Name: Easy Garlic Bread Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 loaf French or Italian Bread; 1/2 cup unsalted butter (Softened (1 stick)); 1 TBSP fresh parsley (chopped); 3 cloves garlic (finely minced); 1/4 tsp kosher salt (omit if using salted butter); black pepper (to taste)

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This homemade garlic bread recipe is so easy and delicious. You can make your own garlic bread at home in about 15 minutes!

One half of a loaf of garlic bread sliced, on a baking sheet

I always loved garlic bread. I mean, what’s not to love? Bread, butter and garlic – only some of the best foods. I remember buying the packages of garlic bread at the grocery store – you know the loaves of bread that come with the garlic butter already lathered on, wrapped in a foil bag that goes straight into the oven? Except the “butter” isn’t really butter – it’s margarine.

I thought that store bought garlic bread was the best thing ever, until I figured out how ridiculously easy it was to make at home – and not only that, it tastes even better.

How to make garlic bread at home

First of all, you make your own garlic butter spread. And we use REAL BUTTER – no margarine here. I use unsalted butter because it’s what I keep around the house. So I add some salt to the garlic butter mixture. It you use salted butter, be sure to leave the extra salt out.

Next, we add the most important ingredient – garlic. I use 3-4 cloves. I also use my garlic press to finely press the garlic. I highly recommend a garlic press, it is one of the most used tools in my kitchen. If you don’t have one, just mince the garlic as finely as you can.

I added some fresh chopped parsley as well – this is optional and you can skip it if you don’t have any. It just adds another layer of flavor and some bright color to the garlic bread. Lastly, I added a few grinds of fresh black pepper.

Use softened butter for best results

It is best if your butter is softened when you start this recipe. It is much easier to mix the butter with the other ingredients and spread it over the bread if it is soft. Short on time? Here is a trick for softening butter quickly:

How To soften butter quickly

Use a box grater and grate the stick of butter as you would cheese. Because it is now in tiny pieces, it will soften much faster.

Now that you have your butter mixture, slather that butter all the way to the edges of the bread.

How long to bake garlic bread

Bake the garlic bread in a 350 degree F oven for 8 minutes. To get the top golden and crispy, finish under the broiler for 1-2 minutes. Watch very carefully as the bread can go from beautifully golden to burnt in a few seconds.

Pull the toasty garlic bread out of the oven and use a bread knife to cut it into slices.

How to store leftover garlic bread

Leftovers? What leftovers? I mean, I’ll be surprised if you have any, but if you do have some leftover garlic bread, you can wrap it in foil and leave it on the counter for 1 day. If you want to store it longer, you can place the foil wrapped bread into a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

What to serve with Garlic Bread?

Garlic Bread makes a great side dish for Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan, Lemon Butter Scallops or Creamy Basil Chicken.