Air Fryer Garlic Bread – 4 Ways!

Can you air fry garlic bread? Yes! With my air fryer garlic bread recipe, you’ll be enjoying buttery, garlicky bread with crisp edges in no time. Learn how to air fry garlic bread with fresh garlic or garlic powder. I’ll also cover my favorite way to make air fryer cheesy garlic bread using grated Parmesan cheese. It’s comfort food at its finest!

This garlic bread air fryer recipe is completely amazing and delicious. Now you can enjoy tasty garlic bread whenever you want it without heating the house with the oven.

If your oven is already occupied with cooking an entrée, you can still have garlic bread on the side. I think it’s worth the small trouble to make this if you want your meal to be extra special.

One of the things I love about this garlic bread in air fryer recipe is how customizable it is. I’m going to show you four different ways we make garlic bread:

• Garlic bread with fresh garlic
• Garlic bread with garlic powder
• Parmesan cheese garlic bread with fresh garlic
• Parmesan cheese garlic bread with garlic powder

Our favorite version is the garlic bread made with Parmesan cheese and fresh garlic. The garlic roasts and bit as it cooks in the air fryer and provides a deeper garlic flavor than using garlic granules. However, we thought all four of these were pretty great.

Just keep in mind that we love our garlic around here, so I went heavy on the garlic. You might not want to take this one to work! (Or perhaps you should bring it to work if your career entails repelling vampires. Haha)

Jump to:

• What is the best bread for air fryer garlic bread?
• Benefits
• Ingredients
• Equipment
• How to Make Air Fryer Garlic Bread
• Cook Time and Temp
• What goes great with garlic bread?
• What can you do with garlic bread leftovers?
• Expert Tips from a Dietitian
• FAQs
• Other Easy Air Fryer Recipes You’ll Love
• The Disclaimer…
• 📖 Recipe

What is the best bread for air fryer garlic bread?

I prefer using thin French baguettes or Italian bread (such as ciabatta) for my air fryer garlic bread. Sourdough breads are delicious as garlic bread if you enjoy that tangy flavor. Whatever you do, make sure to get fresh bread from the bakery section for garlic bread recipes. Don’t use the thin (and too-soft!) sliced bread from the bread aisle in grocery stores.

Benefits

Why make garlic bread in the air fryer from scratch? It’s so much easier to get the store-bought frozen garlic bread, right?

Nutritionally, making homemade garlic bread is definitely the way to go. Remember my article on ultra-processed foods? Almost all store-bought garlic breads fall into this category.

For example, here’s the ingredients list for a popular store-bought garlic bread:

• Refined flour
• Soybean oil (highly processed added oil)
• High fructose corn syrup (added sugar)
• Yeast
• Salt
• Monoglycerides
• Malted barley flour
• Soy lecithin
• “Spread” made with vegetable oils, butter, salt, garlic, monoglycerides, soy lecithin, natural flavors, milk, turmeric, and annatto

With homemade garlic bread, you can skip the highly processed vegetable oils, added sugar, and unwanted food additives. You could also make a whole wheat garlic bread, or garlic bread made with other whole grains.

I’ll give more details on the ingredients for this recipe in the next section. Here are some quick benefits of DIY garlic bread compared to store-bought:

• No margarine and other ultra-processed foods: We’re using delicious and creamy real butter in this recipe. There’s no need for margarine and “spreads” made with ultra-processed vegetable oils here.
• You can make it as garlicky as you want it: We LOVE garlic, but feel free to cut back if you aren’t as enamored as we are.
• You can add cheese (or not): I think a little sprinkle of parm is just what this garlic toast air fryer recipe needed. If you don’t like cheese, you can skip it and still get an awesome side dish or appetizer.
• Delicious comfort food: Just because we’re making something “healthier,” doesn’t mean we’ve sacrificed flavor. This garlic bread is essentially the food equivalent of a warm hug. So comforting!

Ingredients

Here’s all you need to make this simple garlic bread recipe in the air fryer:

• French or Italian bread (from the store’s bakery section)
• Softened salted butter
• Dried parsley
• Fresh minced garlic or garlic powder (or try both!)
• Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

One catch here is that it is tough to find breads that are minimally processed. If you’d like to choose a less processed bread for garlic bread, look for an ingredients list of flour, sourdough starter, water, and salt only.

Unfortunately, the only store-bought options I’ve found for breads like this contain refined flour. The bread I used for this recipe contains a mix of whole wheat, rye, and white (refined) flour.

If you want a bread that's truly minimally processed with no refined flours, try my sourdough bread starter and bread recipe. It takes over a week to get a loaf of bread from scratch using this method. In other words, it’s not the way to go if you want a quick garlic bread recipe. Haha

Another downside is that using all whole grains in bread has a negative impact on gluten development. You’ll find that your bread is springier and less dense with a little refined flour thrown into the mix.

I’m pretty sure that’s why it’s nearly impossible to find a minimally processed whole grain sourdough bread in stores. If you aren’t adding dough conditioners and other additives to your 100% whole grain bread, it won’t be soft inside. As a result, your garlic bread probably won’t turn out like it does with refined grain breads.

Equipment

I develop all of my air fryer recipes in a 10-Quart Kalorik Digital Air Fryer Oven. It has two baking trays that fit all of the garlic bread perfectly. If you have a Philips air fryer, Ninja Foodi, Emeril airfryer, Breville, or another air fryer, you may need to adjust the cooking times.

Additionally, smaller air fryers may not be able to cook all of the garlic bread at once. In this case, you will need to cook the bread in multiple batches in the air fryer basket.

How to Make Air Fryer Garlic Bread

I’d say it’s about time to make some delicious garlic bread, wouldn’t you? First up, let your butter soften up a bit at room temperature. This will make it easier to stir in the parsley and garlic.

Next, you need to cut your bread in half lengthwise and then into single serving-sized pieces. I started with a 12-ounce sourdough French baguette that was about 2½ inches wide. I cut each bread half into thirds, making six servings total.

Stir the parsley and the garlic into the butter until it is thoroughly combined. Spread this butter mixture evenly over the cut tops of the bread pieces.

Place the buttered bread in a single layer on your air fryer trays. I needed to use both of the baking trays that came with my air fryer to fit all of the bread. Put the trays in your air fryer; it’s time to heat things up!

Cook Time and Temp

How long do you cook garlic bread in the air fryer? Air fry garlic bread without cheese for a total of 7 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Air fry the bread for 5 minutes. Then switch the position of the trays in the oven and air fry for an additional 2 minutes.

If you want cheesy garlic bread, start by air frying the bread for 5 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top of the breads and air fry for 3 more minutes at 400F.

The breads with the cheese should spend their last 3 minutes in the air fryer on the top rack only. Cook the cheesy bread in two batches if needed.

It’s really tempting to try to eat the bread right after it comes out of the air fryer oven. Trust me, I had a tough time resisting!

However, it’s very hot, so I recommend waiting a few minutes before enjoying. You don’t want to accidentally burn yourself on the too-hot bread!

What goes great with garlic bread?

Garlic bread is wonderful with a variety of soups, stews, and casseroles. That said, my favorite way to use garlic bread is as a side to Italian dishes.

What’s a more classic pairing than spaghetti and garlic bread? Hello, my delicious carby friends. Haha

I have a lot of Italian inspired recipes on this site that would make great entrees to go with garlic bread. Many of these are low carb options, which is perfect, since they provide a nice balance of macronutrients to the meal. Garlic bread provides a lot of carbs and fat; here are some Italian recipes that bring on the protein:

• Air Fryer Eggplant Parm
• Frozen Meatballs in Air Fryer with Air Fryer Spaghetti Squash (and jarred marinara sauce)
• Air Fryer Sausage and Peppers
• Lasagne con Zucchine (Lasagna with Zucchini)
• Tempeh Bolognese
• Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini Noodles and Sauce

What can you do with garlic bread leftovers?

There are actually many things that you can do with garlic bread leftovers! You can dry them and make croutons or bread crumbs. Repurpose your leftover bread to make panzanella, or (if it’s not too stale) you could use it to make garlic bread pizza.

Expert Tips from a Dietitian

This is a level 3 recipe (weight maintenance and active lifestyles). This delectable appetizer (or side dish) provides 269 calories for a relatively small serving. The calories are largely coming from fat and carbohydrate, with minimal protein and fiber.

In short, this one is lacking in the elements that help foods feel filling (i.e., protein, fiber, water). Let me tell you, I could very easily eat 3 servings or more of this garlic bread alongside my entrée! I doubt I’m alone in this.

In general, most foods made with flour pack a lot of calories into a small volume. This includes things like this garlic bread, most cold breakfast cereals, pastries, cookies, quick breads, and muffins. These foods tend to package a lot of added fat and/or added sugar with the flour, and they provide little protein.

Have you ever been shocked at how many servings a loaf of bread, box of cereal, or box of cookies lists? Many of us can easily overeat these foods. I don’t make them a regular part of my diet, as I’d usually rather have more satisfying (but still delicious!) foods.

This garlic bread was a special addition to our meal when I made it and quelled a craving I had. However, it is definitely not something I’d partake in daily (or even weekly). Unless your energy needs are very high, I wouldn’t consider this a great choice for an everyday food.

Additionally, this garlic bread is not a good option for those looking to lower the amount of saturated fat in their diets. I’ve seen recipes for garlic bread using ultra-processed, low-calorie “butter” sprays but the taste isn’t quite the same. (That said, they can save you about 100 calories for each tablespoon of butter they replace, which can really add up!)

FAQs

Other Easy Air Fryer Recipes You’ll Love

If you have an air fryer, you know it can make life easier! Take full advantage of this nifty kitchen gadget with these other easy recipes for the air fryer:

• Air Fryer Frozen Pizza
• Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Nuggets
• How to Pop Popcorn in Air Fryer
• Air Fryer Frozen Hash Browns

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The Disclaimer…

All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.

The nutrition information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be wildly inaccurate, so please don't sweat the numbers too much.

For more information on how the three recipe levels may help with a weight management goal, refer to my overnight oats with yogurt post. Let's get cooking!

📖 Recipe