Garlic Toast Recipe

If you’ve been buying garlic bread from the store but want to make more of your food at home, give this garlic toast recipe a try. Garlic bread is one of the easier dishes to make even if you’re a beginner cook. You can make this if you know how to use your broiler. This is a simple combination of buttered bread, garlic salt and Parmesan cooked for just a minute or two. This is a great recipe to have on hand if you need a fast side dish or are really, really craving garlic bread.

Garlic Toast Recipe Ingredients

• Butter: Make sure the butter is softened. Don’t melt it as that will just make the bread soggy.
• Bread: You can use plain sandwich bread for this or try another type.
• Garlic salt: Garlic salt is granulated garlic mixed with table salt. You can make your own if you need to; use less salt than garlic powder and mix only a little salt at first and add more if needed. Be careful as too much salt will make the garlic salt taste overpowering.
• Parmesan cheese: A little of this melted on top of each slice gives the toast a nice and full flavor.
• Fresh parsley: This is optional. A little chopped Italian parsley on top of the broiled cheese and toast adds a fresh flavor.

Directions

Step 1: Add the toppings and broil the bread

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Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread and then cut each slice in half. Place the halves on a baking sheet, plain side down and sprinkle garlic salt and Parmesan cheese over each slice. Broil the slices for one to two minutes, 4 inches from the heat. The tops of the slices should be lightly browned (this happens quickly so keep watch). If you want, sprinkle the tops with parsley and more Parmesan.

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Garlic Toast Recipe Variations

• Use different types of bread: You can use plain white bread sandwich slices for this recipe or try another type of loaf if you want some variety. Try French or Italian bread, halved lengthwise and sliced into sections. Or grab some Texas toast if you want thicker slices that still look like sandwich bread. If you have plain focaccia, you can slice that into squares or rectangles and use that as a base for the garlic toast, too.
• Use different types of cheese: Parmesan will give the garlic toast a really nice and savory flavor. You can try other cheeses if you don’t have Parmesan on hand. Grated romano, little mozzarella or asiago work well; those last two may not have as much of an umami punch as Parmesan, but they taste wonderful on garlic bread.

How to Store This Garlic Toast Recipe

If you end up with leftover garlic toast and place the slices in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It’s best to finish these within one to two days. Separate the slices with a layer of parchment paper or wax paper if you need to stack slices on top of each other.

Can you make this garlic toast recipe ahead of time?

You can partially prepare the toast ahead of time and store it. Prepare each slice with butter, garlic salt and so on but just don’t fully cook the toast and then try to store it except as leftovers (bread doesn’t stay very soft in the refrigerator). Place them in an airtight container in a single layer in the refrigerator if you’re preparing them for use later that day. Then, let them sit at room temperature for a short time before broiling. Place them in one layer on a baking sheet and freeze them for about 30 minutes you want to make them ahead of time for use the next day or later. Then, wrap each in foil and stack them in a freezer-safe bag for up to three months. You’ll need to bake these from frozen, not broil, for about five minutes at 400° to 425°.

Garlic Toast Recipe Tips

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How do you soften butter quickly?

You’ve got five options if you need to soften butter and don’t have time to wait for an entire stick to soften on its own. Most options for softening butter involves modifying the shape of the butter while one is a viral butter trick that uses a warm glass. First, you can cut the stick of butter into smaller pieces. That’s a good option if you have some time. You can also grate the butter; the shavings will soften faster than chunks would. You can also either roll the butter out between two sheets of wax paper or use a stand mixer to break up the stick and turn it into something spreadable. The viral trick involves filling a glass with hot water and letting it stand for a short time to let the glass warm up. Then, pour out the water and place the glass over the butter. It may take a few minutes, but the butter should start to soften due to the heat radiating out of the glass. Don’t use a microwave to soften butter because you’ll just end up melting most of it.

Does it matter if you use salted or unsalted butter?

In this recipe, unsalted butter is a better choice. You’re already adding salt in the form of garlic salt and salted butter could make the whole thing taste very salty, especially after you add the Parmesan. Taste a little bit all you have is salted butter; some brands are only very lightly salted and may work well, while others may taste too salty for this recipe.

What can you serve with garlic toast?

You can always have garlic toast on its own. If you want to serve it as part of a meal, soup and salad tends to be one of the best combinations for garlic toast and garlic bread in general. Try using the toast as the crust for mini garlic toast pizzas  or serve it with this baked chicken parmigiana. This marinated mozzarella & tomato appetizer would be a terrific choice, too. Any sides and main dish that could use some bread as an accompaniment will do.