Master this easy homemade garlic bread with your grocery store’s French bread + this 5-minute garlic dill upgrade. No kneading, no waiting, no fuss.
Using simple pantry ingredients, you’ll create a loaf with a golden-crusted outside, pillowy-soft inside, and infused with the perfect balance of garlic and dill = PURE MAGIC!
Ready to impress your family and friends? Turn that $3 French bread into this fancy-pants garlic bread masterpiece! Perfect to serve with soup, salad, or this Simple Four Cheese Lasagna (No Boil Noodles) recipe.
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2 Things Make This Garlic Bread Unique
- The use of dried dill weed. Have you ever heard of this? It sounds kind of bleh, but trust me, it’s stellar! I didn’t know about this secret ingredient until my mother-in-law surprised me with this garlic bread early in our marriage. Most guests who eat this bread LOVE it and ask what's in it. We always eat a second piece…even though we shouldn’t.
- Rather than ending up with a crunchy, crouton-like garlic bread from broiling or baking each slice laying flat on a cookie sheet, this method maintains the soft center of the loaf. The bread is sliced, then coated in a garlic-dill compound butter before being tightly wrapped in foil and baked. This steams the exterior just enough to create a crisp, golden crust without drying out the interior. The result is garlic bread perfection.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's SO easy with only FOUR ingredients!
- Minimal effort loaded with flavor.
- Perfect for sharing - from housewarming dinners to new-mom meals.
- It tastes SO much better when made at home.
Ingredients
Here are the four ingredients needed to make easy homemade garlic bread.
- Store-bought French Bread: This is my favorite style of loaf to make garlic bread because the center is soft yet has a soft chew with a few air pockets throughout. The Italian loaf is also a great option. I do not recommend using baguettes because their centers are not quite as large and soft as the French or Italian versions.
- Salted Butter: My favorite brand is Plugra with a higher fat content and less water. If Plugra is not available in your area, Land of Lakes butter is the second choice.
- Garlic Powder: This is dried garlic that has been ground and the same as garlic powder in the spice aisle. Use the unsalted version.
- Dried Dill Weed: This is the dried leaves of the dill plant. I suggest buying the smallest jar in the spice aisle. The potency of this dried herb depletes rather quickly and should be replaced with a fresh jar every year.
See the recipe card below for ingredient measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Dried Parsley - Substitute dried or fresh parsley for the dill and you will have great results.
- More or Less Dried Herbs - I have found the ratio of dried herbs in the recipe provides a nice balance of butter, garlic, and dill. You can always adjust to your liking by adding more or less of the dried herbs to this recipe
This recipe has not been tested with additional variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
How To Make Easy Homemade Garlic Bread
Tip: If your salted butter is still in the refrigerator, you can warm it to room temperature quickly by microwaving the stick of butter in a bowl for 50-60 seconds, power level 2.
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 375°F. Discard the wrapper from the butter and place the butter in a bowl along with the granulated garlic and dried dill weed.
Step 2: Thoroughly mix the ingredients together with a spatula or a hand-held mixer.
Step 3: Slice the loaf of French bread into 1-inch thick slices. Try to stop cutting at the bottom crust of the loaf so that it can stay together better when you move it to the oven.
Step 4: Using a thin spatula or butter knife, smear about 1 teaspoon of the garlic dill butter onto one side of each slice of bread. The butter is not applied to both sides of the bread because it will melt in the oven and coat the backside.
Step 5: Transfer the buttered loaf of French bread to a long sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Step 6: Fold the foil down the length of the loaf then crimp the edges closed. Make the folds simple so that you can check it later in the oven.
Step 7: Cook the foil-wrapped loaf of garlic bread in the center of the oven for 20 minutes. Vent the foil open on the bread then cook another 5-10 minutes longer to crisp up the exterior while maintaining a pillowy-soft inside.
Storage Instructions
Countertop
You can prepare this garlic bread through Step 8 of the recipe card below as early as the morning of the day you expect to serve it. Store it on your countertop wrapped in foil until you are ready to cook it 30 minutes before your meal. I try to make and serve this recipe within 24 hours of purchasing the store-bought French bread.
Freezing
Prepare the garlic bread through Step 8 of the recipe card below. Freeze the tightly wrapped heavy-duty aluminum foil loaf of garlic bread for up to one month.
To heat the frozen garlic bread, add about 10 minutes more to the cooking time to Step 9 of the recipe card below.
FAQ
Yes, I have tried using fresh dill which has more of an anise flavor. Substitute 1 tablespoon of finely chopped dill leaves for the dried dill. I have to admit, we don't bother using fresh dill anymore because we like the dried dill version better.
It pairs perfectly with pasta dishes, sheet pan lasagna, soups, salads, or as an appetizer with meatballs.
Any grocery store French bread or Italian bread works great! Choose one from the bakery section that's still soft but has a slight crust.
Yes, unsalted butter works. You need to add between ¼-1/2 teaspoon of iodized or Morton kosher salt to unsalted butter. If you have Diamond Crystal kosher salt, add ¾ teaspoon to the butter.
Did you try this recipe? Leave a comment and ⭐️ rating below to let us know how it turned out! Thanks for visiting!
📖 Recipe
Easy Homemade Garlic Bread
Ingredients
- 1 loaf of French Bread
- 1 stick Salted Butter, room temperature ((½ cup=8 tablespoons))
- ¾ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Dried Dill Weed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375℉.
- Remove the wrapper of the butter and place in a bowl.
- Add the dried granulated garlic powder and dill weed to the bowl.
- Thoroughly combine with either a rubber spatula or hand mixer.
- Over a cutting board, slice the french bread into 1 inch thick slices. (Optional: do not slice all of the way thru the loaf so it can stay in tact as you move it to the oven)
- Spread about 1 teaspoon of the herbed butter onto one side of each piece of bread.
- Transfer the entire buttered loaf of bread to a large sheet of aluminum foil.
- Make a fold in the foil down the length of the loaf then crimp the edges closed. (Make the folds simple to open because you need to check the bread towards the end of cooking)
- Cook the foil wrapped loaf of garlic bread in the center of the oven for 20 minutes.
- Vent the foil open on the bread then cook another 5-10 minutes longer to crisp up the exterior while maintaining a pillowy-soft inside.
- Serve warm!
Notes
Nutrition
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
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