Can You Freeze Garlic Bread?

Unless you buy it from the shop (which often lacks any real garlic flavour) then making your own garlic bread can be a bit of a faff. So, is there a way you can batch prepare it and have it waiting in the freezer?

How to Freeze Garlic Bread

When it comes to freezing garlic bread, there are actually two approaches you can take.

If you are preparing the bread in advance then opt for our first method below. If you have, however, already cooked the garlic bread and have leftovers then try out the second method:

How to Freeze Garlic Bread Baguettes

This is the best method to use if you want to have garlic bread that no one but you will know has been previously frozen. It’s one of the greatest ways to have ready-to-go garlic bread in the freezer:

1. Prepare a Baguette
   Cut slits into a baguette at 1 inch intervals around 75% of the way into the baguette. You don’t want to cut all the way through. Smear garlic butter into each slit – the more the better. This recipe is particularly punchy.
2. Wrap the Baguette
   Wrap the baguette tightly in multiple layers of clingfilm. Don’t be shy here as you don’t want your freezer to stink of garlic.
3. Optionally Bag It Up
   If you’re worried about the bread drying out or your freezer taking on the pungent pong of garlic then also place the now wrapped bread into the freezer bag and seal it up.
4. Freeze
   Finally, place the garlic bread baguettes into the freezer.

When you want to enjoy the garlic bread, unwrap it and place it on a tray in a hot oven for around 15 minutes, straight from the freezer.

As the bread is already cooked, you just want to thaw it through to the centre and melt the butter. After 15 minutes, just check that the centre is warmed through.

How to Freeze Garlic Bread Portions

If you’ve already cooked the garlic bread and have leftovers that you want to freeze then this is the method to use:

1. Wrap Each Portion
   Take each leftover portion of garlic bread and wrap it in a layer of clingfilm to ensure it doesn’t dry out in the freezer.
2. Bag Up
   Place each portion of wrapped bread into a freezer bag then seal the bag up, removing as much air from the bag as possible as you do so.
3. Label and Freeze
   Label the bag with the contents and then place it into the freezer.

Unfortunately, leftover garlic bread will not freeze anywhere near as well as uncooked garlic bread using our first method. If you have a choice, opt for the first method.

3 Tips for Freezing Garlic Bread

Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing garlic bread to have the best results:

Freeze It Uncooked
By freezing it uncooked, you can almost get that freshly-baked taste. You’ll also reduce the risk of degrading the garlic flavour and drying out the bread by freezing it uncooked.

Wrap It… A Lot!
The last thing you want is garlicky ice cubes so make sure you wrap the bread a lot to prevent any odours from escaping and spreading throughout your freezer.

Mix Up the Flavours
If you’re making the garlic bread yourself then don’t be afraid to mix up the flavoured butter. You could try adding a little pinch of chilli, some chopped sundried tomatoes or some diced capers into the mix.

How Long Can You Freeze Garlic Bread?

Uncooked garlic bread will keep in the freezer for around 6 months before any flavours begin to degrade. Beyond 6 months, it is likely to remain perfectly safe to eat but might not be as enjoyable.

If you have already cooked the garlic bread then we would limit this time to just 3 months, unfortunately.

You Can Freeze Garlic Bread for up to 6 Months

How Do You Defrost Garlic Bread?

This depends on the way you have frozen the garlic bread. If you have frozen it uncooked then you don’t actually need to defrost it.

Place the bread onto a preheated oven tray and bake for around 15 minutes until it has thawed through and the butter has melted all over the bread.

If, however, you have frozen leftover cooked bread then you’ll want to thaw this overnight in the fridge. Once thawed, add a smear of garlic butter (or olive oil) if you have some and then warm through in the oven.

Not adding butter or oil to the bread will leave you with dry, brittle and bland garlic bread – not what you’re after!

Can You Refreeze Garlic Bread?

Refreezing garlic bread is likely to be safe but not something we would advise as you may lose that punchy garlic flavour which is the main reason you’re eating it in the first place.

If you don’t think you’ll eat a whole baguette then simply cut the baguette in half before wrapping and freezing.

Does Garlic Bread Freeze Well?

Garlic bread that is frozen uncooked freezes exceptionally well. In fact, few people will be able to tell that it was once frozen if you bake it directly from the freezer and don’t hold back on the garlic butter.

Cooked portions of garlic bread which are frozen, however, will not be anywhere near as good.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing garlic bread or garlic bread in general, then these may help: