Part of Thanksgiving

How to Make Garlic Bread

A buttery, perfectly toasted slice for all your dinner carb cravings.

Is there really anything better than someone sitting a big, warm basket of garlic bread down right next to you at the dinner table? (Hint: there’s not!) Garlic bread is satisfying in its own perfect way, and I have tips for reaching that status of perfect garlic bread zen. The best garlic bread is soft and buttery, with outer crusts that have just the perfect amount of crunch, and garlic flavor that is present, but not overpowering. There’s a hint of salt to add flavor and bring out the natural goodness of the butter. And there’s enough parsley to give you color and a little herb flavor while reminding you that this bread is anything but plain.

1 GATHER YOUR GOODS

To make amazing garlic bread you’ll need a good, fresh Italian loaf, 1/3 cup softened UNSALTED butter, 3 teaspoons (about 3 cloves) finely minced fresh garlic, 3 tablespoons very finely chopped fresh parsley and 1 teaspoon kosher salt.

TIP

Using unsalted butter lets you control the amount of salt you add. Salted butter has varying salt content depending on the brand and can yield a too-salty end result.

2 Slice

Use a bread knife to cut 1 1/2” slices down the length of your loaf. Careful not to cut all the way through. Leaving the bottom crust intact is important. We will talk more about that in steps 4 and 5.

3 MAKE YOUR BUTTER

To make your butter spread, you’re going to combine the softened butter, finely minced garlic and chopped parsley. If you prefer a more uniform butter spread, you can mix up your compound butter with a hand or stand mixer. But if a more home-style or rustic butter is what you're looking for, you can just mix your ingredients with the back of a spoon until the parsley seems evenly distributed throughout.

TIP

This spread is technically compound butter. You can refrigerate it and use it later to enhance everything from steaks and chicken to pastas and veggies.

4 Spread

Generously spread each slice of bread with the butter mixture. See how the bottom crust is still intact? This keeps the loaf together so that:
1. You can easily move it in one piece to a baking sheet
2. The outer crust toasts in the oven while the inner bread stays soft, warm, and buttery
This is also the step where you’ll sprinkle each piece with the kosher salt. 1 teaspoon is a good starting place. You can use a little more or a little less based on your preference.

5 BAKE

Your garlic bread only needs to bake at 400°F for 4-5 minutes. That’s all it takes to yield that garlic bread perfection.

About Heather T.

Heather, who runs SugarDishMe.com, has been making messes in the kitchen since she was a little kid when her mom handed her a cook book and told her, “If you can read, you can cook.” Today she serves up fresh, healthy eats, easy weeknight meals and decadent sweet treats.