Healthier Ciabatta Garlic Bread

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 a cheesy ciabatta garlic bread.

I do love it but I have to now think about calories now that I am getting older so I now make my garlic bread with olive oil and Parmesan instead of loads of butter and heavier cheeses. 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 and it still tastes amazing and goes so well with Italian meat sauce. If you love an indulgent garlic bread but want something a little lighter (like I do), you will love this recipe!

What You Will Need

(full recipe quantities and list below)

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 for an even lighter garlic bread 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:

• Mix the topping ingredients together: 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.
• Brush over the top of the ciabatta bread: 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:)

• Top With Parmesan: 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.

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 so if you need to make it lighter then just omit it.
• 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.

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.