The Best Easy Garlic Bread Recipe (Cheesy Garlic Bread)
Learn how to make the best cheesy garlic bread with my easy garlic bread recipe. Full of buttery flavor, this will be a favorite to serve with any pasta dish.
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Is there anything more delicious than cheesy, buttery, garlicky carbs?
To this Italian girl, the answer is no.
(See also: The Best Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Parmesan Garlic Twice Baked Potato Casserole)
One of my family’s favorite things is garlic bread.
In fact my kid begs for it every time we order pizza. “Mommmmmm, can we get garlic bread?”
So we’ve started serving it up whenever we have pasta or even salad.
And this version of cheesy garlic bread is the best and super easy to make since it uses store bought bread.
Ingredients and Kitchen Tools
To make this you’ll need:
- Bread– Use a good loaf of Italian style bakery bread. Look for a loaf that is soft but crusty.
- Butter– Melted unsalted butter
- Garlic– Use actual fresh garlic and not the minced jarred garlic or garlic powder. The only substitute I would make for fresh garlic is Roast Garlic
- Italian seasoning
- Parmesan cheese– Look I go extra and use both the grated kind from a jar and some good shredded Parmesan cheese.
- Fresh basil
Aside from a bread knife and cutting board, I find it very helpful to have a garlic press on hand for this.
How to Make this Cheesy Easy Garlic Bread Recipe
1. Prep the bread.
Cut the bread down the middle lengthwise so you have two long halves of bread. Put the cut bread onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with nonstick spray.
2. Make the garlic butter.
Melt the butter in the microwave. Once it is melted, add the garlic and the Italian seasoning to the butter and stir it together.
3. Assemble the bread.
Ok Avengers, it’s time to assemble the bread by brushing or spooning the melted garlic herb butter evenly over the bread until it is all gone.
4. Bake.
Bake the bread at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Then remove it from the oven.
Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the bread. Bake or broil until cheese melts.
Top with chopped parsley and fresh basil if desired. Enjoy!
What goes good with garlic bread?
We make this with almost any pasta and love to serve it with:
- Fettuccine Alfredo
- Cheesy Chicken Ziti Skillet
- Skillet Baked Ziti
- Quick and Easy Bruschetta Pasta
- Caprese Pasta
- Tomato Pasta with Burrata
- Easy Shrimp Scampi Recipe
- Easy Italian Pasta with Chickpeas (Pasta e Ceci)
- Pasta with White Beans
We also love it with soups like:
- Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Homemade Slow Cooker Chicken Soup
- Vegetable Soup with Rice
- Easy Tuscan White Bean Soup
- Easy Roasted Carrot Soup
And it’s perfect with salads like Buffalo Chicken Caesar Salad or Shrimp Caprese Salad.
Oh! Don’t forget to serve it with The Best Real Italian Tomato Sauce (Homemade Spaghetti Sauce) for dipping and a big plate of Authentic Italian Meatballs or spicy meatballs!
Really, there’s almost nothing that I wouldn’t serve with this bread!
FAQs
Does garlic bread go with spaghetti?
Garlic bread pairs very well spaghetti and almost any other kind of Italian or Italian American pasta dishes.
Is garlic bread Italian or French?
Garlic bread evolved from bruschetta, which is an Italian appetizer. Bruschetta has toasted pieces of bread rubbed with garlic and then topped with tomatoes and herbs.
What country invented garlic bread?
Technically Italian Americans invented garlic bread as we know it today. But it does stem from the Italian recipe for bruschetta.
Tips and Tricks
- The fresh herbs are optional, but really make it it something special and I highly recommend using them.
- Not serving kids this? Add a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes for a little heat.
- For a more authentic bread, you could use olive oil instead of butter.
- Serve this warm for a real treat!
- If you broil the bread to melt the cheese, watch the bread very closely. It will melt in 30 seconds to a minute.
Other Loaded Bread Recipes
This cheesy easy garlic bread recipe is a staple in our house. We pair it with almost anything and everything!
Looking for other ways to turn a loaf of bread into something extra delicious? Try these:
Ingredients
- 1 loaf of store bought Italian bakery bread
- 12 tbs of butter melted
- 6 cloves of garlic pressed or minced
- 1 tsp of Italian seasoning
- 3/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
- 3/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil and parsley
Instructions
- Cut the bread down the middle lengthwise so you have two long halves of bread.
- Put the cut bread onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with nonstick spray.
- Melt the butter in the microwave.
- Once it is melted, add the garlic and the Italian seasoning to the butter and stir it together.
- Brush or spoon the melted garlic herb butter evenly over the bread until it is all gone.
- Bake the bread at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes.
- Then remove it from the oven.
- Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the bread.
- Bake or broil until cheese melts.
- Top with chopped parsley and fresh basil if desired. Enjoy!
