The Best Ciabatta Garlic Bread

Name: The Best Ciabatta Garlic Bread
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 13 min
Ingredients: 1 Loaf ciabatta bread; 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil; 1/4 cup Flat leaf Italian parsley (minced); 3 Cloves of garlic (minced); 1/2 tsp Kosher salt; 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)

Jump to Recipe

Ciabatta garlic bread is one of those delicious treats that is so good on its own and even better dipped into your favorite Italian sauce. This easy homemade garlic ciabatta requires just a few ingredients and only minutes in the oven. Serve this up as a side dish or with your favorite Italian pasta.

Nothing says classic Italian American dinner more than delicious cheesy garlic bread. I love garlic, bread, and cheese so it only makes sense that I love this delicious bread.

Ciabatta garlic bread or any garlic bread is not traditionally Italian and is something that evolved in the U.S. and other countries over the years. That is ok though, because it is delicious and one of those adapted Italian recipes (like our baked polenta with meat sauce) that we love to write about.

We love serving this garlic ciabatta with our whipped lemon ricotta dip, lemon and garlic shrimp, angel hair and tomatoes, Pasta con Salsiccia, pasta al tonno, and our Italian meat sauce. If it tastes amazing, we say keep making it no matter where it originated!

Why ciabatta makes the best garlic bread

Ciabatta is the perfect bread to make garlic bread because it has a sturdy outside and soft inside that really helps hold in all of the flavors you add to it. When cooked, it crisps up nicely and yet still stays soft on the inside. The holes in the ciabatta bread make the best little crevices for the garlic and olive oil to sink into.

This classic style of Italian bread is very light and rustic and great for dipping into sauces, my passata tomato soup (so good!) or served on its own. In other words, perfect for garlic bread.

Ingredients needed

The ingredients to make this garlicky bread are so simple. Here is what you need:

Ciabatta bread. We try to find the best quality ciabatta bread for this garlic ciabatta. A good ciabatta bread will be very light when you lift it up and you should be able to tap the outside and hear that it is crisp.
Extra virgin olive oil.
Fresh garlic. You want to work with fresh garlic for this garlic ciabatta bread recipe. Granulated garlic will just taste bitter.
Italian parsley.
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese. This is for a cheesy garlic ciabatta bread. You can leave this out but we highly recommend it!
Kosher salt.

The key to making this amazing is to make sure you are working with all quality ingredients, especially olive oil, and parmesan, since there are not many and every ingredient's flavor will really come through.

How to make ciabatta garlic bread

To make this you only need to do a couple of things before it goes into the oven. Here is what it looks like:

olive oil for garlic bread — 1. Mix the topping ingredients together.

garlic ciabatta with olive oil brushed over the top — 2. Brush over the top of the ciabatta bread.

The first thing you want to do is mince the garlic and parsley for the garlic bread and add it to a bowl.
Now add the salt and olive oil and mix well.
Slice the ciabatta bread in half lengthwise with a serrated knife and brush the mixture over each half.

Now you could stop here before placing this garlic ciabatta in the oven but we really love cheesy garlic ciabatta bread so that is the next step:)

The last step in making this garlic ciabatta bread is to sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan over the top. This makes the garlic bread so delicious!

This garlic bread is best made right before you want to serve it. You can easily prepare the ingredients for the garlic bread ahead of time and store it until you are ready to assemble it.

Freezing And Storing

Once you make the garlic bread, it will store for about 24 hours wrapped in some aluminum foil on the counter. It will not stay crisp this way so reheating it in a preheated 350-degree oven (wrapped in the foil) for about 10 minutes will revive it and crisp it back up.

This Italian garlic bread freezes really well. All you need to do is assemble it without cooking and freeze it in a freezer bag. It stores for up to 2 months.

To reheat this garlic bread, just wrap it in some aluminum foil and place it in a preheated 350-degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until heated all the way through.

Faqs

What is ciabatta bread good for?

In addition to garlic bread, ciabatta bread makes a great sandwich bread or is great toasted up on its own and served as a side dish to Italian meals.

What do you eat with ciabatta?

Ciabatta bread is perfect served as a side to pasta, or for dipping into pasta sauce. It is also delicious with olive oil alongside Italian grilled meats and vegetables.

Variations

This recipe is great on its own but we sometimes like to switch things up a bit as well. Here are some ideas:

Skip the cheese: This garlic bread is just as delicious without the cheese.
Add fresh herbs: A sprinkling of chives, dried oregano, Italian parsley, or fresh basil that is finely minced is great to sprinkle on after baking.
Add a little butter: Sometimes we like melting a little butter and adding that to the olive oil to make a richer topping for the garlic bread.

I always say Italian cooking is all about using what you have on hand. Do not feel compelled to stick to the exact recipe. Use what you have and what is fresh and you will have a delicious dish.

What to serve with this

We love serving this with our crispy chicken Parmesan, pizza gnocchi, and classic minestrone soup. If you are looking for more ideas of what to serve with this garlic ciabatta bread recipe, here are some more of our favorites: