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Here’s the very best garlic toast you’ll find! Ultra garlicky, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside: and it takes only 10 minutes to make.
Looking for a quick snack or a side dish for pasta? Here’s what we hope is the very best garlic toast you’ll find! The other day Alex and I were looking for an easier version of our garlic bread and came up with this method. Think of it as a short-cut garlic bread!
It pairs fresh garlic, dried garlic and olive oil for a huge burst of garlicky flavor on a crunchy toasted baguette. It’s full of flavor without the need for cheese: great for if you eat plant-based or don’t it on hand in your fridge. Here’s how to make it!
The bread to use
This garlic toast recipe is more of an idea than a strict recipe. You can use this idea and then run with it! For the bread, we used a French-style baguette, but you could use any type of artisan loaf or bread you have on hand. (Please just not Wonder Bread!)
The quality of your garlic toast will depend on the type of bread you use. So remember: the better the bread, the better the toast.
How to make garlic toast (basic steps)
Here are the basic steps for how to make garlic toast. Since it’s so simple, we’d recommend committing these steps to memory! Once you do it once, you can approximate on the quantities. Or, bookmark this recipe to jog your memory for the quantities and oven temp. Here’s what to do:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. This is also the toasting temperature we use for crostini, as well as nuts like pine nuts, walnuts, pecans, etc.
- Combine olive oil, minced garlic, and salt. Add it to a medium bowl.
- Brush the bread with the mixture. Use a brush to liberally brush both sides of the bread. You’ll need to pick up some of the minced garlic with the brush, as it tends to sink to the bottom.
- Add a pinch of garlic powder. The secret to the nuance of the flavor in this recipe is using both fresh and dried garlic.
- Bake 5 minutes. Bake until the crust is crispy but the interior is still soft. If you’d like them fully crispy like crackers, you can bake 10 minutes.
Scale the garlic oil as necessary
The size of the bread you use dictates how much of the garlic oil mixture you’ll need. The mixture we used was perfect for 12 small slices of a French baguette. If you need to add another splash of olive oil into the bowl for your bread, you can use it to stretch the garlic.
Or, you can scale up the quantity to 1.5 or 2 times depending on how large your bread slices are. It’s not an exact science, so feel free to adjust accordingly so that this recipe fits the bread you’d like to use.
Love garlic? Try more of our garlic recipes, like Garlic Butter, Garlic Butter Sauce Pasta or Roasted Garlic.
Parsley is optional
If you’re at home trying to whip up garlic toast without going to the store, don’t even think about garnishing with parsley. But we love adding it for the green color and because it has that traditional garlic bread vibe. Make sure to look for Italian flat leaf parsley at the store. You can also substitute dried parsley if that’s all you have.
Ways to serve garlic toast
This garlic toast pairs with so many different recipes! When we want a large loaf of garlic bread to serve for guests, we use this garlic bread recipe. But when we want a quicker fix, we make this toast instead. It’s also nice that it’s a vegan garlic bread, so it works with vegan dinner recipes too. Aside from eating it as a late night snack, here are some ideas for serving as a side dish or healthy appetizer:
- Lasagna: Try it alongside vegan lasagna or vegetarian lasagna.
- Creamy soups: Pair it with broccoli potato soup or tomato basil soup.
- Pasta: It’s great with Italian recipes like pasta primavera, roasted eggplant pasta, fettucine alfredo, white sauce pasta, and vodka sauce pasta.
- Risotto. Add it alongside asparagus risotto, butternut squash Risotto or mushroom risotto.
- Hummus. Dip it into hummus as an appetizer: it’s next level!
Dietary notes
This garlic toast recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.
Best Garlic Toast (Quick & Easy!)
Here’s the very best garlic toast you’ll find! Ultra garlicky, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside: and it takes only 10 minutes to make.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 toasts 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 12 small round slices of a large baguette or Italian bread (homemade or store bought)*
- 2 cloves garlic (2 teaspoons finely minced)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Garlic powder, for sprinkling
- Finely chopped Italian parsley, for the garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Thinly slice the bread.
- Mince the garlic. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic with the olive oil, dried oregano, and salt. Use a brush to brush the mixture on both sides of each slice of bread and place them onto a baking sheet. Try to pick up some of the minced garlic with the brush, as it tends to sink to the bottom. (If the oil runs out, depending on your size of bread, just add a splash more to the bowl with the garlic.)
- Add a pinch of garlic powder to the top of each toast.
- Bake for 5 minutes until the crust is crisp but the inside is still soft. If desired, sprinkle with finely chopped Italian parsley. Enjoy immediately.
Notes
*Our bread slices were about 4″ by 3″. It’s not a precise method, so you can use any size of bread. If you use larger slices of bread, you may need to add a splash more oil. Or just make up a 1.5 or 2 times batch of the garlic and olive oil mixture when using more bread than specified.
I was skeptical. No butter? Baked toast?? I really enjoyed this toast, though, and will definitely make it again! I’ll try leaving the slices in the oven a minute or two longer next time to see I can get the crusts to toast brown like in the photos. If not, I’ll try turning on the broiler when I put the slices in and see if that’ll give the Maillard a bit of a shove. Great recipe!
I made these tonight to accompany a big delicious pot of broccoli cheddar soup! These came out great and this will be my go-to for quick homemade garlic toasts. Thankyou!
Recently prepared this great recipe with ‘Sweet Hawaiian Sub Rolls’ (150 calories each). The roll provided a sweet/buttery flavor and the EVOO/spices added the savory notes. Yum.
Do you use a Baking sheet or put on oven rack
The recipe indicates to place on a baking sheet in Step 3! Thank you and hope you enjoy!
What level in the oven do you use? I used the center and I couldn’t get the bread toasted. Thanks.
I made this recipe with thick bread. Oiled both sides. Did them on a cookie sheet on my BBQ. Best garlic toast ever
Love this! I am in Eastern Europe, where I can not find my favorite American Mama Bella’s frozen garlic bread. This recipe is equal to or if not, better. My question is, if I make extra of the garlic oil, can it be stored in the fridge for making another batch of garlic bread a few days later? If so, how long would you recommend it to be able to stay in the fridge? Thanks.
It should keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks. You’ll have to let it come to room temp on the counter before using.
So glad you enjoyed!