Julie Clark
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Cheesy Garlic Bread
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This cheesy garlic bread is incredibly easy to make and delicious. You’ll love this 20 minute bread with bubbly cheese and golden brown crust.
Years ago I set out on a quest to learn how to make the best cheesy garlic bread at home. You know I love a good secret ingredient recipe, so when I kept finding that mayonnaise makes an amazing garlic bread, I had to try it.
I’m not sure where mayo instead of butter on garlic bread originated, but there is a recipe for it on Hellman’s mayonnaise website, so that may be the original source. I used mayo in this recipe, but also made it our own by adding different seasonings and cheeses. Because double cheese is always a good idea.
About this Cheesy Garlic Bread Recipe:
- Flavor: I tested this recipe several times to get just the amount of garlic flavor we like. Because in a garlic bread, that’s the key flavor, right? It may sound like a lot of garlic loaded into this bread, but it’s mouthwatering delicious.
- Texture: Just as with many garlic breads, the butter soaks into the bread while the top stays cheesy and the bread on the outside gets crisp. The crisp & soft combo you know and love is what makes this bread amazing.
What bread is best for garlic bread?
A crusty loaf of bread is best for cheesy garlic bread so it can stand up to the butter, mayo and cheese. A soft bread will end up too soft and potentially mushy.
Look for a sourdough boule, baguette or crusty Italian loaf.
Ingredients
- 1 pound loaf of crusty Italian bread.
- Butter.
- Minced garlic. ½ teaspoon of minced garlic equals 1 garlic clove. You’ll need 6 garlic cloves if you’re mincing your own.
- Parmesan cheese. Rather than the fine pieces of parmesan in the green containers, I recommend buying a block and shredding it or looking in the specialty cheese cooler for shredded parmesan.
- Mayonnaise. Because many love olive oil flavor in their Italian bread, I recommend mayonnaise made with olive oil.
- Mozzarella cheese. Freshly shredded mozzarella cheese works best. It melts creamy and smooth.
- Italian seasoning.
- Garlic salt. Think that the garlic in the first layer is enough? We prefer a little extra garlic flavor in the topping, and the garlic salt works perfectly for this.
- Fresh parsley. This is simply an optional topping and adds a pretty look.
How to Make Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- In a medium bowl, make the garlic butter by mixing together the butter, minced garlic and parmesan cheese.
- Spread half of the butter mixture on the top cut side of one loaf half, then do same thing with the remaining butter and the other loaf half. Bake for 5 minutes on a baking sheet or 9×13″ dish.
- While this is baking, in a medium bowl, mix the mayo, mozzarella, Italian seasoning and garlic salt.
- Remove the bread from the oven. Spread half of the mayo mixture on the top cut side of one loaf half, then do same thing with the remaining mayo mix and the other loaf half.
- Bake for an additional 5 minutes. Broil for 1-2 minutes on low in order to get the cheese lightly browned and bubbly.
Do you have to wrap garlic bread in foil?
The reason many garlic cheese bread recipes call for wrapping bread in foil is to keep the bread soft and prevent the butter from running out. With slicing the bread in half lengthwise and adding butter & cheese on top, we did not have issues with butter running off the bread. And our bread did not get too hard in the oven.
If you are slicing the bread hasselback style, that is when wrapping in foil is important.
What goes well with garlic bread?
When I think of garlic bread, the first thing that comes to my mind is a big plate of spaghetti with meat sauce. It also pairs well with slow cooker pot roast, homemade meatballs, a big Caesar salad, or easy lasagna soup.
You can also use this homemade garlic bread recipe on fondue night for dipping in marinara sauce.
Storage Instructions
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. It is best if reheated in the air fryer so that it gets crisp.
The Best Cheesy Garlic Bread Recipe
This cheesy garlic bread is incredibly easy to make and delicious. You'll love this 20 minute bread with bubbly cheese and golden brown crust.
Servings 16
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound loaf of Italian bread sliced in half lengthwise
First layer:
- ½ cup salted butter
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
Second layer:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, minced garlic and parmesan cheese.
- Spread half of the butter mixture on the top cut side of one loaf half, then do same thing with the remaining butter and the other loaf half.
- Bake for 5 minutes.
- While this is baking, in a medium bowl, mix the mayo, mozzarella, italian seasoning and garlic salt.
- Remove the bread from the oven.
- Spread half of the mayo mixture on the top cut side of one loaf half, then do same thing with the remaining mayo mix and the other loaf half.
- Bake for an additional 5 minutes. Broil for 1-2 minutes on low in order to get the cheese lightly browned and bubbly.
- Sprinkle with freshly snipped parsley, slice and serve immediately.
Notes
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the bread being cut into 16 pieces (each half into 8 slices), with 1 serving being 1 slice of bread. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Calories: 291kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 362mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 255IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 1mg
