This homemade garlic bread recipe is crunchy, buttery, and loaded with garlic, parsley, and cheese. It’s so easy to make in just 20 minutes and can be prepped ahead, making it the perfect side dish to serve with any dinner!
Why You’ll Love This Garlic Bread Recipe
We love garlic bread, and this is how we have been making it for years and years. Here’s why we know you’ll love it as much as I do.
- Easy: Garlic bread doesn’t need to be difficult or intimidating. Part of why I love this recipe so much is because it’s super easy to prepare. The entire recipe only takes about 20 minutes and more than half of that time is when the bread is in the oven.
- Large Batches. It’s almost as easy to make a large batch of this recipe as it is to make a small batch. So if you’re having a party or hosting an event, you can triple or quadruple this recipe and serve garlic bread to everyone. It’s perfect for dinner parties, big game parties, or potlucks.
- Prepare Ahead: Thankfully this recipe can also be prepped ahead, up to 24 hours before. Then when you are ready, pop the bread into the oven and it’s ready in minutes! If you are attending a party and need to bring a side, this also travels easily to be baked at your destination.
- Goes with Everything: One of my favorite things about this recipe is that you can eat it with almost any dinner. It goes perfectly with pasta, soups, salads, meats, casseroles, and anything in between. Whatever you’re having for dinner, it will probably be better with garlic bread.
Ingredients Needed
Here are the ingredients that you’ll need to make this crunchy and buttery homemade garlic bread at home. Scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post to see the exact amounts for each ingredient.
- French Bread: You can also use a baguette if you want crunchier garlic bread. Cuban bread also works well.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is best for this recipe so you can easily control the amount of salt.
- Olive Oil
- Garlic: Fresh garlic will give you the best true garlic flavor.
- Fresh Parsley: You can substitute dried parsley if that’s all you have, but fresh parsley is best.
- Garlic Salt
- Parmesan Cheese: If you like extra-cheesy garlic bread, you can add mozzarella cheese, too.
How to Make Garlic Bread
Here’s how to make this cheesy garlic bread in just 20 minutes. Remember, full recipe directions are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Prep: Preheat your oven to 400°F. Cut the bread in half, and then place on the baking tray, cut side up.
- Topping: Add the butter, olive oil, garlic, parsley, and garlic salt to a bowl, then mix until well combined.
- Spread: Put the garlic butter mixture on the bread, and spread it evenly over the top.
- Bake: Put the bread in the oven and bake until the edges are toasted. This should take about 10 minutes.
- Add Cheese: Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top of the bread.
- Finish: Put the bread back in the oven, and bake until the cheese has melted. This should take about 2 minutes. Slice and serve!
Tips For the Best Homemade Garlic Bread
Here are some of my favorite tips for when I make this recipe.
- Set a Timer: It’s really easy to accidentally burn garlic bread in the oven. To keep this from happening, set a timer for every minute or so, to remind you to check on the bread before it burns.
- Fresh Bread: While it might seem like it’s not a big deal to use older bread, since you will be cooking it and making it crispy, fresh soft French bread will give you the best results. If using fresh soft bread, it will cook and crisp up on the outsides and edges, but stay perfectly soft and tender in the center.
- Make Cutting Easier: Cutting garlic bread can be difficult. But there are three things you can do to make it easier. The first is to use a serrated knife, preferably a bread knife. The second is to let the bread cool for a few minutes after it comes out of the oven. This will give it time to firm up, which makes it easier to cut. And the third is to make cuts halfway through the bread before baking it, and then you’ll just be able to pull pieces off.
- Good Quality Dairy: The cheese and the butter are the stars of this recipe, so it really makes a difference if you use high-quality ingredients. I recommend using a nice butter for this recipe and using freshly shredded parmesan cheese.
- Fresh Garlic: Using jarred or pre-minced garlic will make your garlic bread have a muted flavor. If you want it to be good and garlick-y, make sure to mince up fresh garlic cloves yourself!
Serving Suggestions
I’ll eat this homemade garlic bread with pretty much any dinner. It’s always great dipped into a little warm Homemade Marinara or Roasted Tomato Soup! But my favorite way to eat it is alongside some good Italian food, like this Shrimp Scampi, Baked Meatballs, One Pot Italian Sausage Pasta, or Cajun Shrimp Pasta. Anything with some good sauce to soak up!
Can You Prep This Bread Ahead?
Absolutely! Just prepare it fully, until the step of putting it in the oven. Instead, sandwich the loaves together with the buttered sides pressing against each other. Wrap them tightly in saran wrap or foil. Refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, remove from the fridge and proceed with the recipe as written.
How to Store and Reheat Leftover Garlic Bread
This recipe is best eaten fresh. But if you have leftovers, they’ll last in an airtight container on the counter for a day, or in the fridge for 4 days. To reheat, wrap the bread in aluminum foil and bake in a 350°F oven for about 7 minutes, until warmed through.
Can This Recipe Be Frozen?
Yes! You can freeze it before or after cooking. Here are directions for both methods:
- Freeze Leftovers: Let the bread cool completely, then put it in two airtight plastic bags. You can reheat directly from the freezer, by wrapping the bread in aluminum foil and baking in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes, until warmed through.
- Freeze Unbaked Bread: Prepare the bread fully up until the step of putting it in the oven. Instead, sandwich the bread together with the buttered sides pressing against each other. Then wrap it tightly in Saran Wrap and then wrap it in a second layer of foil to prevent freezer burn. To bake, let thaw overnight in the fridge for best results and then bake as directed in the recipe. You can bake from frozen as well, but sometimes it’s hard to break apart the loaves once they are frozen together. If baking from frozen, you will need to add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
More Easy Side Dishes
A good side dish can be the difference between a boring meal and a great one. Here are a few of our other favorite sides:
- Herb Drop Biscuits
- Broccoli Salad
- Cheesy Jiffy Cornbread
- Air Fryer Green Beans
- Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad
- Parmesan Garlic Rice
- Cheesy Herb Crescent Rolls
Garlic Bread
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French bread
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic salt
- ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Slice the French bread in half and set cut side up on the prepared tray.
- In a medium bowl stir to combine the butter, olive oil, garlic, parsley, and salt. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the two pieces of bread.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are toasted. Remove tray from the oven and sprinkle the parmesan cheese evenly over the top.
- Return the bread to the oven and bake for 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
