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This irresistible garlic bread recipe makes delicious knots that are crispy outside and soft inside, with a subtle delicious pesto flavor. It’s easy – no stand mixer required – and fun to make.

And freshly baked pesto garlic bread tastes wonderful, it’s perfect for a picnic or for dipping into soups, and looks lovely too!

Top view of a large garlic bread knot
with sesame seeds over white parchment paper.

Jump to recipe

First of all, how delicious is warm, crusty, soup-dunkable garlic bread? It’s perfect all year round, from spring gatherings to those days when you crave only comfort food.

Yes, we’re talking freshly baked pesto garlic bread, what’s not to love?!

Pull it apart with your hands, it’s rustic and deliciously crusty and golden on the outside, but the inside is pillowy, soft and tastes amazing.

My mum used to make this garlic bread recipe around Easter, and it was so good. To make her easy recipe more versatile, I added a layer of basil pesto to balance out the garlic flavor.

And don’t feel daunted by the fancy shapes, you’re free to shape each roll into spirals or make single or double knotted rolls, they will look absolutely stunning!

I truly cannot wait for you to try this garlic bread recipe, friends. Let me show you how it’s done!

List of the ingredients

Basil pesto (fresh or store-bought)
Fresh garlic
All-purpose flour or spelt flour
Eggs
Active dry yeast (or instant yeast, see notes)
Olive oil
Sugar
Salt
Salt flakes & sesame seeds (optional)

The garlic bread recipe ingredients are arranged over a white background.

How to make pesto garlic bread

(Note: this is a quick description with step-by-step photos, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)

Mix flour and salt in a large bowl.
Dissolve yeast and sugar in water.
Then stir the water, the oil, and one beaten egg into the flour.
Mix with a spatula, then knead on a surface for a couple of minutes.
Let the dough rest in a warm place for 1 hour.
Mix grated garlic and pesto and set aside.

Top view of a glass bowl containing the ingredients to make the pesto garlic bread dough.

Stretch the dough out into a large rectangular shape.
Spread the garlic pesto on half of the rectangle, and fold it.
Using a handy pizza cutter, cut lengthwise into 4 long stripes as I did here (they make 4 large rolls). You can also cut them crosswise in half (to make 8 stripes/rolls) and shape them into small spirals.

Top view of the pesto bread dough flatten and covered with a layer of garlicky pesto, and cut into four slices with a pizza cutter.

Fold each stripe into a loose knot leaving space in the center.
Wrap the right end of the dough up and over the loop

Top view of one dough stripe showing how to make the knot.

Wrap the left end down and under the loop. Try to squeeze into a nice rounded shape.
Brush with egg wash using a pastry brush, sprinkle with seeds, and bake for about 15-20 minutes!

Top view of the bread know brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Recipe notes & tips

Garlic Bread recipe ingredients

Flour: all-purpose, bread flour, light spelt flour work well in this recipe. You can also mix white flour with whole-grain flour to get health benefits from the whole grains.

Yeast: I used dry active yeast in this recipe, but instant yeast works just fine. Follow the manufacture’s directions, skip the sugar, and wait until the dough doubles in size.

Olive oil: use good olive oil or extra virgin olive oil to improve flavor and texture.

Garlic: we grate fresh garlic cloves and we mix them with pesto.

Pesto: freshly made pesto is best – I’m stating the obvious – but good quality store-bought pesto works just fine. You can also swap basil pesto for sun-dried tomato pesto, it’s delicious!

Seeds: sesame, chia, poppy seeds, they’re optional, but they make the rolls pretty and add extra flavor too.

Close-up of a hand holding a piece of bread and showing the soft inside.

How long does this garlic bread keep?

Pesto garlic bread is best the day it is made but can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 2 days.
It freezes very well too. Defrost at room temperature, then reheat in the oven for a few minutes and serve warmed and crispy.

How to serve it?

It goes well with just about anything savory, from hearty soups to salads such as cannellini bean salad or Italian tomato salad. AND it’s absolutely delicious with Italian appetizers like marinated mozzarella balls, or spreads like olive tapenade or yummy sun dried tomato paste. The sky is the limit!

Top view of a few pieces of pesto bred rolls and a bowl full of sun-dried tomatoes.

More bread and pizza from the oven:

Apart from sweet bread recipes such as these delicious zucchini bread and strawberry bread, on the blog I’ve also got:

If you make this garlic bread recipe with pesto, or if you have any questions, let me know by leaving a comment. I would love to hear from you! x

And for more recipe updates, follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Pesto Garlic Bread Recipe

This irresistible garlic bread is crispy outside and soft inside, with a subtle delicious pesto flavor. It's also economical, fun to make, and tastes amazing.

The recipe yields 4 large rolls/8 smaller rolls

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

proof time1 30

Total Time2

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Garlic pesto recipe

Servings:

Author: Katia

Ingredients

Dough

2 ½ cup (375 grams) all-purpose flour or whole-grain flour (see notes)
1 ¼ tsp fine salt
½ cup + 2 Tbsp (150 ml) water, lukewarm
1 tsp dry active yeast
½ tsp sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup (100 grams) basil pesto
2-3 garlic cloves, grated

Topping

1 egg, slightly beaten
2 Tbsp seeds (sesame, chia, poppy…) (optional)
½ Tbsp salt flakes (optional)

Instructions

Make the dough

In a large bowl, place flour, salt and mix until well combined.
In a small bowl or jug, mix lukewarm water with yeast and sugar. Let it rest for a couple of minutes until foamy.
Then pour the liquid into the dry ingredients, add the beaten egg and olive oil, and stir with a fork until roughly combined.
Trasfer the dough onto a work surface, and knead for a couple of minutes until smooth. You might need an extra Tbsp of water, trust your judgment here, but overall the dough should be easily pliable.
Once you shape the dougn into a ball, place it back into its bowl, cover with a damp cloth (to prevent its surface from drying out) and let it rest in a warm place until it doubles in size (about 1 hour).

Shape the bread rolls

In a small bowl, mix pesto and garlic and set aside.
Once the dough is ready, place it onto a large sheet of parchment paper.
Stretch it out with your fingers into a rectangular shape (about 10 x 12 inches).
Spread the pesto on half of the rectangle, then lift the other side of the parchment paper and fold the other half of the dough over the one covered with pesto. Gently flatten the rectangle with your fingers.
Cut the rough edges, than with a pizza cutter cut the rectangle lengthwise into 4 large stripes. At this point, you can cut the 4 stripes crosswise in order to get 8 stripes in total. This will give you 8 smaller rolls rather than 4.
If you keep the stripes long, wrap the dough around your fingers into a loose knot leaving space in the center. Wrap the left end of the dough up and over the loop. Wrap the right end down and under the loop. Try to squeeze into a nice rounded shape. If you cut the stripes shorter, you can easily shape them into spirals.

Topping & baking

Place each roll on to a bakin pan lined with parchment paper, brush them lightly with some egg wash (to keep them moist), and let them rest for about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 420°F/220°C.
Before putting the rolls in the hot oven, brush them again with egg wash and sprinkle with seeds, and salt flakes if you wish.
Bake them for about 15-20 minutes until golden.

Notes

STORAGE: it keeps well in an air-tight container for up to 2 days. It’s also freezable.

YEAST: I used dry active yeast in this recipe, but instant yeast works just fine. Follow the manufacture’s directions, skip the sugar, and wait until the dough doubles in size.

LUKEWARM WATER: in order to activate the yeast, the water should be mildly warm, not too cold not too hot .

MEASUREMENTS:I use both US cups and grams. The cups of flour are leveled: fill the measuring cup all the way to the top letting the flour flow over a little. Then, use the back of a knife to level the top off. However, a kitchen scale gives more accurate measurements.

FLOUR: all-purpose flour is perfect, but you can use also bread flour, or you can mix all-purpose flour and whole-grain flour (in this case you might 1 or 2 extra Tbsp of water since whole-grain flour absorb more water)

WATER ABSORPTION: water absorption is the amount of water taken up by flour and may vary significantly depending on the type of flour, brand, and weather conditions. When you add water to the flour, start with the amount stated in the recipe. If the liquid is not enough to achieve that dough consistency as shown in the pictures above, just add gradually a little extra water until the flour has been incorporated.

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8 Comments

Shelly B. says:

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Your recipe has a small typo. It should say “beaten egg” instead of
“beating egg” .

1. Katia says:
  
  at
  
  Ops! It’s amended now. : )
  Thanks so much, Shelly.
Julie Thomas says:

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looks amazing! what do you think about adding fresh spinach and feta cheese? wanted to get your opinion/advice before I attempt. thx for any thoughts.

1. Katia says:
  
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  Hey Julie!! I would go for crumbled feta, but I’ve never tried spinach : )
  Hope you love the recipe. x
Lisa says:

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Thanks for this awesome recipe! It was easy to follow and the bread was a winner, the whole family loved it 🙂

1. Katia says:
  
  at
  
  Thanks for sharing your lovely comment, Lisa! I’m pleased it turned out awesome.🤩
Carol Cardona says:

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This looks great, I love pesto. But, it wasn’t listed in the ingredients. How much should you use? Thanks.

1. Katia says:
  
  at
  
  Thanks so much for your comment, Carol! That’s an oversight, sorry, sometimes it happens even if I check the recipe 50 times! 😅 Btw, it’s listed now. Let me know how if you like the recipe. x