Garlic bread makes every meal better, especially if it’s this buttery, crispy, extra garlicky homemade garlic bread. I’ve been obsessed with this garlic bread for years now and probably make it more often than I should. Why? Because it really couldn’t be easier to make, it’s SO good, and it’s very freezer-friendly so you can keep some on hand for whenever that garlic bread craving hits. …Which for me is pretty much every night. 😏
What Do You Need to Make Garlic Bread
Homemade garlic bread with real butter and fresh garlic is incredibly simple to make and so much better than what you’ll find in the freezer aisle at the grocery store. Here’s what you’ll need to make my absolute favorite garlic bread:
- Bread: The best bread for homemade garlic bread, IMHO, is a large soft loaf of French bread or Italian bread. It soaks up the garlic butter well without getting too tough or crispy as it bakes. While I do generally love baguettes, they tend to get really hard and don’t soak up the butter as readily as a slightly softer loaf.
- Butter: Salted butter is the vehicle for all that garlicky flavor and makes the bread extra rich and delicious. You can use unsalted butter if you have it, but you’ll need to add extra salt to the garlic butter mixture to make sure all the flavors pop!
- Olive Oil: A little bit of olive oil helps make the butter more spreadable AND helps keep the butter from browning quite as fast while it bakes.
- Fresh Garlic: What would garlic bread be without fresh garlic?? Fresh garlic helps keep the garlic flavor front and center with a nice punchy finish.
- Garlic Powder: A little bit of garlic powder in addition to the fresh garlic adds a really deep garlicky base note, so you’re getting a full one-two garlic punch!
- Parsley: Fresh parsley adds a little bit of freshness to cut through the rich butter and strong garlic flavor, plus it adds a pretty splash of green color. You can skip the parsley if you don’t have any on hand.
- Salt: There is some salt in the salted butter, but adding just a little more really helps all of the flavors in the garlic bread really pop.
What Else Can I Add?
The basic garlic bread recipe below is divine on its own (IMHO), but you can make it even more epic by adding any of the following ingredients:
- Try stirring a couple of tablespoons of grated Parmesan into the garlic butter mixture for a crispy umami finish.
- Top with whole milk mozzarella before baking to make it into an easy cheesy garlic bread.
- Use roasted garlic instead of or in addition to the fresh garlic for a milder, roasted flavor.
- Add more herbs. Try stirring an Italian herb blend or a pinch of red pepper flakes into the garlic butter for even more flavor. Or, if you have an herb garden, add in some chopped basil or oregano.
- Stir a tablespoon or two of pesto into the garlic butter mixture for a fun twist.
How to Store and Reheat Garlic Bread
This garlic bread is perfect for freezing. After spreading the delicious garlic butter mixture onto your loaf, freeze the garlic bread in an air-tight container, like a gallon-sized freezer bag. It can then be baked straight from the freezer, with just a couple of extra minutes of baking time added.
To store leftover garlic bread that has already been baked, make sure to allow the garlic bread to cool completely to room temperature before packing in an air-tight container to avoid condensation. The garlic bread will stay good at room temperature for about a day, or in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Garlic bread can be reheated in an air-fryer for a minute or two, microwaved for about 30 seconds, or wrapped tightly in foil and baked at 350ºF for 10-15 minutes, or until heated through.
And don’t forget to make some Homemade Pizza sauce to dip your homemade garlic bread (or cheesy garlic bread) in!
Homemade Garlic Bread
Servings 12 (2 slices each)Ingredients
- 1 loaf French or Italian bread (approx. 24" long) ($2.99)
- 6 Tbsp butter, room temperature ($0.75)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced ($0.32)
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley ($0.22)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.01)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a bowl, stir together the room-temperature butter, olive oil, minced garlic, garlic powder, chopped parsley, and salt until relatively smooth (a few small lumps of butter are okay).
- Cut the loaf in half, into two 12" long pieces, then cut each piece open lengthwise. Lay the bread on a baking sheet cut sides facing up. Spread the garlic butter mixture evenly over the open surfaces of the bread.*
- Bake the bread for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and crispy. Bake for less time if you prefer a softer garlic bread, and more time if you prefer a crispier garlic bread. Cut the bread into 2-inch sections and serve hot.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Garlic Bread – Step By Step Photos
Begin by preheating the oven to 400ºF. In a bowl, combine 6 Tbsp room temperature butter, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 4 minced cloves of garlic, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, and ⅛ tsp salt.
Mix the garlic butter ingredients together until they’re evenly combined. It’s okay if there are some small butter lumps left in the mixture.
Cut one large French loaf (24 inches) into two 12-inch sections, then cut each section open lengthwise.
Spread the garlic butter mixture evenly over the open surfaces of the bread, making sure to get all the way to the edges.
If you want, you can freeze some of the unbaked garlic bread for later! Bake the frozen garlic bread as usual, no need to thaw, adding just a couple extra minutes to the bake time.
Place the garlic bread on a large baking sheet (using parchment is optional, but makes clean up easier). Bake the garlic bread in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until it is golden brown and crispy on the edges. Bake less time for softer garlic bread and longer for crispier garlic bread.
Cut the garlic bread into 2-inch wide pieces and serve!
Yaassssssss. Garlic bread ❤️ forever.
Beth, I love you like a plucky sister and you’ve brought me many fine meals, but you really need someone on staff that can proofread. Shouldn’t take more than a year or so to go through the backlog! Here’s what jumped out just on a quick read-through:
It soaks up the garlic bread well
A little bit of olive oil helps make the olive oil more spreadable
with just a couple of extra baking time added
instead of in in addition
Thanks, I’ll fix those now. ;)
Thanks for reposting this. You have so many hidden gems. If I didn’t try it when I originally saw it, I tend to forget about it. So, thank you for all of the happy reminders when you post again!
This is a GREAT recipe! I love to make a whole batch and then freeze most of it. I’ve never actually made it with French bread, just various kinds of oval shaped white bread. I think it wouldn’t work quite as well with a bread that has lots of big holes in it (for butter containment reasons) or with a really sturdy whole wheat bread. Anyway, what an (affordable!) luxury to always be fine minutes (or however long the toaster oven takes) away from garlic bread. Thanks, Beth!!!
Awesome garlic bead, the family loved it!
Sooo good, dangerously so! We loved this and it baked from frozen perfectly, but I will decrease garlic a bit next time. Loved the mix of olive oil and butter.
Easy & great!!
Very good garlic bread!
Can the garlic butter be stored in a mason jar and saved for later though? If I wanted to make it in bulk and store it?
Yes, and I applaud you! XOXO -Monti
This is my go-to garlic bread recipe. I also use the same garlic spread recipe for making cheese pizzas — great when using regular or mini Naan breads too. For an added garlic flavor, I infuse the olive oil with whole cloves first. Take 2 peeled whole cloves and crush the cloves. Place them in a small sauce pan with the olive oil and heat the mix over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes. Don’t let them get brown. Discard the cloves and use the infused oil in the garlic spread portion of this recipe, along with the minced garlic.
Hi Robert
I really like the idea of using garlic infused olive oil. Just wanted to know the amount of olive oil you use for this process? Thanks
Very tasty. Easy to make.
made this tonight
excellent garlic toast
think that olive oil kicked it up a notch
I used leftover brioche buns because that was the only “fancy” bread I had, but used your recipe and baked for slightly less time. Pure heaven!
Very nice garlic bread homemade recipe. Very easy to make it. I like.
why only 3 stars then?