Enjoy fresh garlic bread any night or day when you have a stash of this Easy Garlic Bread in the freezer, frozen garlic bread that is SO much better than any store bought loaf! So good and easy!
Served at a BBQ Party or alongside a pan of Spicy Sausage Lasagna, this tasty garlic bread will please the masses. At just 20 cents a serving and just a few minutes of prep time, it’s absolutely worth your while!
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It is a humble dish. It doesn’t get much attention. Sometimes it’s an afterthought at the check stand, when one passes the baskets of foil wrapped logs or sneaks down the frozen food aisle real quick to grab a loaf of frozen garlic bread.
I’m not sure that anyone waxes eloquent over its virtues. In fact, it’s sometimes forgotten all together as a culinary option.
But you know what? Garlic bread is awesome! And it deserves a little more attention. For all its simplicity, it’s the first thing to go when I serve an Italian buffet.
My kids even use garlic bread as a bartering commodity! Yes, indeed, they recognize its value. And so should you!
Why Make This
Homemade tastes better. That’s why. For all its humble, wallflower status, Garlic Bread is truly the star. And you’re doing it a disservice if you buy the aforementioned foil-wrapped logs waiting for you at the grocery store checkstand or freezer section.
It is simple and easy to make frozen garlic bread. Often times at the end of the day, maybe you don’t want to make spaghetti AND meatballs AND a salad AND garlic bread. And so, garlic bread in all its glory is forgotten. May it no longer be so! This easy freezer garlic bread will have your dinner bread basket buttoned up. Especially if you stash a few loaves in the freezer.
It makes meals more special. Having homemade frozen garlic bread in the freezer feels like a luxury, but its really not. It’s so cheap and easy to make!
Make a few loaves this week, squirrel them away in the freezer, and pull them out when you want to bring an everyday dinner to new heights.
Ingredients
Making your own garlic bread is so wonderfully easy. Here is what you need:
French bread – while baguette is considered traditional French bread, I’m actually talking about the Americanized version here, you know the fluffy loaf from the grocery store bakery. You can also bake your own bread if you prefer or use a real baguette. Keep in mind that grocery stores often unload day-old bread for cheap. This is a great way to use it since you’re going to toast it anyway.
butter – I like using real butter, but you can also substitute margarine, ghee, plant butter, or even olive oil to make frozen garlic butter.
garlic – Fresh garlic will give you the best flavor. If you’ve got some roast garlic cloves on hand, that will take this over the top. In a pinch you can use garlic powder, but it won’t be as good. Love garlic? Be sure to try my Creamy Garlic Dressing recipe.
parsley – You can use fresh or dried parsley, whichever you have on hand.
Variations
Straight up classic frozen garlic bread is pretty tasty, but you can make it different if you like.
- For cheesy garlic bread: mix grated parmesan cheese into the garlic butter. If you like, top it off with shredded cheddar or mozzarella.
- For herby garlic bread: add additional fresh herbs like fresh chopped basil, rosemary, and tarragon.
- For grilled garlic bread: cook the bread in the wrappings on the hot grill until the butter is melted. Place the bread cut side down on the grill for optional char marks.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Make the garlic butter.
Homemade garlic butter is the best way to go. In a small mixing bowl, combine the butter, garlic, and parsley with a fork until well combined.
2. Assemble the frozen garlic bread.
- Cut the loaf of bread lengthwise. Open the two halves of the bread loaf.
- Divide the butter evenly between the two halves.
- Spread the garlic butter in a thick layer over each cut side of bread.
- Put the two halves back together and wrap with foil. At this point you can store it in the freezer for later use.
Serving Instructions
- For best results, thaw the frozen garlic bread overnight in the fridge before baking.
- Bake, thawed, 25 minutes at 375 °. If frozen, add 10-15 minutes to your baking time. Right before serving, you can unwrap the foil and broil the bread briefly to crisp the top.
FAQs
Absolutely! For cheesy garlic bread, mix grated parmesan cheese into the garlic butter. If you like, top it off with shredded cheddar or mozzarella.
Most garlic bread is vegetarian. However if you want to make it vegan, substitute olive oil or plant butter for the dairy butter in the recipe.
Garlic bread is an excellent base for sandwiches, such as Tri-Tip Sandwiches or the Hot Chicken Sub. It’s also good served as a side dish for soup or pasta dishes. And no one at a BBQ, ever turned down garlic bread.
Recipe Costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- French loaf of bread – $1.50
- homemade garlic butter – $0.99
Shopping at a mid-range grocery store at non-sale prices, you can expect to pay $2.49 for an extra large loaf of frozen garlic bread, made with real butter.
By contrast the smaller name-brand loaf in the freezer section starts at $3.29. Enjoy more for less when you make your own frozen garlic bread.
To save even more:
You know I don’t typically want to make something if I can’t make it good as well as cheap. Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Buy day-old bread on clearance to maximize your savings on this recipe.
- The holiday season is a great time to stock up on butter! You’ll get the best prices, and you can freeze the butter until you’re ready to use it.
More Great Breads to Serve
Tell us what you think!
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How to Make Frozen Garlic Bread
Equipment
- bread knife
- cutting board
- heavy duty aluminum foil
- small mixing bowl
- fork
- offset spatula
Ingredients
- 1 large French loaf sliced in half horizontally
- ½ cup butter softened
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tablespoon parsley (chopped)
Instructions
- Lay out the two halves of the bread loaf onto a large piece of aluminum foil.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the butter, garlic, and parsley. Spread the garlic butter in a thick layer over each cut side of bread.
- Put the two halves back together and wrap with foil. At this point you can store it in the freezer for later use. I thaw mine overnight in the fridge before baking.
- Bake, thawed, 25 minutes at 375 °. If frozen, add 10-15 minutes to your baking time. Right before serving, you can unwrap the foil and broil the bread briefly to crisp the top.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on January 4, 2017. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Angie
I absolutely love this idea!! I buy the loaves of french bread when they go on sale & freeze them. Then when I thaw them I have to mix up the things to make it. This is perfect!! Thank you for sharing this great idea!! 😉 My kids & I love buttered garlic bread…..it is my weakness!!! <3
Jessica Fisher
Yep. It feels so luxurious to pull out a loaf of garlic bread from the freezer and not have to do anything but bake it or throw it on the grill.
Mommaofmany
Thanks for posting this. I make garlic french bread all the time, but never thought to freeze it ahead of time. Is the texture similar after it’s been frozen, compared to making it fresh?
Jessica Fisher
I don’t notice a difference, esp if it’s better quality bread. Made on hot dog buns, it’s gonna lose something. 😉
Angela Shrader
Colonial bread has a store near me that I can buy “day old” bread, that is still very much in date. They just rotate it out of the stores quickly so the stores have fresher bread. I bought Wheat Sub buns for my Chicken Bacon Subs, and probably will go back in a day or 2 for some more to make mini garlic loaves. I can get a 6 pack for $1. And 1 6pack will feed my family of 5, 3 times if I use it only as garlic bread. 🙂
jamie
Just curious – did you make the french bread yourself or did you buy it? If you made it I’d love to have the recipe! I was thinking of doing this but don’t have a great recipe and the french bread at my stores are pretty overpriced!
Jessica Fisher
I bought that bread at Costco. The very large loaves were about $2 each, pricey, but I’ve been looking for clearance substitutes at Ralphs which usually has artisan bread marked down.
karen b
Walmart usually have nice large loves in their clearance deli section for .50!!!!! I havn’t paid full price in years. 🙂 I usually grab as many loaves there are avaiable or what my budget can afford that week. They come in handy for all kinds of things french bread pizza, garlic bread, open face sandwiches, etc………… This would be yummy with soup
Jessica Fisher
You must have a great Walmart. Ours is usually slim pickings.
karen b
we do…………its only like 6 years old & the selection on most everything is really good. Occansionally they don’t have any bread but most of the time they do 🙂
Mommaofmany
@jamie, I have an excellent french bread recipe. It can be made into rolls, as the recipe describes, but works well for loaves, too. I use it for so many applications!
http://feedingthecrew.blogspot.com/2009/10/french-bread-rolls.html
FoodontheTable
All of these look great. Butter is the best!
Jenna
Genius is right! I always have ‘marked to sell’ loaves in my freezer and encourage my hubby so make the garlic bread when we are going to have it for dinner. It would be SO MUCH EASIER to con, I mean ask, my hubby to whip up his butter/garlic/seasoning concoction after I buy a few loaves that way I can bake them off whenever I want to serve them and not worry about needing his help. Would love to hear what results are found when cooking from freezer straight to oven!
Lucky
This is awesome, thanks! I’ve been meaning to experiment with this, so I’m so happy to see you tried it.
Sara
I love homemade garlic bread. Try adding some fresh (not powdered or out of a can) parmesan cheese to this. You won’t be able to make enough! I make 2 loaves each time and they both disappear.
Michele @ Saving Money In Real Life
Did you mean that you “thawed mine overnight in the refrigerator…”? (your wrote that you thawed it in the freezer). Anyway, it looks delicious. I love making garlic bread ahead of time – it makes dinnertime a snap!
Jacky
I love making compound butters and always have a few varieties in the freezer to top off beef, seafood, vegetbales, or to make a qgarlic bread.
Avril
LOVE recipes swaps!!!! And (unfortunately) I LOVE using butter when baking and cooking! 🙂
Sara Z.
My kids don’t handle change well. Since they love the frozen Texas Toast garlic bread, I would most likely slice a loaf of bread in 1-inch slices, being careful not to cut all the way through at the bottom. Then spread the butter mixture on each side of the slices. It might take a bit more time t0 spread the butter on each slice, but if it eliminates the round of “I don’t like this, its different” I’ll take it!
Jessica Fisher
That’s exactly what you should do! Make it work for your family. Great idea!
Susie's Homemade
Great! Now, I am in the mood for Italian:-)
The (Not So) Organised Mum
Thanks so much for an inspiring blog that I have only recently found!!
Going try the garlic bread this weekend and I’ll let you know how we get on with it! (Should be good as we are garlic lovers in this house)
I’ll make a few extra batches and freeze too.
Thanks from Bonnie Scotland
The (Not So) Organised Mum
Mandi @ Organizing Your Way
This is genius! I can’t believe I never thought to do this on my own, but I’ll be doing it from now on!
Jessica Fisher
And think about how expensive it for those foil wrapped bags at the grocery store. This is soooo much better — in taste and in nutrition. And so easy!
BTW, you made my day with the “genius” comment. 😉
Wendy (The Local Cook)
Mmmmm, butter. It’s what makes the topping on the Rhubarb Almond Flake I entered this week super special.
Melissa
I have so many favorites…butter…yum. Not sure which one to choose!!!
Andrea
Hellooooooooo beautiful! Isn’t there something so comforting about a nicely buttered, browned, and perfectly garlicky bread fresh out of the oven at dinner? Me thinks I’ll make some baguette tomorrow just so I can have garlic bread at dinner for Hub’s birthday dinner.
And my first thought after hello beautiful was, Butter? Yes, please! Ree and Paula (Deen) have NOTHING on my butter obsession. I used to eat the stuff plain growing up (and no, no obesity issues here – I was a scrawny little twerp! Still skinny to this day, but that’s thanks to nursing a baby!)
Liz@HoosierHomemade
I bet my “men” in the house would love that bread! Thanks for sharing!
~Liz
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy
The garlic bread looks awesome, my middle child especially loves, loves, loves garlic bread! Thanks!