Restaurant-Style Roasted Garlic & Cheesy Garlic Bread

Prep: 10 minutes

Roast garlic: 20–30 minutes

Bake bread: 12–15 minutes

Ingredients

Roasted garlic

• 4–6 large garlic cloves, peeled and left whole

• 1–2 tsp olive oil

Garlic parsley butter

• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

• All of the roasted garlic, mashed

• ½ tsp garlic powder

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 tbsp dried parsley flakes (or 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley)

• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bread and cheese

• 1 large loaf soft Italian or French bread (14–16 oz)

• 1½ cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella, preferably whole milk

• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

• Additional parsley for garnish, optional

Instructions

1. Roast the garlic

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Place the peeled garlic cloves in a small ovenproof skillet or baking dish.

3. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.

4. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

5. Roast for 20–30 minutes, checking after 20 minutes, until the cloves are soft, fragrant, and lightly golden.

6. Let cool slightly, then mash into a smooth paste with a fork.

The garlic should be beautifully mellow and sweet, not dark brown or bitter.

2. Make the garlic parsley butter

In a small bowl, combine the softened butter, mashed roasted garlic, garlic powder, salt, parsley, and black pepper.

Mix thoroughly until the garlic and herbs are evenly distributed. Stir in any small amount of flavorful olive oil remaining in the roasting pan.

3. Prepare the bread

1. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F.

2. Slice the loaf in half lengthwise.

3. Place both halves cut-side up on a foil-lined baking sheet.

4. Spread the garlic butter generously and evenly over both halves, right to the edges.

4. Toast the bread

Bake at 400°F for 6–8 minutes, until the butter has melted completely and the surface of the bread is beginning to toast.

The edges should just be starting to turn golden.

5. Add the cheese

Remove the bread from the oven.

Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over both halves, followed by the Parmesan.

Return to the oven and bake for another 4–6 minutes, until the cheese has melted completely.

6. Broil until golden

Switch the oven to broil and cook for approximately 30–90 seconds, watching continuously, until the cheese is bubbly with golden-brown spots.

Remove from the oven, garnish with additional parsley if desired, and let rest for a minute or two before slicing into thick pieces.

⭐ Make-ahead notes

You can roast the garlic and prepare the compound butter 2–3 days ahead, keeping it covered in the refrigerator. Let the butter soften before spreading it on the bread.

For your Tuesday spaghetti and meatballs and Thursday French onion soup, I'd reserve several slices of the garlic-buttered bread before adding the mozzarella and Parmesan.

Refrigerate those slices promptly, then re-toast them Thursday, float them on the hot onion soup, top with Gruyère, and broil.

That gives you two entirely different presentations from one loaf!

My favorite detail about this recipe: Using roasted garlic and a little garlic powder gives you that wonderful sweetness from the roasted cloves without sacrificing the assertive garlic flavor that makes restaurant-style garlic bread so good. 🧄🧀