The Best Homemade Garlic Bread Recipe

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The best kind of bread is garlic bread and this is hands down the best garlic bread recipe! It's a guaranteed crowd-pleasing side dish and it's made with basic ingredients that you probably already have!

What you need to make great garlic bread

The best type of bread to use for garlic bread is either French bread or ciabatta bread. I used ciabatta for this recipe. I used one loaf of bread because that makes for about 12 thick slices, which I think is a perfect serving. However, if you want to make two loaves of bread, you can double the recipe.

You can use any kind of regular bread as well, but I think that the recipe turns out best with freshly baked bread. I like to get whatever is freshly baked at the bakery section of my local grocery store.

If you're looking to make garlic bread completely from scratch, you can try making your own homemade sourdough or homemade French bread, which will pair perfectly with the garlic spread recipe.

For the garlic mixture, you'll need:

• 1 stick of butter (same as ½ cup butter)- I used plant-based butter because I'm vegan, but you can of course use real butter. Make sure you use a butter that you like the taste of. I personally think that the vegan butter by the brand Miyokos has the best flavor of any vegan butters that I have tried, but people also like Earth Balance and County Crock. If you're located in the UK, I think the brand Naturali' is amazing.
  
  You can use salted or unsalted butter, see details below for how to adjust the recipe depending on which kind you use.
  
• The secret to making good garlic bread is (unsurprisingly) using a lot of garlic. For this recipe, you will need a whole bulb of garlic. Roasting the garlic in the oven brings this recipe to the next level!
• chopped fresh parsley (I used Italian parsley)
• nutritional yeast- this gives the bread an amazing cheesy flavor without having to add any dairy. Nutritional yeast is also a great source of vitamins and minerals.
• sea salt- salt really brings out the garlic flavor in this recipe. I used salted butter in this recipe, so 1 teaspoon was the perfect amount. If you use unsalted butter, you can add ½- 1 teaspoon more of salt. Do keep in mind that everyone has their own personal preference for salt, so you may need to taste you garlic mixture to decide how much salt you'd like to add to yours.

Other optional spices you can add:

• vegan or regular parmesan cheese to grate on top of the bread
• Italian seasoning
• more fresh herbs like oregano or basil
• onion powder
• garlic powder (for even more garlic flavor)

How to make the bread

Heat oven to 450*F.

Make sure the butter is at room temperature. Take it out of the fridge a few hours before starting. 

The first thing to do is to roast the raw garlic. Cut off the top of the bulb of garlic and generously drizzle it with olive oil. 

Wrap the garlic in aluminum foil and roast it in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. 

Allow the garlic to cool off for a few minutes because it will be very hot coming out of the oven. 

Once the garlic has cooled, squeeze out the insides of the garlic into a small bowl. Also add the softened butter, parsley, nutritional yeast, and salt. Mix them well. 

Slice the bread the long way (hot dog style). Divide up the garlic butter mixture on to the cut side of the bread and spread it on in a thick layer. You can use a pastry brush or a spoon to spread the garlic butter spread.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the bread on top. Bake for 10-15 minutes in the 450*F degree oven, until the bread is golden brown in color. I baked mine for exactly 15.

Slice the bread into thick slices and dip it in some tomato soup or marinara sauce.

This cheesy garlic bread recipe is the perfect side dish to pair with a warm and hearty meal and I hope you enjoy it!

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If you liked this recipe, you may also like these main dishes/ easy dinners inspired by Italian recipes:

plant-based lasagna

vegan spaghetti and lentil "meatballs"

Can I make this in the air fryer?

Yes! This recipe tastes amazing when made in the oven, but if you want even crispier garlic bread, you can definitely make it in the air fryer. Follow the recipe as directed in the recipe card, but instead of baking the bread in the oven, air fry it for 5-10 minutes at 350*F in the air fryer. Once the side of the bread has started to become golden brown in color, you can take it out and enjoy!

How to store the garlic bread

For best results, enjoy this classic side dish just as it's come out of the oven. However, the bread can also be stored in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap and kept in the fridge for 5-6 days. Simply reheat it in the oven when you're ready to enjoy it again.

Can I freeze the garlic bread?

If you don't think you'll need a whole loaf or two of garlic bread, you can choose to pre make the recipe and then freeze it to enjoy when you feel like having it.

Prepare the garlic bread following the recipe instructions. Instead of baking the bread right away, slice it into individual pieces and then place those on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer for several hours, until the slices harden individually.

You want to slice the bread first, because otherwise it will be too hard to slice once it is frozen. You also want to freeze the slices of bread and have them separated before adding the slices all together in one bag, so that the slices don't stick together.

Once the slices have frozen, add them together in a large ziplock bag, or an airtight container and place them in the freezer. You can store them in the freezer for some time (at least 1 month), but I have not tried freezing the bread for longer because it is usually gone before then!

When you are ready to enjoy some garlic bread, remove the frozen garlic bread from the freezer and bake following the same instructions as the original recipe.

Alternatives if you're in a rush and don't want to wait for the garlic to roast:

I think that this recipe makes for the best bread when the garlic is roasted, but if you are in a rush, there is another way to make it as well.

Instead of roasting the garlic beforehand, you will take the fresh garlic cloves and use a garlic press to mince it. Add the minced garlic to medium bowl, then mix butter, parsley, nutritional yeast, and salt. Spread the garlic spread on top of the bread and bake in the oven for the same time as directed in the original recipe.