Vegan Garlic Bread

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The best garlic bread you’ve ever tasted, and it just happens to be dairy-free! This vegan garlic bread is made with roasted garlic, olive oil, and fresh basil slathered on Italian bread and toasted to crispy perfection.

I never really thought I needed to create and share vegan garlic bread recipe.

I’ve been making vegan garlic bread since I was a kid. I had my own recipe, even back then: slather some bread with vegan butter (I called it margarine back then), sprinkle with garlic salt, and broil.

Sound like your recipe? It probably sounds like everyone’s recipe. And hey, it’s not bad. It’s vegan by default, assuming the margarine you used was dairy-free.

But then one day it hit me: I should make some garlic bread with roasted garlic. Best. Idea. Ever.

Roasted garlic is super soft, so it’s easy to blend up with some herbs and olive oil to create a spreadable emulsion that takes the place of butter in this recipe. Add some raw garlic as well, and you’ve got garlic bread with an amazing flavor profile with just the right amount of bite to compliment the mellow, slightly sweet flavor of roasted garlic.

This stuff is perfect with everything from pasta dishes to tomato soup! It’s delicious as a side dish, or served alongside some marara sauce as an appetizer.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Garlic. We’re using two whole garlic bulbs, which sound like a lot, but hear me out! Roasted garlic is nowhere near as intense as raw garlic. The flavor is mild and mellow. You could eat an entire bulb of the stuff yourself without adverse effects. Two bulbs will give us just the right amount of garlicky flavor.
• Olive oil. This is what I recommend for the best flavor, although other oils like corn or vegetable oil will work, as will melted vegan butters, like Earth Balance.
• Fresh basil. While basil isn’t essential, it will take the flavor of your vegan garlic bread to the next level. Alternatively, try other fresh Italian herbs like parsley, oregano, or thyme.
• Salt.
• Red pepper flakes. These will add a bit of heat. Skip them if that’s not your thing.
• Italian bread. Italian bread is traditional, but not essential. If you want to switch things up you can try another type of loaf, such as a French baguette or ciabatta.

How It’s Made

• Roast all but one clove of your garlic. To do this, you’ll cut the top off of each bulb, drizzle it with olive oil, and loosely wrap it in aluminum foil (or place it in a garlic roaster), then pop it into the oven until the cloves are soft and golden brown.
• I have an entire post dedicated to the process of how to roast garlic, so read through it if this technique is new to you.

Tip: Roasted garlic keeps in the fridge for about 5 days and is freezer friendly. Be sure to store it in an airtight container. I like to keep some on hand at all times for recipes like this one and my roasted garlic hummus.

• Once the roasted garlic has had a chance to cool, squeeze the bulb to extract the super soft roasted garlic cloves.
• Add the roasted garlic to your food processor, along with that one reserved raw garlic clove, some salt and olive oil.

Tip: Since you’ll be blending up a small amount of ingredients, a mini food processor works great here. I used this little Ninja. If you don’t have one you can just mash the roasted garlic with a fork, mince the raw garlic, and mix everything by hand.

• Blend everything up.
• Add some basil and blend again.

• Slice your loves in half, lengthwise, then slather the cut sides with the roasted garlic mixture.

• Bake your vegan garlic bread, and then (optionally) broil it for a minute or two for some extra browning if you like.
• Slice and enjoy. Try not to eat the whole loaf at once.

Variation

For cheesy vegan garlic bread, sprinkle your loaves with some shredded vegan cheese, such as vegan mozzarella or Parmesan cheese about halfway through baking.

Make Ahead Option

Each step of this recipe up to baking can be done in advance. After slathering the garlic paste on your bread, store the loaf halves in an airtight bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Bake your garlic bread according to the recipe, adding about 5 minutes if the loaves have been in the fridge, or about 15 minutes if they’ve been in the freezer.

Leftovers & Storage

Leftover vegan garlic bread will keep in an airtight container or bag in the fridge for about 3 days, or in the freezer for 3 months. It won’t stay crispy, but the flavor will still be great.

Dishes to Serve with Vegan Garlic Bread