

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