In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved garlic bread, how gently you treated the garlic bread, and how gracefully you let go of the sh*tty garlic bread in your life.

If you couldn’t tell, we sort of have a thing for garlic bread — don’t judge us okay? If you’re reading this, then chances are you are also a member of the Church of Garlic and might be interested in learning how to make the best garlic bread.

Just like our Mac and Cheese post, we decided to use science and math to analyze 22 garlic bread recipes to figure out what makes up the perfect garlic bread. (And of course, make a ton of garlic bread in the process.)

*Photo Credit: u/DarthWallays on r/GarlicBreadMemes*

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about garlic bread — what we’re calling Garlic Bread Theory 101.

What is the Best Bread for Garlic Bread?

There is a reason why most garlic bread recipes call for either a loaf of French bread or a baguette. French bread is the best vehicle for garlic bread — it gets crusty on the outside, and is soft on the inside. Texture is an important part of the food that we experience!

We tested other breads such as sourdough and ciabatta for our garlic breads, hoping we would be culinary pioneers and discover a new bread that is even better for garlic bread than French bread. Alas, we did not. French bread (whether it’s a loaf or baguette) is the clear winner. Italian bread is also a solid choice.

If you want to be extra fancy, get bread from your local bakery instead of the grocery store. The quality of bread will be so much better and will make a huge difference in the flavor of your garlic bread! #supportlocal

What is the Best Butter for Garlic Bread?

If garlic bread is a painting, and the bread is the canvas, then the butter is the primer that you apply to the canvas before painting. Yeah, we get it, it’s an imperfect metaphor, and we aren’t artists. The point is that butter plays an important role in garlic bread.

When we did our testing we found that the quality of butter didn’t matter too much: European culture, country style churned, etc. all tasted the same when melted on top of bread with garlic. What we did notice was the unsalted vs salted. Trevor used unsalted butter in his experiments and added salt to taste, and Brittany experimented with salted butter. When we compared notes, we found that garlic bread needs salt. If you use unsalted butter, add salt. If you use salted butter, don’t add salt. Simple, yeah?

Salt is used as a universal flavor improver, and shouldn’t be omitted!

Can you use margarine instead of butter? Yes. Should you? No.

What is the Best Garlic for Garlic Bread?

Garlic is the star of the show, so you don’t want to mess this part up. When we did our garlic bread experiments we tried four different types of garlic:

Freshly minced garlic
Pre-minced garlic (the kind you find in a jar)
Garlic powder
Roasted garlic

The verdict: freshly minced garlic is the winner, obviously. We recommend staying away from the pre-minced garlic — it’s missing the allicin which is key! It creates that recognizable garlicky taste. The flavor of jarred garlic is subdued and nowhere near the same as freshly minced garlic.

Of the recipes we looked at, it’s obvious in the images that freshly minced garlic is used. As mentioned above, sure you could use pre-minced garlic, but just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

If you don’t have great knife skills and hate mincing garlic, we recommend getting a garlic press. Yes, it’s a kitchen gadget that totally only serves one purpose, but if you’re someone who eats garlic a lot (like us), then it’s worth it.

Note: This is an affiliate link that helps us earn a small commission from your purchase. Each purchase supports the blog so we can continue to make content! If you use this link, we really appreciate it!

Garlic powder is fine in a pinch if you don’t have fresh garlic. Garlic powder is just dehydrated garlic cloves ground into a fine powder, so it still has a good garlicky taste. (Nothing beats fresh garlic in garlic bread, though.) A few recipes we looked at used both freshly minced garlic and garlic powder.

Roasted garlic is a whole separate thing — the strong flavor of garlic is toned down, and it tastes almost a bit sweet because of the caramelization that happens. It’s a milder garlic flavor, and interesting to try if you want a change of pace. Most recipes that use roasted garlic for their garlic bread (such as this one) have a different ratio of garlic to butter, using more roasted garlic than butter. If you go this route, we recommend experimenting to see what ratio you like best.

What is the Best Cheese for Garlic Bread?

This is a point of contention amongst garlic bread purists: should you add cheese to garlic bread? When does it become cheese bread and not garlic bread? We believe that if you want to add cheese to your carb and fat loaf, go for it.

If you choose to add cheese, what kind should you use? Well, ultimately, that’s going to be a personal choice for you. The classic choice is to use Parmigiano-Reggiano (aka parmesan — the real stuff, not the stuff you buy in a can), and honestly, it’s a pretty solid option. The other classic option is a cheddar and mozzarella blend that every pizza and Italian joint in North America uses.

Like we said, the choice of cheese is a personal one. Brittany prefers parmesan and Trevor enjoys cheddar and mozzarella (probably because he lives in a perpetual state of nostalgia and yearns for a simpler time). When it comes to cheese — you do you.

What Else Can You Add to Garlic Bread?

Okay so you have your garlic, butter, bread, and cheese (or not). What now?

We have found that adding one, or several of the below items helps to make the garlic bread “pop”:

Green onion
Parsley
Chives
Italian seasoning
Hot sauce
Chili flakes
Cayenne

Fresh parsley is clearly king when it comes to garlic bread. It adds a nice pop of colour — and since you eat with your eyes first, definitely add parsley if you have it on hand!

How Do I Bake Garlic Bread?

Some people swear by baking and others swear by using the broiler.

To bake, preheat your oven to 400°F and let the garlic bread hang out for 10-12 minutes. You may want to bake for less or more depending on how you like your garlic bread. Your nose and eyes know best!

You could also try just broiling your garlic bread for around 2-3 minutes, like this recipe from Guy Fieri does.

The best answer is probably a combination of the two methods: bake the garlic bread to get the butter melted and the bread a little crispy, and then finish it off in the broiler to get those nice toasted flavors out of the bread and cheese.

🧄 Mediocre Tip: Some people swear by wrapping the loaf in tin foil and then baking it. This technique is supposed to give you a super soft interior. If you bake it in foil, it’ll need some extra time in the oven. If you prefer a crispier crust, bake your garlic bread without any foil.

How to Make the Best Garlic Bread

Garlic bread is something that is so simple, but super easy to mess up.

🥖 Too long under the broiler? Burnt.

🧄 Not enough garlic? Bland.

🧈 Not enough butter? Dry.

🧀 No cheese? Boring.

Make amazing garlic bread every time by following our Definitely Scientific™ method.

Choose Your Bread — the first half of the equation.
- 32% of the recipes we sampled used baguettes and 23% of the recipes used a French loaf — so 55% of the recipes used a French bread of some sort. French bread is great for garlic bread! Buy from your local bakery instead of the grocery store for even better bread.
Make a Delicious Garlic Butter — the second half of the equation.
- 64% of the recipes used unsalted butter. (Just remember to add salt!) If you have salted butter, that’s perfectly fine too.
- 77% of recipes we sampled used freshly minced garlic. We strongly recommend using fresh garlic over the stuff that comes in a jar.
- The most common ratio of garlic to butter in the recipes we sampled was 4 cloves to 1/2 cup of butter. However, it’s 100% fine if you measure the garlic with your heart — because how else do you measure garlic?
- We recommend smothering your bread in garlic butter — be sure to slather it on from edge to edge so every bit of bread is covered in deliciousness. (Ensure that your butter is softened for easy spreadability.)
Cheese It Up — the third half of the equation. (We know this is too many halves.)
- If you choose to add cheese to your garlic bread (41% of the recipes we looked at didn’t include cheese), the most common choice is Parmesan. We highly recommend adding Parmesan cheese to your garlic bread! Don’t miss this opportunity to make your garlic bread the best it can be. You can mix it in with your garlic butter, or sprinkle it on top. (Or both!)
Go to Flavortown — take your garlic bread to the next level.
- The most common addition to garlic bread is parsley, which is no surprise as it helps to cut through all the carbs and fat. Fresh parsley is best, if you have it! Like the Parmesan cheese, you can opt to mix it in with your garlic butter or sprinkle some on top at the end.

Is It Healthy To Eat Garlic Bread?

Garlic is not only delicious, but has many health benefits! It can help fight the common cold, reduce blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, and more.

However, pairing it with bread, butter, and cheese probably cancels out most of those health benefits. We are not your Mom, so we can’t tell you what to eat, but: you probably shouldn’t eat garlic bread every day.

What Goes Best With Garlic Bread?

Optimize your garlic bread intake by eating garlic bread whenever you have:

Pasta (duh)
Chicken Parmesan
Soups and Stews
The Sloppy Jessica (okay, it just uses a french loaf, but garlic bread would elevate it)
Salad
Donairs (if you want to hate yourself)
Pizza (see Donairs)

Wrapping It Up

Butter: $4

Bread: $3

Garlic: $1

Eating garlic bread: priceless.

There are some things money can’t buy. But money can buy you garlic bread, and garlic bread is happiness.

Love garlic as much as we do? You’ll also want to learn about the science of garlic.

Garlic Bread Theory 101: How to Make the Best Garlic Bread