Garlic bread makes every meal better, especially if it’s this buttery, crispy, extra garlicky homemade garlic bread. I’ve been obsessed with this recipe 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 craving hits. …Which for me is pretty much every night. 😏
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My husband loved this bread, and so did I. It was so easy to make and with ingredients that I always have on hand. The bread was light, tasty, and crispy. I’ll never buy frozen garlic bread again.
Donna Bishop
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.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make my absolute favorite garlic bread:
- Bread: The best 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.
Storage Instructions
This garlic bread is perfect for freezing. After spreading the delicious garlic butter mixture onto your loaf, freeze it 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 it 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. Reheat in an air-fryer for a minute or two, microwave for about 30 seconds, or wrap tightly in foil and bake at 350ºF for 10-15 minutes, or until heated through.
What Else Can I Add?
The basic recipe below is divine on its own (IMHO), but you can make it even more epic by adding any of the following ingredients:
- Stir a tablespoon or two of pesto into the garlic butter mixture for a fun twist.
- 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.
Serving Suggestions
This delicious homemade garlic bread was made for Italian food. It goes so great with almost any meal, but here are some of my favorites:
- The Best Weeknight Pasta Sauce
- Easy Homemade Lasagna
- Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Baked Ziti
- Cabbage Soup
- Tuscan White Bean Pasta
- Tuscan Chicken in Parmesan Cream Sauce
And don’t forget to make some Homemade Pizza Sauce for dipping!
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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Notes
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.
How much additional salt should I add to the recipe if using UNsalted butter?
A scant 1/4 teaspoon extra should do the trick!
I couldn’t agree more! There’s something about buttery, crispy, and extra garlicky homemade garlic bread that takes any meal to the next level. It’s the kind of indulgence that’s hard to resist, and the fact that it’s freezer-friendly makes it even better! Having it ready to go whenever the craving strikes is a game-changer. This sounds like the perfect go-to recipe for garlic bread lovers—easy, delicious, and always satisfying!
Beth, this garlic bread recipe is fantastic! I love how easy it is to make, and the addition of olive oil really enhances the flavor. Thanks for sharing these helpful tips and variations!
Delicious! Easy! I love having some in the freezer for busy nights!
This is the first time I’ve ever made real garlic bread. Even better than the restaurants because it is homemade. I doubled the recipe and added slices of fresh mozzerella ($9.99 splurge) for the kids. Delightful indeed!
I knew you would have a “winner” garlic bread recipe and was glad to find this one as I had volunteered to take garlic bread to a church function tonight. Sure enough, I am so appreciative of your tips re: olive oil and using garlic and garlic powder. Thanks to your recipe, which was quick to prepare, the end result was perfect. I will have to make garlic bread soon because there were no leftovers. :-)
I tried to make this garlic bread for my son who dislikes garlic, he says it burns his skin. I told him that garlic bread it is better than normal garlic so that he would feel more inclined to try it. I gave him a wooden spoon to eat the soup that accompanied the bread. We can’t have silverware since the steel scares him. He is quite troubled, he gets bullied in school for being pale and have long canine teeth “fangs”. When he ate the piece of garlic bread he got set alight, i was so shocked since i have never tried it and my wife told me that “it’s fine he is half human, it won’t kill him”. I tried all the techniques to makes sure the fire stopped, but he was slowly melting in front of my eyes.
Best comment I’ve seen on any recipe!
maybe you should tell your son to put it in his mouth instead of using it as body lotion
adding some grated parmesean adds a nice pop of flavor
wow this was amazing! my family just gobbled this right up…. the bread I used was Schwebels ‘taliano Subs, 8 count and followed the recipe with no changes made to it… used a cookie sheet with parchment paper and baked in my oven at 400 for 6-8 min. and it was perfect not too crispy, didn’t get to hard, and didn’t burn… was the perfect combo of soft and a bit of crisp… I def. will be making this again prob tomorrow night with meatballs and spaghetti 😁 thank you so much for sharing your recipe it was simple tasty delicious…
We had all sorts of bits and bobs left after a party, including an untouched loaf of French bread and parsley. Paired with household staples (butter, olive oil, garlic), we made lovely slabs of this garlic bread. My husband said this recipe is better than anything we’ve bought at the store. Thank you, I will never again lament a day-old loaf.
My husband loved this bread, and so did I. It was so easy to make and with ingredients that I always have on hand. The bread was light, tasty, and crispy. I’ll never buy frozen garlic bread again.
Will never buy store-bought garlic bread again! This was amazing and so easy!
Loved it.
If you want a cheaper loaf of bread… Jimmy John’s sells day-old loaves for 50 cents 😉
Great tip!! Thank you!