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Delicious, easy vegan garlic bread made from scratch with fresh garlic and all you need is 4 ingredients and 20 minutes. It’s crispy on the edges, soft on the inside, and filled with irresistible garlic flavour.
Make the quick, 3-ingredient dairy-free homemade garlic butter and spread it on either regular or gluten-free bread. Serve it alongside pasta dishes, casseroles, soups, and salads, or just enjoy it on its own!
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I've shared several delicious pasta recipes and when I make these particular meals at home, the usual side dish is either salad, some sort of vegetable, or this quick and easy vegan garlic bread.
If you've never made homemade garlic bread, maybe you think it's a long process, but it isn't. It's quick enough to prepare for any weeknight dinner and it's also a very easy recipe. Once you see how simple it is to make your own garlic bread, you'll be preparing it often!
It's filled with garlicky goodness, crispy, warm, fluffy...everything a slice of garlic bread should be!
So, without further ado, let's get started with all the details on how to make this well-loved vegan side dish so it can become a regular on your rotation, too.
Ingredients You'll Need
All you need is FOUR simple ingredients to make garlic bread from scratch. Keep reading for details about each of them.
Ingredient and Substitution Notes
Bread - My favourite type is a French or Italian loaf because they're soft and fluffy on the inside and crusty on the outer edges. However, if you don't want to use this type of bread, any type will work, like a baguette, a sourdough loaf, ciabatta bread, rolls or buns that have been split in half, regular or thick sliced bread, homemade bread, burger buns, hot dog buns, or you can even make garlic toast by using sandwich bread. If you want to make gluten-free vegan garlic bread, gluten-free bread works perfectly, too.
TIP: Make sure that your bread is vegan, some store-bought bread is made with eggs and/or dairy, so make sure to read the ingredient list carefully before buying.
Vegan Margarine or Softened Vegan Butter - Either vegan margarine or vegan butter in sticks will work. My preference is margarine since it's already soft straight from the fridge. If you use vegan stick butter, let it sit at room temperature for a while so it softens and is easy to mix when making the garlic compound butter.
If the butter you are using is unsalted, add a pinch of sea salt to it.
Fresh Garlic - To make the best vegan garlic bread, use freshly pressed or very finely minced garlic cloves. Pre-minced jarred garlic doesn't have the same flavour as fresh garlic so I don't recommend it. I give a range of garlic to use in the recipe, use the amount that suits your taste. If you don't have fresh garlic, you can use ½ teaspoon garlic powder per garlic clove.
Fresh Parsley - Parsley adds a nice freshness to the garlic bread, but if you don't have any it can be left out and your garlic bread will still be wonderful. If you don't have fresh parsley, you can use 2 teaspoons of dried parsley flakes, instead.
Variations
Cheesy Vegan Garlic Bread - Add your favourite vegan cheese shreds (vegan mozzarella or cheddar, whatever you prefer) or vegan Parmesan cheese (homemade or store-bought) to the top of each slice. You can also mix the Parmesan into the garlic butter spread.
Different Herbs - If you don't want to use parsley, feel free to use dried oregano, dried basil, dried chives, or an Italian seasoning blend instead.
Spicy Vegan Garlic Bread - Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the top of each slice before baking or you can mix a little directly into the garlic butter.
Garlic Bread Sticks or Rectangles - Instead of slicing the bread like in the images on this page, you can slice your entire loaf lengthwise, spread the garlic butter on the inside of both pieces and bake. Once done, slice the bread into sticks or rectangles.
How to Make It
(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions in the recipe card at the end of this post.)
NOTE: To save time, this garlic butter can be premade and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to five days.
Start by adding the vegan butter or margarine, parsley, and garlic to a small bowl.
Mix all of the ingredients until everything has combined evenly.
TIP: You can use the garlic butter mixture for other dishes outside of garlic bread. It can also be used with roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, pasta, sautéed or roasted vegetables, rice, and more! It can also be used instead of plain vegan butter or margarine when making vegan grilled cheese.
Spread the garlic butter on all of the bread slices and place them on a baking sheet.
Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake until the edges are golden brown. For extra crispy tops and edges, broil for a minute or two, details are in the recipe notes below.
What to Serve It With
The perfect side dish for pasta is garlic bread, so it would go perfectly with any of these recipes:
- Vegan Garlic Pasta
- Vegan Mushroom Pasta
- Vegan Lentil Bolognese
- Vegan Tomato Pasta
- Tahini Pasta
- Vegan Broccoli Pasta
- Vegan Chili Mac
It can also be served alongside so many other things, like salads, casseroles, chili, soups, stews, and more!
And of course, it can also be enjoyed on its own.
Storing Leftovers
Homemade garlic bread is best when served right when it's made, but if you have leftover slices, you can store them for later.
Make sure they are fully cooled and then place them in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat before serving.
To freeze, fully cool the slices and then place them in a freezer bag and freeze for up to one month. Reheat from frozen or thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Leftover garlic butter can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
Tips for Success
- Measure and have all your ingredients ready to go before starting. This will make the process run smoothly, quickly, and easily.
- Measure your ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a scale (this is the one I have and my weight measurements when making this recipe.
- Use fresh garlic cloves for the best flavour. Pre-minced jarred garlic will not give your garlic bread the best taste, fresh is best.
- Adjust the amount of garlic based on your taste. I love garlic, so I use the higher range mentioned in the recipe (sometimes I use more!) but use the amount you like, stay within the range or use less (or more!).
- Add a pinch of salt to your margarine or butter if it's unsalted to enhance the flavour of the garlic butter.
- If you decide to broil the garlic bread for a crispier crust, make sure to keep a close eye on it so it doesn't brown too much or burn.
- Read through the recipe before getting started and read through this post from top to bottom for lots of tips to make it perfectly, every single time.
- Follow the recipe as it’s written for the intended and very best results.
If You Make This Recipe...
Please let me know how you like it and what you served it with! You can do so by leaving a comment and star rating below and/or posting a picture on Instagram and tagging me (@delightfuladventures) so I can see it!
If You Like This Recipe...
Then you may like these other delicious vegan side dishes:
Easy Vegan Garlic Bread (With Fresh Garlic!)
Suggested Equipment:
Ingredients:
- ½ cup (113g) vegan margarine or vegan butter (see note below)
- 3-4 cloves (12g-16g) fresh garlic cloves (pressed or very finely chopped, see note below)
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (finely chopped, see note below)
- 1 loaf French bread OR Italian bread OR bread of choice (sliced into 12 slices, see note below)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Add the vegan margarine (or vegan butter), chopped parsley, and pressed garlic to a small bowl. Mix until everything has been combined.
- Spread the vegan garlic butter evenly and generously onto the bread slices.
- Place bread slices on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until the bread is light brown and crispy around the edges.
- Remove from the oven, and cool slightly before serving.
Recipe Notes:
- Please read through all the info and tips above before making this recipe.
- This recipe makes 12 slices of garlic bread. Feel free to halve or double the recipe based on how much you need.
- Any type of bread, regular or gluten-free, can be used for this recipe. If you don't have a French or Italian loaf, you can use a baguette, a sourdough loaf, rolls or buns that have been split in half, regular or thick sliced bread, or even burger or hot dog buns.
- Rather than slicing the bread into individual slices, you can also slice the whole loaf lengthwise and spread the garlic butter evenly on both sides of the loaf, then slice the bread into fingers or squares after it has been heated in the oven. If you are doing it this way you will have to heat it for a few minutes longer.
- Either vegan margarine in a container or salted vegan butter that comes in stick form will work. If using vegan stick butter, let it sit at room temperature to soften before using since it is quite hard straight from the refrigerator. If it's unsalted, add a pinch of salt to the mixture with the other ingredients before combining.
- A range for the garlic is given in the recipe, but use an amount to suit your taste, the higher range is for those who love extra garlic.
- If you don't have fresh parsley, use 2 teaspoons of dried parsley flakes instead.
- To save time, the vegan garlic butter spread can be pre-made and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- If you want a crispier top, set the oven to broil for the last 2 minutes of baking time, but keep a close eye on it so it doesn't get too brown or burn.
- Nutrition info is based on 1 of 12 slices using the recipe as written, made with an Italian loaf. Nutrition info is only to be used as a rough guide. Click to learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.
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