Garlic bread is on repeat in our house—it goes with everything from lasagna to a juicy steak dinner.

This garlic bread recipe starts with a French loaf topped with a buttery spread of garlic and herbs. It’s baked until golden and crispy.

Prepare garlic bread just before serving or well ahead of time.

Homemade Garlic Bread on a cutting board with slices cut

An Easy Goes-With-Every-Dish Side!

Garlic bread is a favorite for everyone—skip the foil wrapped loaves at the grocery store and prep your own at home!

  • Homemade tastes better than store-bought, and it’s easy to make!
  • Add a little or a lot of garlic, the choice is yours!
  • You can make sure you get that delicious garlic butter all the way to the edges—very important!
  • Prep ahead in batches and freeze for easy meals or double up on the flavorful garlic butter mixture for quick sides when you need it.
oil , garlic , parmesan , parsley and butter to make Homemade Garlic Bread with labels

What You’ll Need for Garlic Bread

Bread: My first choice is a loaf of French bread, but you can use any baguette or crusty bread, or even ciabatta rolls, leftover hot dog buns, or hamburger buns.

Butter: I use salted butter; if using unsalted butter, add salt to the butter. Adding oil to the butter adds another layer of flavor and helps make it easy to spread.

Garlic: Fresh is best if you have it. See the recipe notes to replace it with garlic powder.

Herbs: I add parsley because I always have it on hand, and it looks nice. You can skip it if you don’t have any.

Feeling Cheesy? Sprinkle with a bit of Parmesan cheese if you’d like. You can also use finely shredded mozzarella cheese to create cheesy garlic bread. Perfect for sopping up sauce in the bottom of your spaghetti bowl!

Feeling Fancy? If time allows, homemade French bread, sourdough, or baguettes make delicious garlic bread!

How to Make Garlic Bread

Buttery, garlicky, perfection—soft inside and a little toasty on the edges.

  1. Mix the garlic butter ingredients (recipe below).
  2. Cut the bread in half lengthwise using a serrated knife and spread each side with the butter mixture.
  3. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on both sides if you’d like. This is optional but adds a little crispy, cheesy goodness to it. Bake until toasty.

Prep Tip

Garlic can be finely minced with a knife, but I find it easiest to use a garlic press. There are many options available—this is my favorite style of garlic press because it’s easy to clean.

close up of slices of Homemade Garlic Bread

How to Make Garlic Bread Soft or Crispy

Kind of like baked potatoes, I most often cook this homemade garlic bread without wrapping it in foil as I prefer it to be toasted on the edges and lightly browned.

For a softer garlic bread, after spreading the butter, place the two halves back together and wrap the bread in foil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through.

As with most garlic bread recipes, this bread can also be grilled to serve alongside any steak, chicken, or pork chops.

How to Prepare Ahead and Freeze

Great news—this easy homemade garlic bread recipe can be prepared ahead of time.

  • To prepare ahead: Prepare the bread as directed and wrap in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking.
  • To Freeze: Prepare the bread as directed and wrap in aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for up to 4 months.
  • To bake from frozen: Thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed. To bake directly from frozen, leave the bread wrapped in foil and bake at 350°F for 28 to 32 minutes or until heated through and the butter is melted.

Love Garlic Bread? You'll Love These, Too!

Did your family love this homemade Garlic Bread? Leave us a rating and a comment below.

image of Everyday Comfort cookbook by Holly Nilsson of Spend With Pennies plus text
Homemade Garlic Bread cut into slices on a sheet pan
5 from 74 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
Or to leave a comment, click here!

Homemade Garlic Bread

Buttery, garlicky, perfection—soft inside and a little toasty on the edges.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 16 servings
buy hollys book

Ingredients  

  • 1 loaf french bread
  • ½ cup salted butter softened
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 to 4 cloves garlic minced, see notes for alternatives
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese optional

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 400°F.
  • In a small bowl, combine butter, olive oil, garlic, and parsley until well mixed.
  • Using a serrated knife, cut the bread in half lengthwise.
  • Spread the cut sides of the bread with the garlic butter mixture. Sprinkle with cheese if using. Place the halves, cut side up, on a rimmed baking sheet.
  • Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden and toasted. Cut into slices and enjoy.

Notes

  • Use a knife to finely mince the garlic, or use a garlic press
  • Garlic powder: Fresh garlic can be replaced with 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder.
  • To prepare ahead: Prepare the bread as directed and wrap in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking.
  • To Freeze: Prepare the bread as directed and wrap in aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for up to 4 months.
  • To bake from frozen: Thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed. To bake directly from frozen, leave the bread wrapped in foil and bake at 350°F for 28 to 32 minutes or until heated through and the butter is melted.
5 from 74 votes

Nutrition Information

Calories: 121 | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 161mg | Potassium: 20mg | Vitamin A: 205IU | Vitamin C: 0.6mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 0.5mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
loaf of Homemade Garlic Bread with half cut into slices with a title
make ahead Homemade Garlic Bread with writing
Homemade Garlic Bread with a title
easy Homemade Garlic Bread cut into slices with a title

Categories:

, ,

Recipes you'll love

About the author

Holly Nilsson is the creator of Spend With Pennies, where she creates easy, comforting recipes made for real life. With a passion for nostalgic flavors and simplified techniques, Holly helps busy home cooks create delicious meals that always work. She is also the author of “Everyday Comfort,” which promises to inspire even more hearty, home-cooked meals.
See more posts by Holly

Follow Holly on social media:

pinterest facebook twitter instagram

Free eBook!

Subscribe to receive weekly recipes and get a FREE Bonus e-book: Quick & Easy Weeknight Meals!

You can unsubscribe anytime by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of emails you receive.

5 from 74 votes (61 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Comments