My grandma Virginia makes the best garlic bread. It’s soft and buttery in the middle, irresistibly garlicky, and we all love it. Amongst a family of picky kids, the garlic bread was always a winner. This garlic bread recipe brings back warm memories, although it’s quite a bit different. This bread is crisp and crusty with deep roasted garlic flavor. Since roasted garlic is inherently buttery in flavor and texture, I was able to cut the amount of butter in half.
I’ve had this recipe in my back pocket since sharing my tutorial on how to roast garlic. I second-guessed publishing it, since this recipe takes longer to make than your average garlic bread. On the other hand, it’s a simple, comforting side dish that goes well with many homemade meals. If you’re making some saucy pasta tonight, how about a side of garlic bread? I’m working hard on a pantry resource guide for you and will be back soon.
Roasted Garlic Bread Ingredients
Roasted garlic
The length of time required to roast garlic varies from 40 to 70 minutes, depending on the garlic’s age, quantity used, etc. You can roast the garlic in advance and refrigerate it for later (see recipe notes), or give yourself plenty of time to make this bread.
Butter
We’ll need half as much butter as usual, so four tablespoons. The recipe calls for unsalted butter plus some salt—if you’re using salted butter, omit the salt.
Bread
I’ve made this garlic bread with Whole Foods’ ciabatta as well as Ibis bakery bread (local to Kansas City). Both were good, but local sourdough was definitely better!
Fresh parsley or dried oregano
We’ll finish off the bread with a light sprinkle of green garnish—fresh parsley if you have it, or dried oregano from the pantry. Typically, when you’re substituting dried herbs for fresh, you’ll want to use one-third of the amount suggested. I’m suggesting dried oregano over dried parsley because dried parsley is practically tasteless (or is that just my dried parsley?). If you don’t have either option on hand, just skip the garnish.
What to Serve with Roasted Garlic Bread
This crusty bread would offer some nice contrast to hearty Italian soups and creamy bisques. It would also be delicious with a big salad, or of course with saucy pasta and just about any Italian entrée.
Please let me know how your bread turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you. Please also tell me what resources will be helpful for you during this time.
**If you forget: I always forget to pull the butter out of the fridge in advance. Cut the butter into 1-tablespoon segments. Microwave it in a bowl for 10 to 15 seconds, just until softened. Also, if you’re using salted butter, omit the added salt in this recipe. Make it dairy free/vegan: You could try substituting extra-virgin olive oil for the butter! Vegan butter is also an option. Miyoko’s Creamery butter would be my pick.
