Easy Homemade Garlic Bread In Just Fifteen Minutes

This super easy homemade garlic bread recipe instantly elevates ANY meal, be it weeknight or weekend. Simply whip up a 4-ingredient garlic bread spread and slather it on a fresh loaf of French or Italian bread. Ready to serve in just 15 minutes!

The Best 5-Ingredient Garlic Bread Recipe

As much as I love to cook and bake, there are many nights (more than I’d care to admit), when the LAST thing I want to do is spend an hour in the kitchen chopping, slicing, dicing, sautéing, etc. You know — those nights when your to-do list is a mile long, your kitchen sink is overflowing with dirty dishes, and your nine-year-old is sobbing over his math homework… Have you been there?

Real life is rarely Pinterest-perfect. If it was, I’d have a stash of homemade freezer meals ready and waiting to pop in the oven. But after 12 straight weekends of soccer and football, my meal prep game is at an all-time low. Whomp, whomp, whomp…

I *could* just press the easy button and order some pizzas. OR I can throw a big pot of water on to boil to make one of these simple pasta recipes! And while I’m waiting for the water to boil, I can pop a loaf of this homemade garlic bread in the oven and toss a simple side salad.

End result? A meal that I know my family is going to adore that’s 1) waayyy less expensive than pizza (pizza for 7 ain’t cheap these days!!) and 2) honestly on the table faster than any pizza delivery has ever made it to our house. Works for me!

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Easy Garlic Bread Ingredients

This garlic bread recipe is super simple (just 5 ingredients, including the bread!) and, more importantly, uber flexible. At its most basic, you just slather some French bread with a delicious garlic butter spread and bake… Three minutes of prep and 12 minutes of baking/broiling later, it’s ready to serve!

First things first — you need to choose a loaf of bread. You didn’t think we were making this garlic bread from scratch, did you? I mean, I’m all for scratch cooking when I have the time and inclination, but this quick garlic bread is all about weeknight easy.

As far as the best bread for garlic bread goes, any store-bought French or Italian bread from the bakery section will do. But my secret weapon for making the VERY BEST garlic bread is to use a “take and bake” loaf, which is basically just a loaf that’s only been partially baked and needs finished off in the oven. My absolute favorite for quality, flavor, and price are the take-and-bake Italian bread loaves from ALDI.

Additional Ingredients:

softened butter — use real butter, please! I typically use salted, but you can use unsalted, as well. Or I’ve also used a butter and olive oil spread in a pinch when I didn’t want to wait for a stick to soften up.

minced garlic — I know a lot of people harp on using fresh garlic cloves when cooking, and it’s definitely the way to go if you want that strong garlic flavor. But I’ve made this homemade garlic bread recipe many times with the minced refrigerated stuff in jar, and it’s absolutely just as good.

Italian seasoning — my go-to is this Italian seasoning variety because it’s a blend of coarsely ground spices, not the super fine grind that some other brands offer. If you’re using a more finely ground seasoning, consider reducing the amount you use because it will definitely be more pungent.

grated Parmesan cheese — if you want to change things up, a grated Parmesan romano works great here, too. You’ll need about 1/4 cup, plus I always like to sprinkle a little extra over the top before baking.

How To Make Homemade Garlic Bread

Mmmmm, get ready because your kitchen is going to smell simply ah-mazing!

1| Start by making a garlic butter spread by mashing together softened butter with minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese.

2| Next, you slice a large loaf of French or Italian bread in half horizontally. Coat each cut side with the garlic butter spread, and place them cut side up on a large rimmed baking sheet. I like to sprinkle a little extra Parmesan over the top at this point. You can never have too much cheese!

3| Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, then pop the sheet under the broiler on high for 2-3 minutes, until the edges of the bread get toasty and the top of the bread starts to brown. Let the garlic bread cool for a minute, then cut it into 1-inch thick slices.

Once you see how EASY this homemade garlic bread recipe is to make, you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with the frozen store-bought stuff before. And once you TASTE it — well, you can thank me later…

DIY Frozen Garlic Bread

Speaking of frozen garlic bread, you can actually make your own diy homemade freezer garlic bread!! Once you’ve spread the two halves of your sliced loaf of bread with the garlic butter, just place it in the freezer. After it’s frozen solid, you can stack the halves up and seal them tightly in a gallon size Ziploc bag.

When you’re ready to bake it, just separate the halves and place them cut side up on a baking sheet. Bake according to the same instructions — you’ll just want to add about 5 minutes to the baking time when cooking from frozen.

The Best Garlic Bread Ever?

Not to brag or anything, but my 14yo daughter literally tells me that this is THE best garlic bread she’s ever had every. single. time. I make it. I know you all don’t know her personally, but let’s just say that she takes “picky” to a whole new level, so this is the highest of compliments… Can’t wait to hear what you all think!!

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