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Cheesy Garlic Bread

Cheesy Garlic Bread is the quickest, easiest, and tastiest side dish that goes with almost every dinner. It’s so good; you can rest assured there won’t be a single crumb left.

I love simple sides that don’t require much brain power to pull together. Often, by the time I have the main dish in the oven, I don’t feel like starting another couple of complicated recipes to round out the meal. 
Fortunately, I’ve become somewhat of a collector of easy side dishes. This way, I can share them with you, and we can all avoid mid-cook-time burnout.  Roasted Asparagus or Butternut Squash are always at the top of that list, depending on what’s in season. And Air Fryer Baked Potatoes are another tried-and-true effortless favorite.

a cutting board with slices of garlic bread

 

Most of the time, however, I’m making this Garlic Cheese Bread. It seriously goes with just about everything. Even the pickiest eaters will ask for another slice (or two, or three). It’s a crowd-pleasing side that can be scaled up or down. Plus, it doesn’t require much effort, and is so delicious you probably won’t have leftovers to store.

Why This Recipe Works

  • Fresh garlic cloves instead of garlic powder or pre-minced garlic load this recipe with flavor. 
  • Using Italian Seasoning saves you from pulling out 5+ spices from your cabinet, keeping this recipe as low-effort as possible.
  • To customize the recipe, you can easily omit the mozzarella or swap it for another cheese blend. 
  • It only takes about 5 minutes of prep time for this Cheesy Garlic Bread, so you can focus on the main dish or keep dinner easy during the week.
garlic bread ingredients

What You’ll Need

  • Italian Bread – I use an entire loaf of Italian Bread, but you can easily halve the loaf or use multiple loaves. Alternatively, you can use any kind of crusty bread that you like. French bread and ciabatta are delicious covered in garlic, butter, and cheese. 
  • Butter – Use softened butter to make spreading it over every inch of the bread easy. Both salted or unsalted butter will work for this recipe.
  • Garlic – Skip the powdered or pre-minced stuff. Fresh garlic cloves have the best flavor. 
  • Italian Seasoning – Italian Seasoning combines dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram. If you don’t have these spices already blended together, you can make your own Italian Seasoning.
  • Cheese – Pre-shredded cheese is coated with cellulose to keep the shreds from sticking together. This results in a rubbery texture when melted. If you have the time, shred the cheese yourself for the best results. However, the pre-shredded bagged cheese works fine in a pinch. A blend of Mozzarella and Colby Jack work great, or use straight Mozzarella.
butter, garlic and italian seasoning in a bowl

How To Make Cheesy Garlic Bread

  1. Slice your bread in half, lengthwise. Place on a baking sheet.
  2. Mix the softened butter, garlic, and seasonings. Then, spread the mixture evenly across both halves of the bread.
  3. Tent the bread with aluminum foil so it doesn’t burn. Place in a 400°F oven for 15-20 minutes until the bread is soft and the butter is melted.
  4. Remove from the oven, and remove the foil. Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over both halves of the bread.
  5. Turn on the broiler setting, and return the baking sheet to the oven.
  6. Broil the cheese for 2-3 minutes until fully melted, bubbly, and golden brown.
  7. Remove from the oven, slice, and serve immediately.
baked garlic bread sprinkled with basil

Recipe Tips

  • If you like spicy food, add some red pepper flakes to your Italian Seasoning blend. 
  • Serve the bread immediately from the oven. As it cools, it’ll become more crusty and crouton-like. However, right from the oven, the bread will be soft, buttery, and delectable.
  • Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Re-baking them will turn them into croutons that taste delicious on top of a Chicken Caesar Salad.
Is there a way to make this bread without an oven?

When the weather is too hot to turn on the oven, I get my money’s worth from my air fryer. You can easily make Garlic Bread in the Air Fryer. If you’d like to add cheese, once you complete the steps for the recipe, top each slice with a pile of shredded cheese. Then, pop it back into the air fryer until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

picking up a slice of cheesy garlic bread

How To Serve

This Cheesy Garlic Bread compliments so many different dinners that it’s almost impossible to go wrong. However, here are some of my favorite pairings:

  • Pistachio Cream Pasta – This recipe is exciting and impressive but comes together in less than half an hour. Serve it alongside Cheesy Garlic Bread for a complete yet surprising dinner.
  • Crockpot Tortellini Soup – Pairing these two recipes together is like a fresh Italian take on the classic tomato soup and grilled cheese. 
  • Chicken Stuffed Shells – This recipe is already loaded with cheese, spinach, and alfredo sauce. Add more cheese and some garlic into the mix, and you have a match made in heaven.
  • Caprese Pasta Salad – If you need an ultra-simple meal, serve the Cheesy Garlic Bread with Caprese Pasta Salad. You’ll have an affordable, effortless, and mouth-watering meal.
close up garlic bread for pinterest

More Tasty Bread Recipes

Yield: 6

Cheesy Garlic Bread

sliced garlic bread on a cutting board

Cheesy Garlic Bread - cheesy, garlicky goodness that can accompany just about any meal on any night of the week!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf Italian Bread
  • 1/2 cup butter, ,softened
  • 3 cloves garlic, ,minced
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 cup Colby Jack cheese, shredded
  • 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400º F.
  2. Slice the loaf of bread in half, lengthwise.
  3. In a small bowl mix softened butter with garlic, and Italian seasoning. Spread evenly over bread.
  4. Cover with foil and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the butter is melted and the bread is soft.
  5. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Place back in the oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Turn on the broiler for 2-3 minutes for golden brown cheese.
  6. Slice and serve immediately.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 455Total Fat 26gSaturated Fat 15gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 70mgSodium 772mgCarbohydrates 39gFiber 3gSugar 3gProtein 15g

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Ryan Allen

Saturday 11th of February 2023

Thanks for this amazing garlic bread recipe. This will be my family's new go to side for any pasta night.

Mommo8

Friday 10th of February 2023

The recipe is absolutely amazing and there are also many recipes on my site

Sandra

Wednesday 8th of February 2023

This was a huge hit at my house!! Can't wait to make it again!

Erik

Wednesday 8th of February 2023

Okay, that cheese is everything! Gotta make some pasta to go with it now.

Beth

Wednesday 8th of February 2023

Oh, yes. I am fully ready for this one. You can't beat super cheesy garlic bread, and this recipe looks perfect!

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