BEST Ever Garlic Bread

This Garlic Bread is perfectly toasted with the perfect amount of garlic, herbs, and butter to make it completely irresistible!  Garlic Bread is quick and easy to make and the secret ingredient makes this bread better than any other!

this Recipe

 

Garlic bread is the ultimate comfort food. The combination of the toasted outside of the bread, with the soft inside and the super rich and buttery garlic bread spread is pure heaven.

This EASY Garlic Bread recipe is pretty classic in it’s flavors and delivers just the right amount of garlic and all the buttery goodness to make this bread not just good, but the kind of delicious where you just keep going back for one more piece!

The secret ingredient in this recipe is just a bit of mayonnaise which makes the spread creamier, but where the real magic happens is how it helps to toast the top of the bread! Read more about this below!

How to Make the BEST Garlic Bread

This recipe is really simple, but there are a few little tips and tricks I can lend you to get the absolute best garlic bread out there! You can read through my notes here, and get the FULL recipe at the bottom of this post.

Ingredients

• French bread– This recipe is designed for a large loaf, about 18-24 inches.
• Butter– I use salted, but unsalted will also work. Make sure it is softened to spread evenly.
• Mayonnaise– Use traditional full-fat mayonnaise for the best crisping.
• Parmesan– freshly grated has the best flavor, but you can use pre-packaged in a pinch.
• Spices– To season the bread we use fresh garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, salt, and ground black pepper.

Recipe Step by Step

Garlic Bread Spread

To start make the spread for the garlic bread. Combine the butter, mayonnaise, parmesan, garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix well until thoroughly combined.

• Make sure that your butter is nice and soft to make this recipe. If it is not soft it will not combine well and the flavor of the herbs will not infuse through.
• The SECRET INGREDIENT here is the mayo!  Because mayo is oil based not butter based, it melts at a different temperature than the butter which helps to get that perfectly addicting crispy top on the bread.  It is part science and part magic, I think!

Prepping the Bread

Slice the loaf of french bread in half. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the cut side of each half.

• You will want to get French or Italian bread for this recipe. It will work better than a baguette. 
• This makes a LARGE loaf of garlic bread!  Look for a loaf at least 24″ in length. If you can only find smaller ones, you can use half of the garlic bread spread.
• When cutting the bread in half try to get it cut as evenly as possible so that it will cook evenly in the oven. If one side it higher than another, it will get browned more quickly on the high points.

How Long to Cook Garlic Bread

Place the loaf on a baking sheet and bake on broil for 3-6 minutes, or until the butter is melted and the edges and top is lightly browned.

• Use the broil setting on your oven to cook the bread. Broil is different than bake because it uses only the top element at a high heat which keeps the bottom and middle of the bread softer while the top toasts.
• Some ovens have a high and low option for the broil. If you have this, you can use the high setting.
• Keep a close eye on the bread.  When broiling the oven will get very hot and the bread can go from white to burnt in seconds.
• You will want to remove the bread once all the garlic bread spread is melted and the top has an even golden brown color.

How to Serve Garlic Bread

Garlic Bread is best served immediately. Once it cools it isn’t nearly as good as it is hot from the oven. If the bread cools, you can pop it back in the oven for a minute or two to reheat before serving.

We like to cut each half of the loaf into six pieces, for a total of twelve pieces of bread. You can also cut it into smaller strips to make it go farther.

What to do with Leftovers

If you are lucky and this Garlic Bread doesn’t all disappear, you can save it to eat another day.

Let the bread cool completely, then package it in an airtight container or zip top bag.

Place it in the refrigerator for up to a week or the freezer for up to three months.

How to Reheat Garlic Bread

To reheat leftover garlic bread, place it on a baking sheet and place it in the oven at 350˚F for 5-8 minutes or until it is heated through.

You can also reheat it in a skillet over medium heat, by cooking for 3-4 minutes, then flipping and cooking the other side for and additional 2-3 minutes.

I do not recommend microwaving leftover bread as it can get rubbery.

Leftover Recipe Ideas

If you want something a little snazzier to do with your leftovers, try one of these creative ways to eat your garlic bread.

• Garlic Bread Meatball Sub– make your favorite turkey or ham sandwich between slices of this garlic bread. You may never want to eat it any other way again!
• Smothered Garlic Bread– Make baked Pesto Chicken, or Garlic Chicken and then serve it right on top of the garlic bread with a big scoop of sauce.
• Garlic Bread Salad– combine chopped lettuce, cubed chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, and any other veggies, Heat and cube your garlic bread and then toss the salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinner Ideas to Pair with Garlic Bread

Here are a couple of our favorite dinners to eat this garlic bread with:

• Creamy Chicken and Asparagus
• Best EASY Alfredo Sauce
• Grilled Steak
• Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken – serve a scoop right on top of the garlic bread!
• Baked Chicken Marsala
• Easy Chicken Cacciatore
• Easy Beef Stroganoff
• Italian Ground Turkey Spaghetti
• See more of our EASY dinner recipes here!