Homemade Garlic Bread

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Homemade garlic bread is the perfect accompaniment to pasta, soups, and more! You’ll love how easy it is to make this flavorful bread in your own oven.

We make pasta a lot around here, whether it’s just spaghetti with marinara or my family’s favorite American goulash.

At my house, where there’s pasta, there’s gotta be garlic bread.

Now that I think about it, we might have pasta night just for the garlic bread!

While we do sometimes buy garlic bread from the grocery store, I love making it at home. 

It’s crazy easy to make with just a few ingredients, and so easy to customize!

With an easy homemade garlic butter mixture, this might just be your family’s new favorite.

Ingredients for garlic bread

Grab everything you need:

French bread – You’ll need 1 loaf of French bread (not a baguette) for this recipe. I like to make my homemade French bread and use the second loaf for garlic bread the next day.

You can also use store bought French bread, Italian bread, or demi baguettes, which are smaller and not as crisp as traditional baguettes.

Butter – Both salted and unsalted butter work to make garlic bread. Make sure it is softened to room temperature ahead of time.

If you use salted butter, adjust the added salt to your liking.

Garlic – The amount of garlic you use will depend on your preferences, but I like to use 4-5 cloves, depending on their size.

Fresh garlic will have more flavor than jarred garlic, so I recommend using a bit more if opting for jarred.

You can also use roasted garlic or garlic confit, which will give the garlic bread a bit of a sweeter, richer flavor.

Parsley – Use either curly or flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely. You can also swap in dried parsley if needed, or use Italian seasoning.

Salt – Salt brings out all the other flavors. I prefer to use fine sea salt.

Paprika – A bit of paprika adds slight sweetness to the garlic bread and complements the garlic. 

If you want a smokier flavor, use smoked paprika.

Cracked black pepper and/or grated parmesan cheese: Optional

How to make garlic bread

First, preheat the oven to 400°F.

Take the loaf of bread, place it on its side, and slice in half so that you have two long pieces.

In a small bowl, stir the softened butter to loosen it up.

Grate, press, or mince the garlic, then add to the butter.

Add the chopped parsley, salt, and paprika.

Stir well to evenly mix the ingredients.

Spread half of the garlic butter onto the cut side of each piece of bread. A silicone spatula, offset spatula, or butter knife all work for this.

Make sure to use all of the butter, and spread it evenly to the edges.

Place the two halves of bread back together and wrap the bread in foil. Set on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven, unwrap, and separate halves. 

If any of the butter mixture has not melted or stuck to one side, spread it on the halves again evenly.

If using, add a few cracks of black pepper and/or sprinkle on grated parmesan.

Return the garlic bread to the oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until desired level of crispness.

You can also briefly broil the bread to crisp the edges.

Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Storage tips

Garlic bread is best served immediately after baking.

If you have any leftover bread, wrap it in foil and store for 1-2 days at room temperature.

Leftovers can be rewarmed in the oven at 350°F for 10-15 minutes.

For longer storage, freeze the bread. This is perfect for when you only want to eat half of the loaf.

Make sure the bread is completely cooled, then wrap tightly in two layers of foil. Label and place in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Reheat from frozen by removing from foil and baking at 350°F for 20 minutes.

Recipe suggestions

For cheesy garlic bread, add either grated parmesan or shredded mozzarella to the bread once unwrapped.

Bake or broil until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

To make roasted garlic bread, slice the ends off garlic bulbs. Place on a square of foil, drizzle with oil, and wrap into a bundle. Roast in the oven at 400°F for 30 minutes or until garlic is soft.

Let cool and spoon or squeeze out the roasted cloves, then mash them into the butter.

You can also boost the garlic flavor with a bit of garlic powder!

To make it spicy, add ground chile pepper, ground cayenne, or crushed red pepper flakes to the butter mixture before spreading on the bread.

Serve this homemade garlic bread with your favorite pasta, soup, or all on its own!