This super easy Homemade Garlic Bread is golden brown and crisp on the outside, warm and soft on the inside, and topped with buttery, garlicky deliciousness!
There’s no need to buy pre-made garlic bread when you can make your own garlic bread with just 4 simple ingredients in less than 15 minutes that tastes so much better (and you might just save a few pennies too)!
I am a big-time garlic lover, and garlic bread is one of my most favorite ways to enjoy it (is there anyone who doesn’t love it?).
It’s a great side dish for so many things, especially saucy Italian dishes like spaghetti and lasagna, but it’s also yummy with soup, stew, a salad, steak, chicken, ribs…pretty much anything. You could even serve it as an appetizer.
I grew up on garlic toast…toasted and buttered sliced sandwich bread sprinkled with garlic powder or garlic salt. It’s simple and delicious, and I still love it and make it often (it takes me back to my childhood every single time I eat it!).
BUT…the very best garlic bread is made with a fresh loaf of Italian or French bread, finely chopped fresh garlic, and real-deal butter…plus a little sprinkle of parsley for some pretty color. And it’s so quick and easy!
Just slather that awesome garlic-butter mixture all over the bread, bake it, then quickly broil it, and it’s done. And everyone’s going to love it!
It’s totally worth stopping at the grocery store bakery to pick up a loaf of bread to make this (or, if you’re into bread making, a homemade loaf would be amazing)!
Ingredients you need:
- Butter
- Fresh garlic
- Dried parsley
- Italian bread (or French bread)
Here’s a look at how to make Homemade Garlic Bread:
Note: This is just a quick overview of the steps. Scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe with detailed instructions.
Tips & Tidbits:
- Don’t forget to let the butter soften ahead of time. For quicker softening, I cut the butter into small pieces, spread them out on a plate, and let them sit out on the counter for about an hour beforehand.
- I don’t recommend using a microwave, but if you do, just be careful, as you don’t want the butter to melt.
- Mince the garlic very finely so that it gets evenly distributed throughout the butter and also so that no one ends up biting into a large piece of garlic (which some of us may not mind {raises hand}, but others might).
- My favorite way to do this is to grate the garlic on a Microplane or use a garlic press. Both do a fantastic job!
- Spread that yummy garlic butter all the way to the edges of the bread. Bare spots don’t taste good!
- I like my garlic bread to taste garlicky but not overwhelmingly so. For me, one medium-sized clove of garlic works perfect in this recipe. But hey, if you want it extra garlicky, go ahead and add more.
- I use a half of a loaf of bread because I’d rather make more fresh garlic bread than have leftovers. If you need more, go ahead and use a whole loaf of bread and double the ingredients for the garlic butter.
- Want cheesy garlic bread? Mix in some grated or shredded parmesan cheese with the butter and garlic.
- When you turn on the broiler at the very end to get the top of the bread golden brown, watch it closely and don’t walk away! The bread will brown super fast – it may only take a few seconds – and can burn very quickly.
- Garlic bread is at its best when served fresh from the oven. If you have any leftovers, reheat them in a 350°F oven wrapped in foil for about 10 minutes or until heated through.
Once you make your own garlic bread, you’ll definitely want to make it again and again (and I bet everyone will ask you to make it again and again)!
Some of my favorites to serve it with are lasagna soup (or any soup), skillet lasagna, zucchini lasagna roll-ups, chicken parmesan pasta bake, spaghetti, and stuffed shells.
I hope you try this Homemade Garlic Bread recipe and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
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Homemade Garlic Bread
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 medium clove garlic, very finely minced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ (of a 1-pound) loaf Italian bread, unsliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a bowl, stir together the softened butter, minced garlic, and parsley until well-combined.
- Cut the bread in half lengthwise.
- Spread half of the garlic-butter mixture evenly over the cut side of each half of the bread, making sure to spread it all the way to the edges and leaving no bare spots.
- Place the bread on a baking sheet (buttered side up). Bake for 10 minutes or until the crust is crisp (at this point, the garlic-butter mixture will be melted, but the top of the bread likely won't be browned at all).
- Turn on the broiler; broil for several seconds until the top is lightly golden and crisp (this happens very quickly, so watch it carefully, and don't walk away!).
- Remove from the oven and slice into 8 pieces. Serve immediately while still warm.
Notes
- My favorite way to very finely mince the garlic is to grate it on a Microplane or use a garlic press.
- I like my garlic bread to taste garlicky but not overwhelmingly so. For me, one medium clove of garlic works perfect in this recipe. If you want it extra garlicky, go ahead and add more.
- I use a half of a loaf of bread because I’d rather make more fresh garlic bread than have leftovers. If you need more, go ahead and use a whole loaf of bread and double the ingredients for the garlic butter.
- Want cheesy garlic bread? Mix in some grated or shredded parmesan cheese with the butter and garlic.
- If you have any leftovers, reheat them in a 350°F oven wrapped in foil for about 10 minutes or until heated through.
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