Emma discovered these garlic knots recipe last month when we were making pizza from scratch and had leftover dough. Instead of throwing it away, I rolled it into these twisted knots and tossed them with garlic butter. He ate four before I could even get them to the table, then asked if we could make more right away. Now every time we make pizza, he starts asking about "those twisty bread things" before I even get the flour out. After making them at least a dozen times since that first accident, I've figured out exactly how to get them crispy outside and soft inside without turning them into hockey pucks.
Why You'll Love This Garlic Knots Recipe
Emma and I have made this garlic knots recipe probably twenty times since that first happy accident, and here's what we've figured out about why it beats anything you can buy. First off, you can make these with stuff you probably already have sitting around your kitchen - flour, yeast, garlic, butter, and some basic seasonings. No weird ingredients that you'll use once and then forget about in the back of your pantry. Second, they're ready in about an hour from start to finish, which means you can decide at 5 PM that you want fresh bread with dinner and actually pull it off.
The good part is watching people's faces when they bite into one of these garlic knots. Emma's teacher tried them at our school bake sale and asked three times if I'd share the recipe. His soccer coach stopped by to pick him up one evening when I was pulling a batch out of the oven, and he ended up staying for twenty minutes just eating garlic knots and talking about how his grandmother used to make something similar.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Garlic Knots Recipe
- Ingredients for Garlic Knots Recipe
- How To Make Garlic Knots Recipe Step By Step
- Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- Garlic Knots Recipe Variations
- Equipment For Garlic Knots Recipe
- Smart Swaps for Different Needs
- What to Serve With Garlic Knots Recipe
- Top Tip
- The Secret Recipe My Cousin Will Never Share
- FAQ
- Fresh Bread Made Simple!
- Related
- Pairing
- Garlic Knots Recipe
Ingredients for Garlic Knots Recipe
The Dough:
- All-purpose flour
- Active dry yeast
- Warm water
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Sugar
The Garlic Butter:
- Unsalted butter
- Fresh garlic cloves
- Dried parsley
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt
- Black pepper
Optional Stuff:
- Extra Parmesan for sprinkling
- Italian seasoning
- Red pepper flakes
- Fresh basil
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Garlic Knots Recipe Step By Step
Make The Dough:
- Mix warm water with yeast and sugar in a big bowl
- Let it sit for 5 minutes until it gets bubbly
- Add flour, olive oil, and salt
- Mix until it comes together into a messy ball
- Knead for about 8 minutes until smooth
- Put in oiled bowl and cover with towel
- Let rise for 45 minutes until doubled
Shape The Knots:
- Punch down the dough
- Divide into 12 pieces
- Roll each piece into a rope about 8 inches long
- Tie each rope into a loose knot
- Place on greased baking sheet
- Cover and let rise 20 more minutes
Make Garlic Butter:
- Melt butter in small pan
- Add crushed garlic and cook 1 minute
- Stir in parsley, salt, and pepper
- Take off heat
Bake Them:
- Sprinkle with Parmesan
- Heat oven to 375°F
- Brush knots with half the garlic butter
- Bake 15-18 minutes until golden
- Brush with remaining garlic butter while hot
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
Counter Storage (2 days):
- Let them cool completely first
- Store in airtight container or zip bag
- Don't stack them or they get squished
- Reheat in 300°F oven for 5 minutes
Freezer Storage (1 month):
- Cool completely before freezing
- Wrap individually in plastic wrap
- Put in freezer bag with date
- Thaw at room temperature, then reheat
Make-Ahead Tricks:
- Make dough the night before and let it rise slowly in the fridge
- Shape the knots and freeze them unbaked
- Bake straight from frozen (add 5 extra minutes)
- Make garlic butter ahead and keep in fridge
Reheating Tips:
- Emma likes them split and toasted for breakfast
- Oven works better than microwave
- Brush with a little more garlic butter before reheating
- Don't overheat or they get tough
Garlic Knots Recipe Variations
Cheese Lover's Version:
- Stuff mozzarella inside each knot before tying
- Brush with garlic butter
- Roll in more Parmesan before baking
- Emma calls these "cheese bombs"
Pizza Knots:
- Add Italian seasoning to the dough
- Brush with pizza sauce instead of just garlic butter
- Top with mozzarella and pepperoni
- Bake until cheese melts
Sweet Cinnamon Knots:
- Skip the garlic butter completely
- Brush with melted butter and cinnamon sugar
- Drizzle with icing when cool
- Good for breakfast or dessert
Herb Garden Style:
- Add fresh rosemary and thyme to the garlic butter
- Use olive oil instead of butter
- Sprinkle with coarse sea salt
- Tastes fancy but isn't hard
Spicy Kick:
- Add red pepper flakes to the garlic butter
- Use hot sauce mixed with butter
- Top with crushed red peppers
- Emma won't touch these but his dad loves them
Equipment For Garlic Knots Recipe
- Large mixing bowl for the dough
- Kitchen scale or measuring cups
- Clean kitchen towel for covering
- Baking sheet or pizza stone
- Small pan for melting garlic butter
- Pastry brush for buttering
Smart Swaps for Different Needs
Dough Switches:
- All-purpose flour → Bread flour (makes them chewier)
- Regular yeast → Instant yeast (skip the waiting step)
- Water → Milk (makes them softer)
- Olive oil → Melted butter (tastes richer)
Garlic Butter Changes:
- Fresh garlic → Garlic powder (not as good but works)
- Butter → Olive oil (for dairy-free kids)
- Parmesan → Nutritional yeast (for the vegan kid in Emma's class)
- Dried parsley → Fresh parsley (when you have it)
Quick Cheats:
- Fresh everything → Garlic bread seasoning mix
- Homemade dough → Store-bought pizza dough
- From scratch → Pillsbury biscuit dough (Emma likes these)
What to Serve With Garlic Knots Recipe
Emma and I have figured out that these garlic knots go with way more stuff than just pizza. They're good with any kind of pasta - spaghetti, chicken alfredo (Emma's current favorite), lasagna, or even mac and cheese. Soup night is where they work best though. We dip them in tomato soup, minestrone, chicken noodle, or Emma found out they're surprisingly good with chili.
They also go well with main dishes like garlic knots recipe chicken, meatballs in sauce, baked fish with herbs, or even barbecue. When we have people over, I put them out as appetizers with marinara sauce for dipping, or add them to cheese and cracker platters. Emma likes them with ranch dressing, which wasn't my idea but I'm not complaining. He's also been known to eat them with scrambled eggs for breakfast, split open like little sandwich rolls.
Top Tip
- Always brush your garlic knots with garlic knots recipe twice - once before they go in the oven and once right when they come out. This isn't some fancy chef thing, it's what keeps them from drying out and gives you that shiny, flavorful coating that makes them taste like the good pizza place versions instead of sad dinner rolls. Also, don't rush the rise
- Emma and I learned this the hard way after making hockey pucks instead of fluffy knots. If your yeast doesn't foam up when you proof it, throw it out and start over - dead yeast makes flat, dense knots that nobody wants to eat. And here's the thing about garlic - crush it with the flat side of your knife instead of using a garlic press. The press turns it into paste that burns easily, but crushing gives you little pieces that stay good and don't turn bitter when they hit the hot butter.
The Secret Recipe My Cousin Will Never Share
My cousin makes garlic knots recipe that are somehow better than everyone else's, and she's been keeping her secret for three years now. Every family gathering, people beg her for the recipe, and she just smiles and says "it's all in the technique." Well, Emma and I figured out what she's doing, and it's so simple it's annoying. She adds a tablespoon of cream cheese to her garlic butter. That's it.
But here's the part that took us forever to figure out - she also lets her dough rise twice as long as everyone else. While we're all rushing to get dinner on the table, my cousin starts her dough in the morning and lets it rise slowly all day in a cool spot. The longer rise makes the bread taste better and gives it these little air bubbles that soak up the garlic butter. Emma tested this last weekend by making two batches - one quick and one slow - and even he could taste the difference.
FAQ
What ingredients are in garlic knots?
Basic Garlic Knots Recipe need flour, yeast, water, salt, olive oil, butter, fresh garlic, and parmesan cheese. Some recipes add parsley, Italian seasoning, or red pepper flakes. The key is using fresh garlic instead of the pre-minced stuff from jars.
Can I use pizza dough for Garlic Knots Recipe?
Yes, store-bought pizza dough works great for garlic knots recipe and saves you about an hour. Just let it come to room temperature, divide into pieces, roll into ropes, and tie into knots. Emma likes the Pillsbury pizza dough sometimes.
Do you egg wash Garlic Knots Recipe?
No, Garlic Knots Recipe don't need egg wash. Instead, brush them with garlic butter before baking and again right when they come out of the oven. The double butter brushing is what gives them that shiny, flavorful coating.
Do garlic knots need to go in the fridge?
Only if you're storing them for more than two days. They're best kept at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 48 hours. If you refrigerate them, wrap them well or they'll get stale fast.
Fresh Bread Made Simple!
Now you know why this garlic knots recipe has taken over our pizza nights and probably will mess with yours too. These aren't just bread - they're the thing that makes everyone slow down and actually talk at dinner instead of wolfing down food and running off to do homework.
Want more homemade bread that doesn't suck? Try our Best Monkey Bread Recipe that Emma calls "pull-apart heaven" and disappears faster than these garlic knots. Need something for breakfast that isn't cereal again? Our Best Strawberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats Recipe tastes like dessert but counts as breakfast. Or if you're feeling fancy, check out our Healthy Apple Cider Donuts Recipe - Emma's friends think I'm some kind of wizard when I make these.
Share your garlic knot wins! We love seeing how other families make these their own!
Rate this recipe and tell us what your kids think!
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Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Garlic Knots Recipe
Garlic Knots Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Large mixing bowl (for mixing/kneading dough)
- 1 Kitchen scale or measuring cups (for accurate dough)
- 1 Clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap (to cover during rise)
- 1 Baking sheet (greased) or pizza stone (baking surface)
- 1 Small Saucepan (melt/infuse garlic butter)
- 1 Pastry brush (for double butter brushing)
- 1 Bench scraper or knife (to divide dough)
- 1 Measuring jug/thermometer (optional) (to check 105–110°F water)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup 180 ml Warm water - 105–110°F (40–43°C)
- 2¼ tsp 7 g Active dry yeast - 1 packet
- 1 tsp 4 g Sugar - Helps activate yeast
- 2½ cups 300 g All-purpose flour - Plus extra for dusting
- 2 Tbsp 30 ml Olive oil - —
- 1 tsp 6 g Salt - —
Garlic Butter
- 4 Tbsp 56 g Unsalted butter - Melted
- 3–4 cloves ≈12 g Fresh garlic - Crushed/minced
- 1 tsp dried / 1 tablespoon fresh Parsley - Minced if fresh
- ¼ teaspoon Salt - To taste
- ⅛ teaspoon Black pepper - To taste
- ¼ cup 25 g Grated Parmesan - For sprinkling
Optional Add-Ins / Toppings
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning - Pizza-style flavor
- ½ teaspoon Red pepper flakes - Spicy option
- 2 tablespoon Fresh basil - Finely chopped
- — — Extra Parmesan - For serving
- 1 tablespoon Cream cheese - Whisk into butter extra lush
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