AmazingRibs.com is supported by our Pitmaster Club. Also, when you buy with links on our site we may earn a finder’s fee. Click to see how we test and review products.

The Secret To Making Exceptional Garlic Bread

Share on:

Show me a barbecue joint that doesn’t serve garlic bread and I give them less than a year. If you’re gonna que, you’d better know garlic bread.

There are more than 20 ways to skin this cat, and once you have the basics, you should create your own signature style (share it with us below).

Garlic Bread Recipe


basic garlic bread
Tried this recipe?Tell others what you thought of it and give it a star rating below.
2.84 from 24 votes
Raw garlic is harsh enough to ward off vampires but it gets mellow when cooked. One of the best and most delicious ways to mellow garlic is to roast it. Here are six suggestions for superb roasted garlic bread.

Course:
Bread
,
Dinner
,
Lunch
,
Main Course
,
Side Dish
Cuisine:
American
,
French
,
Italian

Makes:

Servings: 2 loaves of bread

Takes:

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 minute

Ingredients

  • 1 head roasted garlic
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 loaf of crusty baguette or Italian bread

Optional (but highly recommended additions)

  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme or rosemary
  • 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • 1 teaspoon medium grind black pepper
Notes:
About the Parm. There is nothing like ther real thing, Parmigiano Reggiano from Itlay, but you can substitute Grana Padano or Romano from Italy if you wish. The stuff in the greed cardboard tube is nowhere nearly as good.
About the olive oil. Use a high quality fresh olive oil that has lots of flavor. Melted butter works, but not as well.
Metric conversion:

These recipes were created in US Customary measurements and the conversion to metric is being done by calculations. They should be accurate, but it is possible there could be an error. If you find one, please let us know in the comments at the bottom of the page

Method

Method #1

  • Dump all the ingredients in a blender and beat the heck out of them for about a minute. Then let them sit for about 30 minutes so the dry ingredients can absorb the oil and the flavors can get to know each other better.
  • Slice the bread crosswise into 1" (25.4 mm) thick disks. Or in half lengthwise. Stir things up well and paint it on one side of the bread making sure you get some solids on the bread and make sure you paint all the way to the edges to prevent the edges from burning.
  • Put the bread on your grill over medium high direct heat and stay right in front of the grill checking every 30 seconds or so. The bread can go from not yet ready to black in moments. Get them golden. If the edges burn a bit, you can scrape off the black.

Method #2

  • If you have serious garlic lovers, oil the bread with olive oil all the way to the edges, and toast it over medium high direct heat. Serve a roasted garlic head on a plate drizzled with oil and sprinkled with sea salt, fresh thyme or rosemary or your favorite herb, and some hot pepper flakes. Guests can dig out the cloves with a knife, and spread it on the toast like butter.

Method #3

  • Paint one side of the bread with olive oil all the way to the edges. Then pop some roasted garlic cloves out and spread them lightly on the bread like butter. Go easy. Place the bread on the grill over medium high direct heat to toast. If you have some fresh thyme or some hot pepper or some real Italian Parm, sprinkle it on the bread and serve.
    garlic bread on grill

Method #4

  • Mash 1 part roasted garlic in a bowl with a fork or a mortar and pestle with 2 parts olive oil. Spread the mix on a thick slice of crusty bread making sure you go all the way to the edge or it will burn. Sprinkle with smoked paprika. Maybe squeeze some fresh tomato on. Grill face down over direct medium high direct heat and stand there and watch it grill checking every 30 seconds.
    garlic bread

Method #5

  • Take 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, add 3 tablespoons powdered garlic (not garlic salt). Toss in a tablespoon of smoked paprika. Mix it thoroughly with a fork. Spread it on bread and toast. You'll be surprised how good this simple method tastes.

Method #6

  • I like to put out some fresh chevre, a creamy goat cheese, and spread it on the bread after toaasting. Try warm brie, too. A sliver of sundried tomato and basil are also winning toppers. Or you can mix them all together and serve as a cheese spread.

Method #6

  • A reader says he and his guests loved my Burger Glop on the grilled bread, with or without the garlic.

Method #7

  • Do it with pita bread. In this picture I have squirted on some Romesco Sauce and some Pesto.
    garlic bread with romesco pesto

Related articles

Published On: 12/18/2014 Last Modified: 2/13/2024

Share on:
  • Meathead, BBQ Hall of Famer - Founder and publisher of AmazingRibs.com, Meathead is known as the site's Hedonism Evangelist and BBQ Whisperer. He is also the author of the New York Times Best Seller "Meathead, The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", named one of the "100 Best Cookbooks of All Time" by Southern Living.

 

High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, we’ll pay you back bigtime with an ad-free experience and a lot of freebies!

Millions come to AmazingRibs.com every month for high quality tested recipes, tips on technique, science, mythbusting, product reviews, and inspiration. But it is expensive to run a website with more than 2,000 pages and we don’t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.

Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please don’t think of it as a donation. Members get MANY great benefits. We block all third-party ads, we give members free ebooks, magazines, interviews, webinars, more recipes, a monthly sweepstakes with prizes worth up to $2,000, discounts on products, and best of all a community of like-minded cooks free of flame wars. Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive.


Post comments and questions below

grouchy?

1) Please try the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help.

2) Try to post your question to the appropriate page.

3) Tell us everything we need to know to help such as the type of cooker and thermometer. Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F so if you are not using a good digital thermometer we probably can’t help you with time and temp questions. Please read this article about thermometers.

4) If you are a member of the Pitmaster Club, your comments login is probably different.

5) Posts with links in them may not appear immediately.

Moderators

  Max

Click to comment or ask a question...

Spotlight

These are not paid ads, they are a curated selection of products we love.

All of the products below have been tested and are highly recommended. Click here to read more about our review process.

Use Our Links To Help Keep Us Alive

Many merchants pay us a small referral fee when you click our “buy now” links. This has zero impact on the price you pay but helps support the site.