These simple parmesan bread bites are the perfect appetizer and delicious finger food. Paired with marinara sauce, these fluffy little bread bites are covered in a healthy dose of garlic butter and parmesan cheese.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Easy appetizer - these parmesan bread bites come together in just over an hour! Even using homemade pizza dough, the active time is very minimal They're so fun to pull apart and dunk into your favorite dipping sauce.
Feeds a crowd - this delicious parmesan garlic bread bites recipe would be perfect for a larger crowd, and the perfect side for pizza night. The bite-sized pieces create a full cast iron skillet of poppable pieces and are super fun to eat! Bonus? They taste way better than Domino's Parmesan Bread Bites.
Fluffy and flavorful - These bread bites are golden brown on top, fluffy on the inside, and packed with cheesy, garlic flavor. They're the perfect complement to warm pizza sauce or a side of marinara. The garlic butter bakes right into the bread, making the outside crispy and the insides buttery, soft perfection. It will have your taste buds screaming with excitement!
Serve them alongside this pepperoni bread, baked brie with fig jam, and soft pretzels with beer cheese dip, and your party spread is set!
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Ingredients
- Granulated sugar. Just one tablespoon is used to activate the yeast.
- Active dry yeast. One packet is used in this recipe. See the next section to see how to use instant dry yeast, instead.
- All-purpose flour.
- Butter. Note that this is salted butter. This is a large flavor component to the bread bites.
- Fresh garlic. Finely minced for the garlic butter.
- Parmesan cheese. Purchase a wedge and grate it yourself. This provides a much better melt factor than pre-shredded varieties. Asiago cheese or romano cheeses are also a great option.
- Herbs. I used fresh parsley to top the parmesan bread bites. Check out the "Substitutions & Variations" section for more ideas on how to top this appetizer.
- Pizza sauce. Use your favorite marinara, pizza sauce, or red sauce for this recipe.
See recipe card for the full ingredients list and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Use instant yeast in place of active dry yeast. To make this swap, simply mix all dough ingredients together at once (rather than allowing the yeast to foam and activate first), then allow it to rise.
- Use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder in place of the fresh minced garlic, or ½ teaspoon garlic salt.
- Add red pepper flakes to the tops after baking.
- Use chopped fresh herbs like thyme, oregano, and/or parsley.
- Mix 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning into the garlic butter if you don't want to use fresh herbs.
- If you don't want to make your own pizza dough, use store-bought pizza dough. You will need roughly two bags. You can find this in the open refrigerated sections in most grocery stores.
How to Make This Recipe
One: Activate the yeast in warm water and sugar, then add the flour, salt and mix with a dough hook until a smooth dough forms and mostly pulls away from the sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a very warm place until doubled.
Two: Form the dough into a rectangle using your hands. This helps with easiest cutting.
Three: Use a bench scraper or pizza cutter to cut the dough into 1-inch pieces.
Four: Pinch the edges downwards from all edges so it forms a small ball.
Hot tip! You can also leave the bites as is and add them to the pan, but they won't be nicely mounded. They will bake up just fine either way!
Five: Gently roll it in a clockwise motion on the counter (keeping the seam on the bottom) to seal and round. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Six: Add the dough balls (seam side down) to a baking vessel so they are just touching, leaving some spaces. Cover with a dish towel or plastic and allow them to get slightly puffier until almost touching.
Pan suggestions: large cast iron skillet (~10") or any similar sized casserole dish. You can also use a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper), but be sure to keep them at the same distance as a pan so the butter can "catch" in between.
Seven: Drizzle the dough pieces all over with the melted butter and garlic, then add flaky salt.
Eight: Top with half of the parmesan cheese and bake. At the halfway mark, add the additional parmesan and bake until golden brown, then top with freshly chopped herbs.
Hot tip! Use a mix of parmesan and mozzarella cheeses to make it feel like you're eating a cheese pizza!
Dipping Suggestions
Here are some dipping sauces that would be the perfect complement to the garlic parmesan bread bites.
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- Marinara, pizza sauce, or other red sauce
- Pesto
- Alfredo sauce
- Ranch dressing
- Extra virgin olive oil
Expert Tips
- Take a picture of the dough prior to rising so you can see exactly when it has doubled in size. The amount of heat affects how long the rise time takes. I like to turn the oven to 400℉ for 2 minutes, then turn it off and add the dough to the oven with the door slightly cracked. It typically takes about 30-45 minutes.
- Hand-grate a block of parmesan cheese. This allows for the best melt factor.
- Add a touch of coarse sea salts to the tops prior to baking for maximum flavor.
- Enjoy the bread bites while hot, but be careful when pulling them apart!
- If the parmesan cheese bakes together too much, use a sharp knife to poke into the seams a bit so each bite can release nicely.
Recipe FAQs
These are wonderful to eat on pizza night but are also a great side dish to chicken parmesan, lasagna, spaghetti, or any Italian dish where you would traditionally serve bread or garlic bread.
These are wonderful with pizza night, but are also a great side dish to chicken parmesan, lasagna, spaghetti, or any Italian dish where you would traditionally serve bread or garlic bread.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container or wrapped in foil for three days at room temperature. Reheat in the microwave until warm. Or, even better, reheat in a 375℉ oven for about 5 minutes, flicking a bit of water onto the bites with your fingers before baking. This helps to revive them a bit.
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📖Recipe
Garlic Parmesan Bread Bites
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook attachment
- Large cast iron skillet or other baking dish 10-12"
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water 110℉
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 7g
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast 1 packet
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour 420g
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup salted butter melted (113g)
- 1-2 cloves garlic finely minced
- ⅔ cups shredded parmesan cheese
- flaky or coarse sea salt for tops
- fresh parsley chopped
- marinara sauce warmed, for dipping
Instructions
- Add the water, sugar and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer and stir. Allow it to stand for 5 minutes to activate the yeast until it becomes foamy.1 cup warm water, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- Add the flour and salt and use the dough hook to mix on low speed until combined, then increase the speed to medium high and allow it to run for 5 minutes.3½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Note: the dough should be very smooth and slightly tacky (but not sticky). It will have mostly pulled away from the sides.
- Oil the sides and bottom of a large mixing bowl and transfer in the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a rather warm area to rise until doubled in size.1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- Once risen, turn out the dough and pat it into a square or rectangle, making it 1" thick.
- Use a bench scraper or pizza cutter to cut the dough into 1 inch pieces.
- Pinch the corners and sides of the dough downwards, then place the pinched side down on the counter and roll it in a counter clockwise circle to seal.
- Add the piece of dough to a large cast iron skillet or baking pan and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
- Note: don't over crowd the pieces. Some of the sides can touch, but you don't want to shove them all in right next to each other.
- Cover the pieces of dough with a dish towel or plastic wrap and allow the pieces to do another slight rise and puff up while you prepare the garlic butter.
- Preheat the oven to 375℉.
Garlic Butter Parmesan Topping
- Peel and finely mince the garlic and melt the butter. Mix to combine.½ cup salted butter, 1-2 cloves garlic
- Grate the parmesan cheese.⅔ cups shredded parmesan cheese
- Pour the garlic butter all over the pieces of dough, being sure to get the sides.
- Top the bread bites with a few sprinkles of flaky or coarse sea salt, then evenly distribute half of the parmesan on top of the dough.flaky or coarse sea salt
- Bake the bread bites for 10 minutes, then remove the pan and add the remaining parmesan cheese. Return to the oven for 10-15 more minutes, until golden brown.
- Top the bread bites with fresh chopped parsley and serve with warm marinara sauce.fresh parsley, marinara sauce
Notes
- Take a picture of the dough prior to rising so you can see exactly when it has doubled in size. The amount of heat affects how long the rise time takes. I like to turn the oven to 400℉ for 2 minutes, then turn it off and add the dough to the oven with it slightly cracked. It typically takes about 30-45 minutes.
- Hand-grate a block of parmesan cheese. This allows for the best melt factor.
- Enjoy the bread bites while hot, but be careful when pulling them apart!
- If the parmesan cheese bakes together too much, use a sharp knife to poke into the seams a bit so each bite can release nicely.
Jodie says
I love how you add the measurements again in the instructions. Saves me time going back to look. Thank you for that and the wonderful recipes.
Callan Wenner says
Hi Jodie, thanks so much for the feedback! I've found it's really helping readers not have to go back and forth as much. Appreciate you reporting back!