Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread makes a great appetizer for Super Bowl parties, family get-togethers, and movie nights. Here's how to make this easy, cheesy bread.
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One of my family's favorite bread indulgences is garlic bread, whether as a loaf, breadsticks, or garlic knots. Buttery, garlicky bread: that's where it's at.
So naturally, Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread with plenty of garlic and gooey, melty Italian cheeses is a big hit in this house.
Making this garlic cheese bread recipe can even be dangerous: the last time I mentioned it my daughter cornered me in the kitchen and declared that she would "literally kill me" if I didn't make this pull apart bread for her. So watch your back when you make this recipe!
What is pull-apart bread?
Instead of shaping sweet or savory bread dough into a sliceable loaf, pull apart bread recipes are made by cutting and rolling the dough into lots of little balls. They're dipped in butter and piled into a Bundt pan with add-ins like the garlic and cheese in this recipe (or sugar, caramel, etc. for sweet pull apart breads.)
Once baked, those little pockets of bread are easy to tear off and devour. It's a fantastic bread for parties to set out as an appetizer.
Why is pull apart bread sometimes called monkey bread?
Pull-apart breads also go by several other names, like bubble bread, jumble bread, and most fun of all—monkey bread. The origin of that name is a little hazy. According to Tori Avey, the resemblance of the piled-up dough balls to the old barrel of monkeys toy might be the source.
So this recipe is essentially cheesy garlic monkey bread!
Avey also shares that pull apart breads may have originated from a traditional Hungarian bread called arany galuska, also made with butter, dough balls, sugar, and cinnamon.
Why you'll love this recipe
Made of little balls of bread dough drenched in garlic butter and layered with cheeses, this pull apart bread is so fun to put out for friends and family: think game nights, Super Bowl parties, movie nights, or as a party appetizer.
After baking this loaf is like dozens of little garlic knots all stick together with melted cheese! Set it out and let everyone pluck off pieces to devour.
Bake your pull apart bread in a Bundt pan or a tube pan for this recipe—that hole in the center of the pan helps the bread bake through completely. (No one wants to find any unbaked bread!)
The recipe can be made with homemade bread dough or with refrigerated or frozen store-bought dough. That means you have several options depending on how comfortable you are making bread dough and how much time you have.
Another favorite, cheesy recipe is this Crack Mac And Cheese!
🔪 How to make Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients:
- Bread Dough: You can use bread dough made by hand, in a bread machine, or store-bought refrigerated or frozen bread dough.
- Butter: Use good-quality butter for the best-tasting bread
- Garlic: Minced garlic cloves add so much flavor
- Dried Parsley: For flavor and color in the bread
- Mozzarella Cheese: Use shredded or diced, fresh cheese
- Parmesan Cheese: Not the canned stuff: use freshly grated Parmesan
Step 1: Make the garlic butter
Sauté minced garlic in butter for a minute or two, then stir in dried parsley.
Step 2: Roll out and cut the dough
Roll half of the bread dough into a rope, and snip it into small pieces.
Step 3: Add garlic butter and cheese
Dunk the dough balls in the garlic butter, then mix in the two cheeses.
Step 4: Let the bread rise
Spoon the dough and cheese into a Bundt pan. Cover the pan and let the bread rise.
Step 5: Bake
Bake the bread for about 30 minutes, until it's browned and cooked all the way through.
Step 6: Flip the bread onto a platter
Carefully invert the hot bread onto a platter or serving dish. Enjoy!
Tips:
- Make white bread dough in a bread machine set to the dough cycle, with a recipe like this one from King Arthur Baking Company.
- You can also make dough by hand: allow it to have the first rise, then punch it down and proceed with the recipe.
- Find pre-made dough at the store in bags, in a refrigerated case. Or, use frozen bread dough after thawing it completely in the fridge overnight.
Find the recipe for this homemade Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread below. Here are a few other apps you should try, too!
💬 What do you think of this savory bread? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread
Ingredients
- 24 ounces white bread dough, (about 1½ pounds)
- ¾ cup butter
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley (or ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, minced)
- Nonstick spray or butter (to coat the pan)
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Make the garlic butter:
- In a medium sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat, until it begins to bubble.
- Add in the minced garlic and cook it over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook just until the garlic is fragrant and turning translucent, about 2 minutes. Do not allow the garlic to brown.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the dried parsley and set the pan aside to let the butter mixture cool.
Prepare the bread dough:
- Divide the bread dough in half. Roll out one portion of dough into a long rope. Cut or tear the rope into 1-inch portions, rolling each one into a ball.
Coat the dough balls:
- Grease the inside of a Bundt pan or tube pan (a pan with a hole in the center) with butter or nonstick spray.
- Pour the butter-garlic-parsley mixture into a large bowl. Add in the dough balls one at a time and make sure they get coated with butter on all sides.
- Next, add in the fresh mozzarella pieces and shredded Parmesan cheese.
- Use a large spoon or your hands to gently mix everything together, so that the cheeses are distributed throughout the dough balls and butter mixture.
- Spoon all of the dough balls, cheeses, and butter mixture into the prepared Bundt pan. Move dough pieces around as needed so that there's an even layer in the pan.
Let the dough rise:
- Place a piece of plastic wrap loosely over the top of the pan and place it in a warm place to rise for 30-45 minutes so that the dough can rise.
Bake:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Remove the plastic from the top of the pan and place it the oven to bake for 30 minutes. The top of the bread should be lightly browned, and the internal temperature of the bread around 190°F.
Remove it from the pan:
- Have ready a platter that has enough room to hold the bread and a lip to hold in any melted butter.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Run a knife or plastic frosting spreader between the bread and pan to loosen it, including around the center column.
- Place the platter upside down over the top of the bread pan. Use oven mitts: with a firm grip carefully flip over the bread pan and platter so that the bread can fall out onto the platter.
- Serve the pull-apart bread immediately while warm.
- Leftovers can be wrapped in plastic and store at room temperature for 1-2 days.
Notes
Tips:
- Make white bread dough in a bread machine set to the dough cycle, with a recipe like this one from King Arthur Baking Company.
- You can also make dough by hand: allow it to have the first rise, then punch it down and proceed with the recipe.
- Find bagged, pre-made dough at the store in a refrigerated case. Or, use frozen bread dough after thawing it completely in the fridge overnight.
Justin Mock
Nan - sounds amazing! Placing an order now, please, for next time we are anywhere close by, thanks!!
Nancy Mock
Anytime for you, Justin!