Garlic Herb Bread – Barefeet in the Kitchen

This Garlic Herb Bread has become a staple on our meal plan and I’m not sad about it. Made with plenty of butter, herbs, and garlic, this is an easy way to elevate your next pasta night.

Easy Garlic Bread

It takes about 3 minutes to make this herbed garlic bread and tuck it into the oven. This gives you plenty of time to pour a glass of wine or tea and pause for a moment before serving dinner – or calling the hungry hordes to the kitchen to serve themselves.

There’s something priceless about having a couple of minutes to pause in the cooking process right before serving the meal. A side of easy garlic bread accomplishes that nicely.

Garlic Herb Bread

Let’s take a moment to talk about garlic bread. I love it. I really do. Spaghetti dinners require it to be present.

For years, I simply slathered a loaf of bread with butter and sprinkled garlic over that before broiling it under toasted. It’s delicious stuff.

When I’m feeling fancy, roasted garlic makes for a pretty amazing parmesan roasted garlic bread too, but in general – quick and easy is the name of my garlic bread game.

Herbs on Garlic Bread

However, last year, I watched my friend Rebecca assemble a garlic bread with herbs and roasted garlic and it transformed my garlic bread-making game.

She stirred a generous handful of chopped fresh herbs and a bunch of roasted garlic into soft butter and the resulting loaf of buttery toasted bread became a whole new take on classic garlic bread.

While I don’t often have an abundance of fresh herbs on hand, I almost always have Italian parsley and I always have a full pantry of dried herbs.

I’ve made this bread at least a dozen times using fresh herbs, dried herbs, or whatever combination I have at hand.

Garlic Herb Bread Recipe

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this recipe:

• butter
• garlic cloves or garlic powder
• fresh parsley or dried parsley
• fresh basil or dried basil
• crusty Italian bread, French bread, or baguette

Garlic Bread with Herbs

Start by combining soft butter, garlic, parsley, and basil in a small bowl and stir to mix well.

Slice a loaf of bread lengthwise and place the bread on a large baking sheet.

Divide the herb butter over the bread and spread with a spatula to the edges of each sliced half. Slice the buttered bread into individual pieces.

Bake for 15 minutes until the butter has melted and the edges of the bread are toasted and golden.

If you like your garlic bread to be more deeply browned, turn your oven to broil for about ONE minute at the end of the baking time. Do not walk away at this point, as the bread is done and you’ll just be toasting those edges. 

I can’t even tell you that the bread is overwhelmingly better with fresh herbs and garlic, as the convenience factor of making this with dried herbs and spices more than balances that for me.

If you have fresh herbs on hand, or if you remember to pick them up when buying the bread, I absolutely recommend them for this recipe. But don’t make a special trip to the store for them.

This bread really is fantastic when made with dried herbs and spices – which if I’m honest, is the way I make it 90% of the time. It’s faster and simpler that way and we all know that is how I roll.

What To Eat With Garlic Bread?

Hearty Italian Vegetable Beef Soup is filled with chunks of ground beef, plenty of vegetables, and generous Italian spices. This soup has been a family favorite for over 20 years.

Tender tortellini pasta is simmered along with Italian sausage in a rich and flavorful sauce to make this recipe for sausage tortellini in a creamy tomato sauce.

With spicy sausage, tender noodles, and a melty cheese topping, Lasagna Soup has all your favorite Italian ingredients simmered together in one pot.

Fragrant garlic, mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes are sauteed in butter and then tossed with fresh lemon juice and tender pasta to create the Lemon Butter Pasta of which dreams are made.