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Healthy garlic bread recipe using nourishing fats and a traditionally made loaf for the ultimate taste and digestive experience.
I view bread thusly: it is the ideal vehicle for getting loads of healthy fats into your children quickly, easily, and with no fuss!
We don’t eat a lot of bread in our home, about two loaves per week for a family of five. But, when bread is served, it is loaded with healthy fats to the point where the calories in the bread are far exceeded by the healthy fats it is topped with!
One particular fave in my home is garlic bread with dinner. I’ve found that garlic bread goes with just about any dish even those you might scratch your head about like fish. We enjoy it best as a side with bone broth soup.
Healthy Garlic Bread
When garlic bread is served with dinner, one slice per person is usually plenty as it is so filling the way I make it with about 2-3 Tbl of brain and bodybuilding traditional fats baked right in.
As a bonus, it is unlikely anyone will want dessert after eating this garlic bread due to the satiating and blood sugar steadying effect of consuming adequate amounts of healthy fats with a meal.
When fresh garlic cloves are used, this enhances the nutritional value of this side dish even further as garlic packs a powerful antioxidant punch and boosts the immune system too. To maximize these benefits, mince the garlic and let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature before baking.
My favorite bread to use as the base is a true sourdough from a small family bakery that ships fresh to your door (check them out online here). It is simply divine and every member of our family loves it. Sprouted bread is also an excellent choice.
Some children have texture issues with butter when they are young, so if this is the case in your home, solve the problem by incorporating garlic bread into your family dinners as it fits the menu.
If garlic makes the flavor too strong, you can omit it as this recipe is delicious even without the garlic topping. And, if you have any bread leftover, use it to make this recipe for bread soup (panata).
Want to learn more about healthy fats? My book Get Your Fats Straight is a straightforward and simple explanation of all the fats — which ones to eat and why and which ones to avoid and why — along with how to implement them in the diet in a cost-effective and practical manner.
Traditional Garlic Bread Recipe
This ultimate garlic bread recipe goes with just about any dish and is perfect as the side for a main meal, with soup as as a salad topper. Leftovers are easily warmed in a toaster oven for easy snacking.
Ingredients
- 8 slices bread sourdough or sprouted
- 1/2 cup butter preferably grassfed
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic minced, preferably organic
Instructions
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Mince the garlic and let sit on a plate for 15 minutes. This maximizes the creation of allicin, a nutritious sulfur compound.
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Melt the butter on low heat on the stove in a pan.
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After the butter is melted, add the olive oil and mix well. Using a basting brush, slather on the oil mixture generously onto the slices of bread until the entire cup of fat is used.
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Spread one clove’s worth of minced garlic onto the each slice.
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Bake at 350 F/ 177 C until crispy but not browned – about 15 minutes.
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Serve immediately as a side dish or break into pieces to use as healthy croutons for salads. Refrigerate leftovers and rewarm in a toaster oven as needed.
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Refrigerate leftovers and rewarm in a toaster oven as needed.
Recipe Notes
Substitute ghee for the butter if there is a dairy allergy in the home.
(About) How thick are the slices of bread?
We add dried dill, sprinkled on the bread, after the butter, then top with grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake in 350 oven for 10 minutes on a cookie sheet.
Soooo great at parties. We take the bread, already on the cookie sheets, then get the hostess to turn on the oven…the smell of baking garlic, dill, Parmesan cheese bread slices is always a hit.
When I’m invited, I’m grateful if there is a garlic-free alternative. I cannot take garlic, it seems to stop my digestion for the rest of the night and causes problems for my stomach and liver. I cannot sleep until early morning. Dear hosts, please remember to offer your guests a way to have a garlic-free meal as well.
This sounds delicious! In our family we have food allergies. 2 can’t have gluten, 2 can’t have dairy. I could make substitutions. I’ll have to use all olive oil. I haven’t ever been able to have dairy. I’ve even tried raw milk. It’s not the lactose or fat. Maybe the protein. I could try ghee. What are your thoughts on that? Thanks for all of your great knowledge. I love reading your posts. Thank you for what you do!
Hi,
What is Sammi’s?
But if you look at most Gluten free breads in the market there full of , GMO.
Corn Starch, Potato Starch etc.
Health food stores have a better alternative for gluten free breads, then the markets..
There is Coconut and Almond breads..
Does anyone have a recipe for a Sour Dough bread that is make, and fermented with a natural yeast, not the store bought yeast, And is fermented for a day or more?
Btw is that the Garlic oil from Trader Joe’s your showing?
Take Care,
Annie
Sami’s is a local bakery in Tampa. No GMOs in this sourdough.
Annie,
Look around for it, maybe see if they have a product finder on their website. I live in Michigan and we can buy Sammi’s bread at our local health store, it ships in UPS on Fridays for us. Last week it didn’t come in and it was missed.
Esther
Cultures for Health have a wild yeast starter for making your own bread without added yeast. It is a dense but delicious bread. It takes a half our of kneeding to prpare the bread so I get plenty of exercise in the process.The web cite is culturesforhealth.com
I make my garlic bread in the traditional Italian style and it turns out a little differently and in my opinion, better than what we Americans might be used to. We use our own fermented bread cooked in a Dutch oven, sliced and toasted in the broiler until just the top is nice and dark(inside is still soft and spongy). Then we add our butter and/or olive oil and rub a clove of garlic all over the crusty toasted bread along with sea salt. You can rub a little or a lot on the bread and you can get a lot on there if you wish because the bread is nice and hard on the top from being toasted. In this way the minced garlic won’t fall off the top. Our absolute favorite is to top it all off with shaved parmesan and a pile of arugula. Try it and let me know what you think! It’s divine!
LOL I saw Rachael Ray do that one time and have done garlic toast that way ever since. It’s really good.
Hi Sarah,
Just curious why you add the olive oil if you are using butter.
Thank you!
The taste is more complex and enjoyable when you mix the two in my experience. Try it and see if you agree.
Are you eating Sammi’s?
Sammi’s rocks! 🙂 Buy directly at the bakery and you will save as opposed to buying at the healthfood store.
Hi Bianca – yes, millet is goitrogenic as are peanuts, strawberries, cabbage, broccoli and many other foods. The key is not to eat in excess. My warnings about millet in the past were with regard to folks going gluten free who switched from wheat bread to millet bread and ate a lot of it all the time. The bread I am buying is millet/rice and we don’t eat much so I don’t consider it a problem anymore than the fact that we also consume peanut butter and strawberries in moderation. We also consume miso (fermented soybeans) in moderation and soy is one of the most goitrogenic food of all.
How much millet bread is too much? If you have thyroid issues, then probably not much if any. If your thyroid is strong and you are consuming iodine rich foods such as grassfed butter and seafood, then eat the amount that you feel is appropriate for your situation or consult with your practitioner to determine based on your medical history.
Sarah, I recall one of your articles commenting on Millet as a goitrogen.
How much millet/rice bread is too much ? and yes, it’s nice for gluten free/celiac
people to have a vehicle for using EVOO and butter.
Thank you