This Garlic Bread recipe creates a crispy crust and a soft center. It is the perfect side dish for any pasta and a great side for BBQs!
First of all, thank you so much for all of your congratulations on the previous post! It seems surreal still, and I'm slowly starting to relax; helped along by a weekend of fun with friends, a trip to Top Chef Masters champ Rick Bayless's new Mexican street food joint XOCO (Rick himself was there!), and apple picking! 🙂
Now to the recipe. My mom's Garlic Bread is truly a recipe for all seasons. Over Labor Day weekend, she made it with barbecued chicken (my dad's handiwork), Parmesan Potatoes, and a salad - seriously the BEST meal I've had in a long time.
When the weather is cool, nothing goes better with lasagna or a big plate of spaghetti and (turkey) meatballs than this bread, in my opinion.
My mom created this recipe a long time ago, probably before I was born, and I've eaten it ever since I could eat! My dentist, who is also a family friend, always jokes that when he and his wife came over for dinner, he was shocked to see a 2-year old (me) gobble down this garlic bread. As a young child, apparently I said "the crust is good but the filling is best." My mom and aunt still repeat this to me each time we have it. Not to disagree with the me of the past, but I now like the "filling" and crust equally because both are amazing!
Although I LOVE this bread, it is definitely reserved for special occasions because of the amount of butter it requires! It does sound like a lot of butter, but I'm sure it's no more than a good Ina Garten recipe.
Recipe Details
This recipe may seem very simple, but my mom says the key is to cook it long enough and at a high heat - that way the crust gets nice and crisp. The interior of the bread still stays soft.
First the garlic butter mixture is combined. This recipe uses both fresh garlic and garlic salt. Next, the baguette is cut into 2-inch thick slices. The garlic butter is spread onto each slice and the loaf is reassembled onto a piece of aluminum foil. The remaining garlic butter is spread on top of the loaf and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.
The bread is wrapped up completely in foil and baked for at least 20 minutes, sometimes longer. You want to make sure you are baking it long enough to get the crust crispy. The butter on the top of the bread will melt and run down the sides, creating a buttery, crisp bottom crust.
Make Ahead Tip
Once the bread is assembled, you may refrigerate it for about 1 day before baking. If you are making further ahead, freeze the entire assembled in the aluminum foil before baking. Bake at the same temperature from frozen but add extra baking time.
Gluten Free Option
Use a gluten free baguette in place of traditional bread for gluten free garlic bread. I find that gluten free bread is never as good as regular bread, but it usually tastes better heated up, so this recipe is great for that purpose.
Serving Suggestions
Check out my favorite Italian recipes that go great with Garlic Bread:
Turkey Lasagna St. Louis Style
Baked Ziti Sorrentino
Skillet Lasagna
Turkey Sausage and Peppers Rigatoni
Chicken with Dijon Mascarpone Marsala Sauce
Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Linguine
Garlicky Shrimp Pasta
Grilled Shrimp with Spicy Lemon Garlic Sauce
Chicken Francese
Baked Chicken Parmesan
Quicker, Lighter Eggplant Parmesan
📖 Recipe
Garlic Bread
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter, softened (1 stick)
- 2-3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 loaf of French or Italian bread (baguette style)
- grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Mix butter, garlic, and garlic salt together.8 tablespoons butter, softened, 2-3 cloves of garlic, ⅛ teaspoon garlic salt
- Slice bread completely through into ~2-inch thick slices. Spread one side of each slice with about 2 teaspoons of butter mixture. Reassemble the bread on a long sheet of aluminum foil.1 loaf of French or Italian bread
- Spread a very thin layer of butter on top of the loaf. Note: You may have leftover butter mixture. You may use the rest or save it for another recipe. The extra butter on top will just melt and run down to make an extra buttery bottom crust.
- Sprinkle with lots of Parmesan cheese. Fold foil over to seal tightly. Bake for at least 20 minutes to achieve a nice, crispy crust. You may need to bake a little longer depending on the size of the loaf and your oven.grated Parmesan cheese
Sherri Murphy says
Garlic bread is a staple in this Italian girl's kitchen.
Bob says
I love garlic bread, that looks like a wicked good version.
CaSaundraLeigh says
This is almost like what I made the other day--except you use better bread 🙂 I should whip some better stuff up in my bread machine--it's getting dusty! :o(
Kerstin says
This has got to be fabulous with all that butter - YUM! I'm glad you had a relaxing weekend and how cool you got to see Rick Bayless!