My homemade garlic bread is golden and crispy with plenty of garlic butter. I love that slightly salty, warm buttery taste!
You can make it with ciabatta, baguettes, or even thick slices of crusty sourdough.
A must-have side dish for pasta!
Crispy edges, soft, tender bread in the middle and slathered in salty garlic butter. Really good homemade garlic bread like this is just so moreish!
You can make the garlic butter in advance for this and store it in the fridge so you can whip up some garlic bread in ultra-quick time for a side-dish treat to go with pasta or for dipping into soup.
It’s also a great way to use up bread that’s going a little stale. Simply sprinkle the bread with a little bit of water (use a water spray if you have one – giving it a few squirts) then continue on with the recipe as normal.
What do we need?
- 1 large ciabatta loaf
- Unsalted butter – make sure this is really soft for ultimate spread-ability. You can replace with salted butter, but you’ll need to reduce the salt that we add in by half.
- Salt and garlic for flavour.
- Dried parsley – dried is best for those vibrant green speckles, as fresh parsley goes brown when in the oven. You can top off with a little sprinkled on fresh parsley when it comes out of the oven if you like though.
Garlic Bread Spread
A mixture of 1/2 cup (120g) soft unsalted butter, 3 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp dried parsley.
Make sure the parsley isn’t an old jar – as dried parsley loses its vibrant green colour after a while.
How to make it
**Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.**
- Slice the ciabatta in half, length-ways and place on a baking tray cut-side up
- Mix together the butter, salt, garlic and dried parsley and spread it on the ciabatta.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges of the bread are golden and the butter has melted into the bread.
- Slice the garlic bread and sprinkle on a little fresh parsley if you like.
What to serve it with
Garlic bread goes so well with most Pasta Recipes but we LOVE to serve it along with:
- Spaghetti Bolognese
- Chicken Carbonara
- Homemade Lasagne
- With Tuscan Chicken Soup – perfect for dipping!
- Vegetarian Pasta Bake
- Chicken & Bacon Pasta Bake
- Alfredo Pasta Bake
- Alongside this vibrant Caprese Salad
Ingredient swaps
- Try swapping out the parsley for dried rosemary, basil or oregano.
- Sprinkle on grated cheddar, parmesan or mozzarella cheese for cheesy garlic bread.
More bread-based recipes
- Garlic Pizza Bread with Cheese and Tomatoes
- Homemade Artisan Bread
- Cheese Stuffed Bread with Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato
- Soft and Light Brioche Burger Buns
Watch how to make it
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Garlic Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large ciabatta loaf weighing about 1/2 lb/225g (*see note 1 for alternatives)
- 120 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter very soft
- 1 tsp kosher salt or other fine salt
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175C/350F (fan).
- Slice the ciabatta in half, lengthways and place on a baking tray cut-side up.1 large ciabatta loaf
- Place the butter, salt, garlic, and dried parsley in a bowl and mix together until combined.120 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, 1 tsp kosher salt, 3 cloves minced garlic, 2 tsp dried parsley
- Spread the butter on the cut side of the ciabatta, so it’s spread on pretty thickly – I use a butter knife of the back of a spoon for this. If you’re using thickly sliced bread, spread the mixture on one side of the bread, so the butter side is facing up when it’s on the baking tray.
- Place in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the edges of the bread are golden and the butter has melted into the bread.
- Remove from the oven and carefully slice each piece of bread into 6 slices. Sprinkle on a the fresh parsley before serving.1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi,
I love your recipes and have made this before but I wanted to know if I could Make and assemble the garlic bread then wrap in foil and freeze. Then defrost fully when I need it and cook it then?
Thanks
Hi Nicky,
Cindy and I Lobe the sight and you recipes. Not to mention your salad book that we have torn through. No bottled dressings in this house. Thanks for everything. You rock
Tom and Cindy
Really good taste and nice that the garlic can be more or less, we like more! Much better than shop bought.
You have an amazing photographer, the food always looks delicious and “real.”
Will this freeze ok, would be handy to have some ready in the freezer?