Four ingredients. Ten minutes. This is the garlic bread your dinners are waiting for.
Garlic bread is always a hit in our house, but I rarely have the time to make rolls from scratch. These pull-apart garlic bread rolls solve that in the most delicious way. Warm, fluffy, buttery, and basically effortless. The idea actually struck while I was making my garlic butter pasta and thought, "what if this sauce went on bread?" Spoiler: magic.
They're simple enough for a Tuesday night and cozy enough for your holiday table. Defrost the dough during the day, brush on the garlic butter, and you've got fresh, pull-apart rolls that make you look like a dinner superhero.
Key Ingredients
- Frozen roll dough: I like using Rhodes Rolls frozen dough, but you can use what ever frozen dough you like.
- Frozen Garlic Cubes: Find these in the freezer section near the frozen vegetables are most grocery stores as well as Target and Trader Joe's.
- Butter: I like to use salted butter, but you can easily substitute for unsalted and add additional flaky sea salt on top.
Jump to:
TL;DR - Garlic Bread Rolls
✨ Everything you need to know at a glance:
- 🥖 Why you'll love them: Fluffy, buttery, garlicky pull-apart rolls you can make from store bought dough, no yeast, no mixer, making them perfect for holidays or weeknights.
- 🧄 Ingredients: 4
- ⏲️ Prep & Rise Time: 5 mins prep, 2 hour rise.
- 🔥 Cook Time: 20-25 minutes.
- 🍽️ Serve with: Spinach Artichoke Baked Pasta, Pesto Salmon, homemade minestrone soup and any holiday dinner you host!
- ✨ Why they're different: Unlike traditional garlic rolls that start with homemade dough and long rise times, these pull-apart garlic bread rolls use store-bought dough for the same homemade flavor in a fraction of the time. You get all the garlicky goodness without the fuss.
Marni's Tips for Perfect Pull-Apart Garlic Bread Rolls
- Make ahead tip: Mix garlic butter up to 3 days ahead; refrigerate and re-melt.
- Use a the right size baking dish. The rolls bake closer together → taller + fluffier pull-apart rolls.
- Brush twice. Once before baking for flavor, once after for glossy, golden tops.
- Don't overbake. Once the tops are golden, they're done. Overbaking = dry centers.
- Add parmesan + parsley. A little sprinkle or garnish turns these from "weeknight" to "holiday-ready."
Recipe Variations
- Dairy Free: Use a plant based butter.
- Make it cheesy: Roll each dough ball in grated Parmesan cheese after you roll them in garlic butter. Then sprinkle additional Parmesan or shredded mozzarella over the top while they bake.
- Make it herby: Chop up any herbs you love and mix into the garlic butter. Save some of of those same herbs to garnish with after the rolls come out of the oven before serving.
- Change the pan: Use a bundt pan and make a garlicy monkey bread, or place the dough balls (flatten each one a bit) into to standard loaf pans for a pull apart garlic loaf. The baking times will vary, but the recipe is the same.
How to Make Garlic Bread Rolls
Step 1: Make the garlic butter. For a full tutorial, check out my garlic butter sauce recipe.
Step 2: Roll each ball of dough in the melted garlic butter, then place in a 9x13 ceramic baking dish to defrost and rise. You'll use 20-24 balls of dough. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise according to the package directions.
Step 3: Once the rolls are perfectly risen, it's time to bake. Preheat the oven based on the rolls packaged directions. Brush additional garlic butter on top of the rolls and put them into the oven.
Step 4: Bake as directed on the dough package. The rolls are done when they are golden brown on top cooked through in the center. Take them out of the oven and brush one more layer of the garlic butter on top then sprinkle with Maldon salt (or another flaky salt that you like).
Serving Suggestions
Serve them in either the baking dish or take them out and place them in a basket lined with parchment paper or a tea towel.
- For Thanksgiving we like to put everything on big platters and let people just go for it. On the table with these rolls will be my rosemary roasted carrots, soy vey green beans, sweet potato casserole, sweet and spicy sweet potatoes, this Asian Crunch Salad and the turkey.
- The rest of the year, these rolls are a great side dish for comfort food. They are great with homemade minestrone soup, creamy pesto pasta and instead of pita with a big Detroit Style Greek salad.
Looking for garlic rolls serving suggestions? Click the button below to create a meal centered around them!
Recipe FAQs
es. Refrigerated dough, frozen rolls, or even homemade dough all work. Just follow the bake time on your package and brush the garlic butter on before and after baking.
Bake only until the tops are golden, then brush with extra garlic butter right away. Overbaking is the #1 reason rolls turn dry. If you have an instant read thermometer, you are looking for an internal temp of 190-200℉.
Yes! Mix the garlic butter up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it. If using frozen roll dough, you can do an overnight rise in the refridgerator. However, I suggest baking the rolls fresh for the best texture.
Storing and Using Leftovers
While these rolls are best served straight out of the oven, you can save any leftovers for a day or two. To reheat them, put them in a baking dish, brush a bit of additional garlic butter on top and bake for 5-7 minutes at 325℉ until they are soft and warm again.
You can also let these sit out for a few hours and make a bread stuffing or a savory bread pudding out of the "stale" rolls.
More Awesome Side Dishes
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📖 Recipe
4-Ingredients Pull Apart Garlic Bread Rolls
Ingredients
- 24 balls Frozen roll dough
- 8 TB Salted butter (1 stick)
- 10 cubes Frozen crushed garlic
- flaky salt
Instructions
- Make the garlic butter by melting the butter and garlic cubes together in a small saucepan until they are totally incorporated. Set aside as you'll be using it in all of the next three steps.
- Roll each ball of frozen dough in the melted garlic butter, then place the dough balls in a 9x13 ceramic baking dish to defrost and rise. You'll use 20-24 balls of dough. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise according to the package directions. Save the remaining garlic butter.
- Once the rolls are perfectly risen, it's time to bake. Brush additional garlic butter on top of the rolls before putting them into the oven. Bake as directed on the dough package.
- The rolls are done when they are golden brown on top cooked through in the center. Take them out of the oven and brush one more layer of the garlic butter on top then sprinkle with maldon salt (or another flaky salt that you like).
Marni Katz says
These really are the easiest way to get delicious warm rolls on the table for any holiday celebration. Just remember to defrost the frozen dough ahead of time.