Gluten-Free Garlic Bread

Homemade gluten-free garlic bread with a simple garlic parmesan compound butter slathered on baguettes and baked until golden and crispy. I was diagnosed with celiac in 2013 and this is one of the first things I figured out how to make well, because pasta night without garlic bread just isn’t the same.

The butter is softened with fresh minced garlic, garlic powder, parsley, and a little salt, and it takes about two minutes to mix. I use both fresh garlic and garlic powder because the fresh gives you real flavor and the powder fills in the gaps so every bite actually tastes like garlic bread.

This is the side dish I make most often alongside my gluten-free lasagna , gluten-free chicken parmesan , or spaghetti and meatballs .

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• On the table in under 20 minutes . Mix the butter, spread it on the baguettes, bake until golden. One of the fastest side dishes you can make and it goes with everything.
• Tastes like the garlic bread you remember . The Schar baguettes crisp up nicely under high heat and the parmesan gets golden and toasty on top. No one at the table is going to feel like they’re missing out.
• Make it ahead or freeze it . You can prep the compound butter up to a week in advance, or assemble the whole thing and freeze it unbaked for up to a month. Pull it out and bake straight from frozen when you need it.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• Gluten-Free Baguettes: I use Schar gluten-free baguettes, which come two per package at about 6 oz each (12 oz total). They’re shelf-stable so they’re easy to keep on hand, and the crust crisps up nicely in the oven. You can find them in most grocery stores in the bread aisle or GF section. Any gluten-free French bread works, but if yours is a single larger loaf, you’ll just have one baguette instead of two.
• Butter: Unsalted and softened to room temperature so it mixes easily with the garlic and parsley. Don’t melt it. You want it spreadable, not liquid, so it stays on the bread instead of soaking straight through. For dairy-free, use your favorite vegan butter.
• Garlic: Fresh garlic, finely minced. The smaller you mince it, the more evenly it distributes in the butter. You can microplane it if you prefer. Pre-minced garlic from a jar doesn’t have the same punch. If that’s all you have, use a little extra. Garlic paste is a better shortcut than the jarred minced kind.
• Garlic Powder: This is the second layer of garlic flavor. Fresh garlic gives you the real thing but doesn’t hit every part of the butter evenly. The powder fills in those gaps.
• Fresh Parsley: 1 tablespoon chopped. If you only have dried, use 1 teaspoon instead.
• Parmesan Cheese: 2 tablespoons grated, sprinkled on top of the compound butter before baking. It gets golden and a little crispy in the oven. For dairy-free, use a vegan parmesan like Follow Your Heart or skip it entirely. The garlic butter is good enough on its own.

Make the Butter Ahead and Keep It in the Fridge

This compound butter keeps in the fridge for up to a week, so I almost always have some ready to go. When I know we’re having pasta for dinner, I just pull it out, let it soften for a few minutes, spread it on the baguettes, and we have garlic bread without any extra work. You can also double the batch and freeze it for even longer.

Expert Tips

• Soften the butter properly. Leave it on the counter for 30-45 minutes before mixing. It should dent easily when you press it but still hold its shape. If it’s too cold the garlic won’t mix in evenly, and if it’s melted it will soak into the bread and you’ll lose the crispy top.
• Spread the butter all the way to the edges. Any spots you miss will get hard and tough in the oven instead of golden and crispy. Use all of it.
• If you prep ahead, freeze instead of refrigerate. You can leave it in your refrigerator for a few hours, but I find that the bread gets dried out if you leave it for much longer. I skip the fridge entirely and put the prepped baguettes straight in the freezer, then bake from frozen when I’m ready.
• Watch it closely after 8 minutes. Garlic bread can go from golden to burnt fast at 425°F. Every oven is different, so start checking early. You want golden and bubbly, not dark brown.

Recipe FAQs

Traditional garlic bread is not gluten-free because it’s made with wheat-based bread. This recipe uses gluten-free baguettes to make it safe for a gluten-free diet. Always check the labels on your ingredients to make sure everything is gluten-free.

To make this recipe dairy-free and vegan, use a vegan baguette, vegan butter, and omit the parmesan cheese or use a dairy-free substitute (I like Follow Your Heart Vegan Parmesan).

Storage Instructions

Room temp: Garlic bread is best eaten right out of the oven, but it holds up fine at room temperature for a few hours if you’re serving it at a gathering.

Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container for 1-2 days. Reheat in the oven at 350°F for a few minutes until the butter is melted and the edges are crispy, or in the air fryer at 350°F for 2-3 minutes. Skip the microwave because it makes the bread chewy instead of crispy.

Freezer: Flash freeze baked slices on a baking sheet for an hour, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Reheat straight from frozen in the oven or air fryer.

Serving Suggestions

This is obviously a pasta night staple, but it’s just as good outside of that. On nights when I’m not doing lasagna or chicken parm, I love tearing this garlic bread apart and dunking it into my Italian sausage and white bean stew . The stew is already loaded with Italian flavors so the garlic bread just fits. It’s also great alongside my gluten-free broccoli cheddar soup or a bowl of gluten-free mac and cheese .