Best Cheesy Garlic Bread

Ditch the frozen stuff and make this incredibly easy homemade garlic bread instead! You won’t believe how easy it is to make… and I show you 4 different ways to make garlic bread (plus a freezer option)!

This Homemade Garlic Bread is one of those recipes we have with so many of our family meals.  We also love easy side dish recipes like my Oven Roasted Vegetables and Tomato Avocado Salad.  This is one of my Side Dishes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!

This post was originally sponsored by Mountain Rose Herbs.  All opinions here are my own.

HOMEMADE CHEESY GARLIC BREAD

There’s something so comforting about a perfectly warm and toasty loaf of sliced bread… each sliced slathered in the most delicious garlic parmesan and herb spread!  

You guys… I’ve finally done it!  I’ve been struggling to perfect the perfect homemade garlic bread for a LONG time.  Everything I tried was too soft, too crispy, not enough garlic flavor, too many herbs, not super flavorful, etc.

So for our pasta nights, we always fell back to some variety of frozen garlic bread.  But no more folks!!

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE GARLIC BREAD

Making this semi-homemade garlic bread is really simple and only takes about 10 minutes to assemble.

1. Mix together garlic butter ingredients (butter, seasonings, oil, garlic, lemon zest and Parmesan).
2. Slice the loaf of bread.
3. Slather both sides of each slice of the loaf.
4. Cover bread completely with foil and bake.
5. Uncover the top of the bread and bake another few minutes.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE GARLIC BUTTER

Making garlic butter is as simple as adding ingredients and stirring.  I promise it’s SO easy!

We find ourselves using this garlic butter for so many things, like sautéed green beans and other veggies.

Just make sure the butter is softened to room temperature, and then add in the spices, garlic, lemon zest and cheese.  Stir well and you’re done!

COOKING TIPS FOR GARLIC BREAD

• Use great bread – you’ll want a bread that will give you a crispy exterior, with a fluffy interior, and with a crumb tight enough to soak up alllll the amazing garlic flavor.  French, Italian, or a sesame seeded Italian loaf are my personal favorites.  I just use what looks best that day.
• Don’t slice too much – to keep the loaf together and give it almost a pull-apart bread feel, you want to slice ALMOST all the way through, but not fully.
• Use fresh garlic – I love shortcuts in the kitchen, but for me, the best tasting garlic bread uses fresh garlic that I’ve minced or grated myself.  I tested the jarred stuff and the squeeze garlic, and they weren’t bad, but not quite as good as the fresh stuff.
• Don’t forget the olive oil – I know we’re already using butter in this recipe, but you really need both the butter and the olive oil.  The olive oil helps the butter mixture truly spread into every nook and cranny of the bread.

VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE

There are 4 main ways you can make this garlic bread, so I’ll go over those first.

PULL-APART LOAF

This is what I’ve pictured here.  It yields a soft garlic bread with a crispy top.

No need to make any changes, as the recipe is written for this method.

CRISPY GARLIC BREAD (HALVES)

Instead of slicing the loaf of bread into slices, slice the bread horizontally, so you get two long halves.

Spread garlic butter mixture on each cut surface of the bread, sprinkle tops with mozzarella cheese, and bake at 400 F degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Move baking sheet about 6-8″ away from the broiler and broil for 1-2 minutes, until cheese is bubbly, watching closely so the cheese doesn’t burn.

SOFT GARLIC BREAD (HALVES)

Slice bread as mentioned above.

Spread garlic butter mixture on each cut surface of the bread and sprinkle tops with mozzarella cheese.

Place the two halves together and wrap in foil.  Bake at 400 F degrees for 15 minutes.

GARLIC BREAD (SLICES)

Slice bread into 1″ thick slices (similar to texas toast).

Spread garlic butter mixture on each slice of the bread, sprinkle tops with mozzarella cheese, and bake at 400 F degrees for 10 minutes.

Move baking sheet about 6-8″ away from the broiler and broil for 1-2 minutes, until cheese is bubbly, watching closely so the cheese doesn’t burn.

OTHER GARLIC BREAD VARIATIONS

• To cheese, or not to cheese – I’m a huge cheese lover, so I went allll cheesy on this recipe, but if you’d prefer not to use it, you can omit the Parmesan from the butter mixture, and not add the mozzarella.  Or if you’d prefer an only slightly cheesy recipe, use the Parmesan but omit the mozzarella.
• Change the garlic amount – the amount of garlic in this recipe is what my family and I enjoy, but if you’d like more (or less), feel free to change it up.  This is YOUR garlic bread 🙂

MAKING GARLIC BREAD AHEAD OF TIME

Since this garlic bread comes together so quickly, the only thing I regularly make ahead of time is the garlic butter mixture.  Just keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

To be completely safe though, you’ll want to either eat it within a few days, or freeze it.

FREEZING GARLIC BUTTER

1. Mix up the butter, then dollop it on a sheet of plastic wrap. 
2. Fold the wrap over the butter completely, then grab each end of the plastic wrap and make small circular motions with both hands to wring and wrap the butter up like a giant tootsie roll. 
3. Add it to a plastic resealable bag and freeze for 1-2 months. 
4. Just thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before using.

FREEZING GARLIC BREAD

I tested freezing the leftovers of already made garlic bread and wasn’t super enthused with the results, but you can ABSOLUTELY freeze this garlic bread ahead of time!

I did find this worked best with the variation listed above (for garlic bread slices).

1. Slice bread into 1″ thick slices (similar to texas toast).
2. Spread garlic butter mixture on each slice of the bread and sprinkle tops with mozzarella cheese.
3. Place bread slices on a baking sheet and freeze for 1 hour, until frozen solid.  Then remove from baking sheet, wrap individually with plastic wrap and/or foil.  Add to resealable freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
4. To bake: remove from plastic wrap and foil, place on baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350 F degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until heated through.
5. Move baking sheet about 6-8″ away from the broiler and broil for 1-2 minutes, until cheese is bubbly, watching closely so the cheese doesn’t burn.

This way you can have the convenience of frozen garlic bread, all while knowing it’s actually homemade!

STORAGE

Garlic bread leftovers should be kept in an airtight container (normally I use a resealable plastic bag), refrigerated, and consumed within 3 days.

Here’s a list of great meals to have with this homemade garlic bread:

• One Pot Spaghetti
• One Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta
• Roasted Garlic Cream Sauce
• 10 Minute Shrimp Scampi
• Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese
• Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
• Slow Cooker Italian Meatball Soup

BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT OTHER READERS’ COMMENTS FOR TIPS AND REVIEWS.

AND DON’T FORGET, IF YOU’VE MADE THIS RECIPE, LEAVE A COMMENT AND PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING LETTING ME KNOW HOW YOU ENJOYED IT!

Recipe originally published in July 2018, and has been updated in February 2020 with additional information