Guy Fieri’s 1-Ingredient Upgrade for Better Garlic Bread

Garlic bread is one of life’s little pleasures. The simple combination of bread, garlic, and butter rises far beyond the sum of its parts to make something truly delightful. It’s also a great equalizer in my house: Despite different tastes and opinions, garlic bread is something the four people in my family can always agree on. It shows up on our dinner table often—next to a tower of spaghetti bolognese, cozied up to a plate of meatballs, and as the perfect companion to a bowl of creamy tomato soup.

So when several folks pointed out that Guy Fieri’s garlic bread recipe was the very best, I decided to give it a try.

The One Ingredient That Makes Guy Fieri’s Garlic Bread So Special

One of the best parts about garlic bread is its simplicity. I didn’t think there was much room for improvement to the standard recipe, but what I learned from making Fieri’s version is that one ingredient can make a big difference. In this case, the differentiator is hot sauce.

Fieri calls for adding hot sauce “to taste,” so I added a few dashes of my current favorite, Disco Sauce. Any hot sauce you love will work just the same. Rather than making the garlic bread spicy, a splash of hot sauce mixed with butter, Parmesan cheese, and herbs brings in a nice background note and a brightness that pulls the flavors into harmony. It’s so good and I can now see why it’s got such fanfare.

Fieri’s recipe also calls for an ingredient that’s not traditionally found in garlic bread: scallions. There’s a whole chopped scallion in the butter mixture, and that, combined with the fresh parsley, helps bring a nice herbaceous element to the bread, so you’ve got plenty to love in every bite.

How To Make Guy Fieri’s Garlic Bread

This garlic bread recipe comes together in under five minutes.

First, slice a baguette in half lengthwise like you’re making a huge sandwich. At this stage, I cut each half into approximately three-inch sections so I don’t have to cut the bread when it’s hot and buttery.

Fire up the broiler with a rack set about four inches below it.

Mix melted butter, garlic, scallions, Parmesan, parsley, hot sauce, salt, and pepper, and spread the mixture evenly over the bread. Broil for two minutes, watching it closely. Remove from the oven and serve immediately. This garlic bread is a one-way ticket to Flavortown.

My Tips for Making Guy Fieri’s Garlic Bread

Here are some things I’ve learned while making this garlic bread:

• This recipe is best suited for a big, chewy baguette or crusty Italian loaf. I would avoid using sliced sandwich bread or other flimsier types of bread.
• Fieri’s recipe calls for two sticks (one cup) of butter for one baguette. Depending on the size of your bread, that might be more butter than you need. If so, you can save the butter mixture in the fridge for a few days for another batch.
• Watch the bread in the oven closely. Set a timer for two minutes, and then stay close by because the difference between two and three minutes under the broiler can be the difference between perfectly toasted and totally burnt bread.

Enjoy Garlic Bread With One of These Dishes