Many ago Tony and I started making homemade garlic bread to go with my favorite turkey meatballs.
Of course, a classic, easy spaghetti and meatballs dinner needs garlic bread for dipping so I went on a quest that involved several loaves of bread, chopped garlic, real butter and herbs. It also involved a few stomach aches (hey I’m I’m human and sometimes you can’t stop at one slice)!
But alas, we landed on a delightful, mouth-watering garlic bread recipe that’s 1000x better than the store-bought kind and that I can’t stop making.
Everything you need to make the best garlic bread
This homemade garlic bread recipe requires super simple ingredients, so trust me when I say you’ll back to it time and time again. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Bread: I like to use Italian bread or a loaf of French bread (instead of a baguette) to get those nice thick slices.
- Butter: gotta have plenty of softened butter, which will melt into all of the bread nooks & crannies. Feel free to use salted or unsalted butter. I use 1/2 cup of butter, but you can also get away with using 1/3 cup!
- Garlic: fresh garlic cloves (rather than garlic powder) are KEY for that true garlic flavor. The minced garlic gets roasted to perfection in the oven.
- Herbs & spices: instead of Italian seasoning we’re adding a little fresh parsley and sea salt to bring it all together. Feel free to garnish with extra parsley or chives, too!
Get a little cheesy
If you like cheesy garlic bread, feel free to add 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese or 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella! You’ll sprinkle it on in the last 2 minutes of baking (so that it doesn’t get too crispy on top).
Can I make it vegan?
Of course! Simply substitute the regular butter with vegan butter and use your favorite vegan cheese (if you’re cheese-ing it).
Easy homemade garlic bread in 3 steps
- Prep your pan & bread. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or tinfoil, slice your bread in half lengthwise, and place the bread cut side up on the baking sheet.
- Make the garlic butter. In a small bowl mix the herbs and salt together with the softened butter. Spread it evenly over the top of the bread halves.
- Bake & serve. Bake the bread for 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees F until it’s slightly golden brown on the edges. If you’re adding cheese, add it in the last 2 minutes of baking. Then cool, slice into 1-inch pieces, and devour!
Don’t forget to dip it in this AMAZING Garlic Olive Oil Dip, or your favorite marinara sauce!
Choose your bread crispiness
If you like crispier garlic bread, bake it for 3-5 minutes more (but watch it carefully so that it doesn’t get too toasted). If you like it softer, take it out closer to 10 minutes. You can also wrap the bread in aluminum foil before baking it if you like softer garlic bread.
Storing tips
Store any leftovers covered at room temp for 1-2 days. Simply reheat it in your oven by wrapping it in foil and warming it for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Freeze it for later
That’s right, this homemade garlic bread is freezer-friendly! It’s such a great way to have a delicious side on hand at any time. Here’s how to freeze it:
- After slathering the bread in the garlic butter mixture, place the bread halves in a single layer in a freezer-friendly bag and store them in the freezer.
- Freeze the garlic bread for up to 3 months.
- When ready to eat, add the frozen garlic bread halves to your baking sheet and bake as directed — you may just need to add 3-5 more minutes.
What to serve with this homemade garlic bread
- 30 Minute Pasta Carbonara
- Juicy Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Basil Sauce with Burrata
- Garlic Olive Oil Dip
- Roasted Garlic Cheddar Cauliflower Soup
- Bacon Parmesan Brussels Sprouts Spaghetti
- The Best Healthy Turkey Lasagna You’ll Ever Eat
Get all of my dinner recipes here and my pasta dishes here!
I hope you love this garlic bread recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
The Best Garlic Bread You'll Ever Eat
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian loaf or French loaf
- 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter (can also use salted)*
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- Optional:
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- OR
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- For garnishing:
- Extra parsley and chives
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Slice bread in half lengthwise and place on a large baking sheet, cut sides up.
- In a medium bowl, mix butter, garlic, parsley and salt together until well combined. Spread evenly over bread.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden brown on the edges. If you want to add cheese, add it the last 2 minutes of baking. If you like a crispier garlic bread, bake for 3-5 minutes more, watching carefully until it is as golden as you like.
Recipe Notes
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on January 30th, 2018, and republished on February 13th, 2023.
55 comments
Delicious! I just want to say how much I (and likely all your readers) appreciate not only the variety of your posts and recipes, but also the frequency! I can imagine that coming up with so many new things every week would be challenging, but it is part of what makes reading your blog fun. Thank you for your hard work!
Thanks so much, Kelly! I’m so glad you’re enjoying all of the different posts and recipes. It’s definitely challenging, but I love to share these with you guys!
yes pllllease! I usually wing it when I make garlic bread, but I’m totally using this recipe next time!
This is a great go-to! So easy and delicious 🙂
Garlic bread without cheese always feels a little sad to me. Glad you included it! I’ll definitely be making this next pasta night (caaaaaaaarbs!)
http://www.slackergirlfitness.com
Cheese is always a great option! And yes pasta night + THIS = amazing 🙂 Enjoy!
I agree. Cheese on garlic bread is the equivalent of icing on cake!
THIS RECIPE IS AMAZING! I’ve placed it in my cook book and will use it from now on!
It’s just as delicious the next day!!!!!!
So glad you loved it! <3
I want to make some amazing garlic bread for dinner this week, so thanks for the recipe! I like your point about adding cheese at the end and giving it about 2 minutes to bake. I’ll definitely do this to make the bread even tastier.
Perfect! Love this with a little cheese 🙂
A definite Best Ever garlic bread and crowd pleaser… thank you so much for sharing:-)
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Hi. I want to have them right now. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to Italian or French or any other kind of loaf. Can I make the loaf at home. Any good recipe for the loaf? Thanks a lot.
P.S. Your recipes are amazing
Hi! I don’t have a loaf recipe that’s great for making into garlic bread, but let me know if you find out! Glad you’re loving the recipes here 🙂
I made this bread this evening and have to say it’s delicious. will make again
So happy you liked it!
I made this to serve with spaghetti dinner, my family loved it. I substituted the salt with garlic salt and added fresh chopped parsley, the fresh parsley added beautiful color to the bread. My youngest son showed up just before dinner, he said the house smelled heavenly, he decided to stay for dinner. This bread was a huge success with my family and my youngest son took what was left home to eat with his morning scrambled egg breakfast.
Amazing! I’m so glad everyone loved it 🙂
Yes, this was the absolute best garlic bread! Whole family loved it. We had it with soup, but I don’t think anyone could tell you what kind of soup it was, they all went crazy for the garlic bread! Thank you.
Perfect! So happy to hear that!
I made this garlic bread to go with the minestrone soup and I have to say it was a good call. While it goes great with the soup, I feel like this would be a crowd pleaser on its own. Will definitely make this again for myself and for a dinner party once that’s a thing 🙂
The perfect combo! And yes, such a crowd pleaser 🙂
Easiest and most delicious garlic bread! Ingredients are inexpensive which is a plus. I’m going to try adding cheese next time!
This really IS the best garlic bread ever! I just double on garlic because we are a garlic-loving household 😀 I also love the crunchy leftovers the next day. Many thanks for this terrific recipe, Monique!
So good! Glad you love it!
Wow! This garlic bread lives up to its name. I can’t believe how good it is for how easy it is too.
Absolutely! Glad you loved it!
This bread is fantastic! I used French bread and sprinkled freshly grated Parmesan cheese at the end. Flavor is so good and it melts in your mouth. This recipe is a keeper, adding it to my collection of recipes as I write this!
Woohoo! So happy you enjoyed it, Jill! 🙂
I used 1/8 tsp of seasalt all else as instructed. very Good!!
Delicious. I included the optional freshly grated parmesan cheese. Made 2 loaves for 10 people. It disappeared almost instantly (30 pieces). I’m not sure three loaves would have been sufficient.
Do you think this would work with regular toast, or Pita bread/Lebanese bread? For those of us who prefer a much smaller amount of bread for consumption. Thank you.
Delicious! I can’t believe that I’ve been eating store-bought garlic bread when I could have been making this (palm to face emoji). The directions for freezing for later were perfect, so my new goal is to have this in the freezer at all times because you just never know when you’re going to need some garlic bread. Thanks for another great recipe!
Ahh yay! This is the best! SO glad you are loving tis recipe and it is a hit!
I sometimes mix the parmesan & mozzarella together (for me less Parme &more Mozz.,Ratio to taste)
This is the best garlic bread! EVER!! I purchased quality Italian Loaf Bread to use. I just can’t believe how delicious it it! This will be the only recipe I will use to make garlic bread! My guest loved it!
This really is the best! Thank you for the recipe!
I love that you’re doing non sweets videos! I’m a college student trying to eat healthy so I’d love to see dinner recipes!
Yay! I am so glad you are enjoying my recipes!
I made this recipe for the second time yesterday. It’s so easy to make and absolutely delicious. My husband and I go feral for this garlic bread. Both times I went with the option of adding the 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. I don’t like to spend a lot of time cooking, and this recipe is fast with minimal effort. Highly recommend!
YUM! the addition of mozzarella cheese sounds perfect. Glad you are both loving this recipe 😍
The steps are very simple and the result looks very good. Thanks for sharing.
We added it to our list:
20 Best Side Dishes for Meatballs
Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much!
Oh my gosh!! Amazing. So fresh and so easy with fresh parsley from the garden. Never need to buy garlic bread again. Thank you 🙂
Yay!!! So easy, right?! Glad you loved it!
Your recipe is very detailed and easy to follow.
Best garlic bread ever
Exquisite
Better than any restaurant or cafe or anywhere in this world and I am saying this because I have traveled so much that I have tried more than 3/4th of garlic breads in this world.
Ahh this is seriously the best, glad you’re loving this recipe and it turned out great for you!
My picky kids absolutely loved this recipe!
This is very close to the garlic bread I make all the time. My husband loves it. I like the suggestion to add cheese.
Hope this one turns out great for you, Lynn!
So easy and SO DELICIOUS!!!! fresh parsley is the key – I topped it off under the broiler – family loved it!!!!
AMAZING! Glad to hear this recipe is a hit for the whole family!