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Home » Blog » Course » Bread » Easy Homemade Garlic Knots Recipe

Easy Homemade Garlic Knots Recipe

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Published: Dec 29, 2020 · Modified: Feb 9, 2023 by Andrea + Stef ·

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Delicious homemade garlic knots made with pizza dough. Easy garlic knots recipe is a one of many recipes with pizza dough. This mixture of herbs and oils makes a delicious dinner bread. We like to dip bread in our marinara sauce. Yum!
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Pizza dough garlic knots on a baking sheet.

These traditional pizza dough garlic knots are our favorite addition to any Italian themed meal. You only need seven simple ingredients to make this delicious easy garlic knots recipe. Simply shape, let them rise, then brush with butter, seasoning and parmesan and bake. These buttery, fluffy and incredibly yummy garlic knots are a true comfort food and taste amazing dipped in marinara sauce.

Table of Contents

  • What are Pizza Dough Garlic Knots?
  • Why You’ll Love This
  • Ingredients
  • Recommended Tools
  • Instructions
  • Stef says….
  • Why You Should Let Your Dough Rise
  • Andrea says….
  • Recipe Tips
  • Serving Suggestions
  • More Italian Inspired Recipes
  • How To Store
  • How To Reheat
  • Common Questions
  • Garlic Knots Recipe Made With Pizza Dough

If you’ve never made your own garlic knots then start with this foolproof recipe and you wont be disappointed. You can buy pizza dough for convenience or make your own, the result will be a huge hit with your whole family either way. Serve these delicious pizza dough garlic knots as a side dish, appetizer or fun addition to parties or pizza night.

Basket full of pizza dough garlic knots.

What are Pizza Dough Garlic Knots?

Garlic knots are traditionally found in pizzerias in the United States. They were developed in the 1940’s as a way to use up pizza dough scraps. What started as a way to use up leftovers has turned into one of my favorite things!!

Garlic bread knots are usually pizza dough, tied in an overhand knot and topped with spices and lots of butter. The more butter, the better. Dunk the warm knots in this marinara sauce recipe and you are in bread heaven.

garlic knot dipped in marinara sauce

Why You’ll Love This

  • Notable: soft, flavorful and buttery garlic rolls that go well with Italian dishes and crunchy salads
  • Main Ingredients: pizza dough, salted butter, garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, parmesan cheese, olive oil
  • Cooking Method: oven baked
  • Cooking Time: 20 minutes prep time, 1 hour rise time, 20 minutes baking time
  • Pairs well with: side of marinara sauce, pasta dishes, Italian meatballs, lasagna, salads
  • Diets: vegetarian
  • Special Equipment Needed: sharp knife, pizza cutter or scissors, large bowl, sheet pan, pastry brush
Garlic knot dipped into marinara sauce.

Ingredients

You may have all of these ingredients for these easy garlic knots in your refrigerator or pantry and not need to make a trip to the grocery stores! If this is your first time making this buttery garlic knots recipe you might want to read the possible variations before deciding on your ingredients.

Fresh Garlic Knots Ingredients

  • 22 oz store-bought pizza dough or homemade pizza dough
  • ½ cup salted butter (melted)
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic (minced)
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese (grated)
  • olive oil (for working with the dough)

Variations and Substitutions

Pizza Dough: Buy your favorite pizza dough from the grocery store (have you tried the dough from Trader Joe’s?) or make your own pizza crust dough (this is our favorite easy recipe).

  • Add more cheese on top: Add some shredded mozzarella to the top of the garlic knots before you cook.
  • Add a little spice: In case you like your garlic knots to have a little kick, add red pepper flakes to taste to the garlic butter sauce.
  • Dip in marinara: These can feel like a meal if you dip them in warmed marinara sauce. Use this homemade marinara as bread dip for best results.
  • Stuff with cheese: Before baking, carefully stuff with mozzarella cheese.

How To Make Gluten Free

Use a gluten free pizza crust to make these delicious garlic knots gluten free.

How to Make Vegan

Use your favorite butter substitute and omit the cheese to make garlic knots vegan. Check to make sure your pizza dough is vegan (most will be naturally gluten free).

Garlic knot ingredients in bowls including: pizza dough, butter, Italian seasoning, garlic, parmesan cheese, parsley.

WHAT TO MAKE NEXT: If you loved this easy homemade garlic knots recipe, try our Garlic French Bread. You’ll love it because it is made with fresh parmesan cheese and store-bought french bread.

Recommended Tools

Links to our favorite tools are affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link we may get a tiny portion of the sale.

Baking Sheet — These delicious homemade garlic knots bake to perfection on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Instructions

This section shows how to cook this easy garlic knots recipe in the oven, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique. For printable instructions and nutritional information see the recipe card below.

Prep: Firstly, preheat the oven to 150°F. Then line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Afterwards, gather your pizza dough, garlic and all your spices. Measure and chop your spices.

log of raw pizza dough
pizza dough divided into individual pieces

Step 1: On a lightly floured surface, begin by shaping the soft dough into a log shape.

Step 2: Afterwards, divide the loaf into four equal pieces with a sharp knife or scissors. Then cut each section into four more pieces for a total of 16 equal portions.

shaping individual pizza dough pieces into ropes
twisting dough ropes into knots

Step 3: Use olive oil to grease your fingers and roll each ball of dough into a 6-inch long rope or strip.

Step 4: Then tie the dough rope into a single knot. Afterwards, place bread knots on the prepared baking sheet, spaced 2 inches apart. Repeat for the remaining pieces of dough.

risen pizza knots on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
butter, garlic, herbs, parmesan and spices in a glas bowl

Step 5: Cover the baking sheets with a lightweight clean kitchen towel. Then TURN OFF the oven and place the baking sheets into the warm oven. Let the dough rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Knots will be puffy and doubled in size. After the knots have risen, remove baking sheets from the oven and preheat it to 400°F.

Step 6: In a small bowl, whisk together melted butter, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, and parmesan cheese. Add a pinch of oregano if you like.

brushing butter mixture onto raw garlic knots
brushing remaining butter mixture onto baked garlic knots

Step 7: Brush butter mixture over each knot. Reserve ½ of the butter mixture to brush on the knots after they’ve finished baking. Bake knots for 18-20 minutes until they’re golden brown and cooked through.

Step 8: Finally, brush reserved butter mixture over the hot bread knots and serve easy garlic knots immediately.

WHAT TO MAKE NEXT: If you love serving garlic bread knots along Italian meals then you’ll love them with our Easy Lasagna. This simple lasagna recipe uses jarred sauce and is the perfect dish when you’re craving comfort food.

Stef says….

Garlic bread is not only an amazing side dish but also makes a great appetizer or party snack. My Pull Apart Garlic Bread is always a big hit at parties and family gatherings.

Why You Should Let Your Dough Rise

Homemade dough as well as pre-made pizza dough is made with yeast. The kneaded dough has to have some rise time. In case you bought your dough it has probably already had a first rise. Allowing a second rise before baking the garlic knots will help the yeast ferment the sugar and the dough to become more elastic. Rising will improve the flavor and texture of the knots.

Let yeast breads rise in a warm place. The oven is the ideal place for putting your garlic knots while the dough is rising. For an electric oven or a gas oven with the electronic ignition, heat the oven at the lowest setting for one or two minutes, then turn it off. It will retain enough heat to help the dough rise.

Andrea says….

We love using my homemade Pizza Dough recipe to make this garlic knots recipe. Simply follow the recipe through the first rise then begin making your garlic knots.

Recipe Tips

Follow these tips to make the best pizza dough garlic knots.

  • Tip: For best results use homemade pizza dough. However, store bought works well too.
  • Tip: If possible, don’t skip the rising time. It makes your garlic rolls light, fluffy and irresistible.
  • Tip: Don’t be shy with the butter. The flavorful butter garlic mixture adds all the flavor to your rolls.

Serving Suggestions

We love to eat soft pizza knots with delicious garlic butter all by themselves or dipped in marinara or pizza sauce. But sometimes you need to serve it as a meal. Try one of these delicious recipes:

Main Dish: Serve fluffy pizza dough garlic knots with Italian Meatballs,  Easy Dump And Bake Meatball Casserole, Baked Ravioli, or Easy Basil Pesto Pasta with Meatballs. Or consider this Baked Penne or Chicken Cacciatore.

Salad: Pair buttery garlic knots with a fresh salad. A green salad like our amazing Italian Salad or Antipasto Salad. Or even a Caprese Salad with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.

Dessert: Finish an Italian themed dinner with our amazing No Bake Chocolate Lasagna, creamy Cannoli Dip or Limoncello Cake Loaf with Limoncello Glaze.

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More Italian Inspired Recipes

In case you are planning to host an Italian themed dinner party, take a look at our other delicious and easy to make Italian inspired recipes:

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How To Store

Room Temperature: Store garlic knot leftovers in an airtight container, ziploc bag or tightly covered in plastic wrap or aluminum foil for 1-2 days after they are cooked.

Freeze: Let your leftover garlic knots cool completely before freezing. Then transfer them to a freezer-safe container or freezer bag (to avoid freezer burn) and freeze for up to 2 months.

Defrosting: Thaw pizza dough knots on the counter for a couple of hours.

How To Reheat

You can reheat these soft garlic bread knots in the microwave for a couple of seconds or in the air fryer.

Two garlic knots on a plate in front of a basket of garlic knots.

Common Questions

Can you skip the rise when making garlic knots?

Yes, you can skip the rise! Easy pizza dough garlic knots will still taste good but be more dense. In case you’re running low on time try them without the rise.

What are other recipes with pizza dough?

In case you have extra pizza dough you can make cheese bread, pizza dough cinnamon rolls, a Stromboli sandwich, calzones, or pizza rolls, for example!

Pizza dough garlic knots on a baking sheet.
5 from 18 votes

Garlic Knots Recipe Made With Pizza Dough

Author Andrea + Stef

Course Bread, Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes minutes
Total Time 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes
Print
Pin
Rate
16 garlic knots
Delicious homemade garlic knots made with pizza dough. Easy garlic knots recipe is a one of many recipes with pizza dough. This mixture of herbs and oils makes a delicious dinner bread. We like to dip bread in our marinara sauce. Yum!
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Ingredients
  

  • 22 oz. pizza dough
  • ½ cup salted butter melted
  • 3-4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese grated
  • olive oil for working with the dough

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 150°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Shape the dough into a log shape. Divide the loaf into four sections (with a knife or scissors) and then cut each section into four more pieces for a total of 16 evenly sized pieces.
    scissors cutting pizza dough roll
  • Use olive oil to grease your fingers and roll each piece of dough into a 6-inch rope. Loop the rope into a knot.
    hand tying a line of pizza dough into a knot
  • Place knots on prepared baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Repeat for the remaining pieces of dough.
  • Cover the baking sheets with a lightweight towel. TURN OFF the oven and place the baking sheets in the warm oven. Allow the knots to rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour or until they are puffy and doubled in size.
  • After the knots have risen, remove baking sheets from the oven and preheat it to 400°F.
  • Whisk together melted butter, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, and parmesan cheese.
    hand holding basting brush brushing on butter mixture onto pizza dough garlic knots
  • Brush butter mixture over each knot, reserving ½ of the butter mixture to brush on the knots after they've finished baking.
    hand holding basting brush brushing on butter mixture onto pizza dough garlic knots
  • Bake knots for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.
  • Brush reserved butter mixture over the hot bread knots and serve immediately.

Notes

Store in an airtight container or plastic zip bag for 1-2 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 150kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 338mg | Potassium: 6mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 184IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg

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    Comments & Reviews

  1. veenaazmanov says

    June 7, 2022

    June 07, 2022 at 5:08 am

    This is so creative and the best way to enjoy some amazing scrap. I love the combination to enjoying these cute little knots.

    Reply
  2. Jamie says

    June 7, 2022

    June 07, 2022 at 5:22 am

    This is a delicious and easy snack for my family! I love the flavors too!

    Reply
  3. Kushigalu says

    June 7, 2022

    June 07, 2022 at 6:04 am

    Garlic knots are our all-time favorite. I will try it this way next time. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  4. Ieva says

    June 7, 2022

    June 07, 2022 at 6:39 am

    Wow, our knots puffed up so much in the oven – they were huge! And we were’t complaining. Lovely flavours!

    Reply
  5. Amanda Wren-Grimwood says

    June 7, 2022

    June 07, 2022 at 7:00 am

    My family will love these. Such a great idea for a party too and great fun to make.

    Reply

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