This cheesy garlic bread is crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, full of garlic and butter flavors, and ready in 20 minutes! This recipe uses ciabatta bread and an Asiago and Parmesan cheese mixture for an addictive side dish to your favorite dinners.
Slice the ciabatta loaf in half lengthwise, trying to keep the top and bottom slices as even as possible.
1 loaf ciabatta bread
In a small bowl, stir to combine butter, garlic and ground pepper.
1/2 cup unsalted butter, 3 cloves garlic, 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
Brush the butter mixture to the cut side of each half of the loaf, coating evenly to the edges.
In a separate small bowl, combine asiago and parmesan cheeses.
4 ounces asiago cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Top each buttered loaf evenly with the cheese mixture, and top evenly with parsley.
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley
Place each half on a large baking sheet (cheese side up!) and bake for 10 minutes.
Leave the oven door closed and turn the oven to broil. Let broil for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the top edges of the loaf are golden brown, keeping a close eye to ensure it doesn’t burn.
Remove from the oven and carefully transfer to a cutting board to slice into nice thick slices (depending on the size of your loaf, could be 8-10 slices on each half). Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
Choice of bread: My personal favorite is ciabatta, but a French or Italian loaf will work just fine for this recipe as well.
Use very soft butter, but not melted. If it’s melted, it’s going to seep into all the little crevices and not sit on the surface which won’t give the same texture we’re looking for on this bread.
Don’t substitute the minced garlic. You need to use minced garlic, as garlic powder just isn’t going to provide the same consistency you want for the butter spread.
The choice of cheese is up to you. If you’re not a fan of Asiago cheese, feel free to swap it out for mozzarella. And if you want more cheese, add more cheese! You can add 50% more when the cheese craving hits hard.
You’ll need flat leaf parsley. Curly leaf parsley is more bitter.