These garlic knots are super soft, airy, and fluffy, and are full of buttery garlic flavor and aroma. They are always a hit and are perfect for dinner parties, brunch, or simply whenever you’ve got a garlic bread craving!
Last weekend, we my friends hosted a dinner party. And although I always promise myself that I won’t work as hard for the next one or make as much food, I always do. Of course, I brought dessert. But I also brought these irresistibly fluffy, chewy, and soft garlic knots that everyone went crazy for (Pro tip: always make extras!).
These garlic knots are just like the kind you’d find in an Italian restaurant. They are smothered in garlic herb butter and simply taste amazing.
Table of contents
Ingredients
These soft garlic knots come together with only a few basic pantry ingredients:
- All-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- Granulated sugar
- Instant dry yeast
- Lukewarm water (110°F-115°F)
- Canola or olive oil
- Salt
How to make homemade garlic knots
This recipe makes 15 garlic knots, but feel free to double it if you want to make more.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this recipe link to you, so you can come back to it later!
- Place flour, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until combined and stir. Add salt and mix. Then, attach the dough hook to the mixer, and add water and oil and mix on low speed until the dough comes together, 2-3 minutes. Continue mixing for another 8 minutes on low-medium speed until dough is soft and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- First rise. Place dough in a large bowl brushed with oil, and toss the dough ball to coat (the fat will keep the dough from drying out). Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place or on the counter for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size (Note: Rising will be slower in cold weather).
- Punch down and divide. When the dough has risen, gently punch it to remove air. Divide the dough into 15 equal portions, each weighing about 45 grams, and shape each one into a strip about 7.5-inches/20cm long. Gently stretch each strip and tie into a simple knot. Arrange knots on a prepared baking sheet keeping as much space between them as possible.
- Second rise. Cover and let rest for 45-60 minutes or until again doubled in size.
- Make the garlic butter. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant and color deepens slightly. Stir in the rest of the butter until melted, then add basil and salt and turn off the heat.
- Heat the oven to 350°F/177°C.
- Right before baking the knots, spread half of the butter-garlic mixture over them with a pastry brush. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Take the pan out and spread knots with the remaining butter mixture and bake for an additional 5 minutes until golden brown. Allow pan to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer knots to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Tips for making garlic knots
- You may need to adjust the amount of flour in the dough. If the dough feels too sticky, you can add additional flour, one tablespoon at a time, but keep in mind that it shouldn’t be dry. Just slightly sticky is perfectly fine. And, on the contrary, if the dough feels dry, add a bit of water.
- There are two rising times, each of which take about 1-2 hours, so you will need to plan ahead. The warmer your house is, the faster the dough will rise. If it’s cold, just be patient and it will eventually rise, or try to find somewhere a bit warmer to let the dough rise.
- Brush the knots twice with garlic-butter mixture. They’re brushed once before baking, and then again 5 minutes before the baking time is done. You have no idea how good this stuff is! We use any leftover for dipping too!
Can I use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic?
You can, but I highly recommend using fresh garlic. The flavor is fresher and your knots will have bits of garlic on them (which taste amazing).
How can I prepare these knots ahead of time?
You can make the garlic knots ahead of time all the way up to the shaping stage. You can then either freeze them or refrigerate them on a sheet pan covered in plastic wrap. If freezing, place them in the fridge overnight to thaw. When you are ready to make them, remove and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour to warm up and rise. Then, bake immediately.
What should I serve with garlic knots?
While I love serving these at family holidays, sometimes they end up being the perfect treat for our weeknight dinners too. Since bread is the perfect vessel to soak up extra sauces, I tend to make these for pasta night or served with a fresh salad! Here are three of my favorite pasta dishes:
- Spaghetti with tomato cream sauce or marinara
- Creamy Chicken Pesto Penne with peas
- Sun-dried tomato pasta with cream sauce
If you have any leftover garlic knots, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Knots are best the same day they are made, but can also be frozen for up to 2 months in an airtight bag as well.
More delicious bread recipes
- Dinner Rolls: Fluffy and perfect with any meal.
- Best Hamburger Buns: Soft and perfect with burgers, veggie burgers, or sloppy Joes!
- Perfect Challah: Sweet, soft, and perfectly delicious.
- Cinnamon Rolls: Bakery-style cinnamon rolls topped with vanilla glaze.
Garlic Knots
These garlic knots are topped with a butter-garlic mixture with bits of basil for a delicious and tender garlicy roll! They're perfect with lunch, dinner, or anytime you have a craving for a restaurant-style garlic knot.
Ingredients
Knot Dough:
- 3 cups (420g) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- 2 and ¼ teaspoons (7g) instant dry yeast
- 1 cup (240 ml) lukewarm water (110°F-115°F)
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) canola or olive oil
- 1 and ¼ teaspoons salt
Garlic-Butter Topping:
- 7 tablespoons (100g) unsalted butter
- 5-6 medium garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tablespoons basil or parsley leaves, finely chopped
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Make the knot dough:
-
Place flour, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix until combined. Stir in salt.
-
Attach the dough hook to the mixer, then add water and oil and mix on low speed until dough comes together, 2-3 minutes. Continue mixing for another 8 minutes on low-medium speed until dough is soft and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
-
Place dough in a large bowl brushed with oil, and toss to coat (the fat will keep the dough from drying out). Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place or on the counter for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size. Keep in mind that rising will be slower in cold weather.
-
When the dough has risen, gently punch it to remove air. Divide the dough into 15 equal portions (each weighing about 45 grams) and shape each one into a strip about 7.5-inches/20cm long. Gently stretch each strip and tie into a simple knot. Arrange knots on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, keeping as much space between them as possible. Cover and let rest for 45-60 minutes or until again doubled in size.
-
Meanwhile, set the oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350°F/177°C.
Garlic Butter Topping:
-
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant and color deepens slightly. Stir in the rest of the butter until melted, then add basil or parsley and salt and turn off the heat.
-
Right before baking the knots, spread them with half of the butter-garlic mixture. Bake for 15 minutes. Take the pan out and spread knots with the remaining butter mixture. Bake for an additional 5 minutes until golden brown. Allow pan to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer knots to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
Serve: warm or at room temperature.
Store: in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Knots are best the same day they are made, but can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Lauren Gaskill | Making Life Sweet says
Your dinner with friends sound so wonderful! I bet these garlic knots were gone in SECONDS! So delicious dear!
Shiran says
Thank you so much Lauren! 🙂
Sophie says
This looks great, I’m keen to try it out! Just one quick question: Im sure the knots will be devoured, but for future reference, is it better to freeze the knots unbaked or baked? I have a pizza dough recipe that can be frozen after proofing quite effectively, so I wondered which was best.
Thanks again!
Shiran says
Hi Sophie 🙂 I always freeze any leftovers and then warm them up in the oven before serving them, and they taste absolutely delicious 🙂
Sophie says
Awesome, great to know! I also wanted to say that I made these the same day I commented and they were divine! The dough also worked out spectacularly. Thank you!
Shiran says
That’s great! Thank you, Sophie! 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
like you, i am always asked to bring dessert for a dinner party.. but next time i just have to bring something like these little garlic knots Xx
ilovecooking says
I’m 14 years old and i made them and they’re AMAZING! !! but I did it with 1/4 cup water and 3/4 cup milk and the dough was a little bit dry so I added more milk, the dough was really soft and I did it with 4 tablespoons butter and 4 tablespoons olive oil and seasoned it with oregano black pepper and thyme yummy ! i also made a sauce with garlic yoghurt milk and mayonaise. I love this recipe thank you so much!
Joy says
Hello there. Did u brush this garlic knot with egg, so the color turn golden brown? Thank you
Shiran says
I didn’t use egg wash on top, but the knots are still golden brown without it.
nabila says
Once it dubles in size can i refridgerate the dough until i use it? Just asking because usually around the holidays and parties i bake rolls after taking out the ham or turkey.
Shiran says
If it’s going to be in the fridge for more than 6 hours, then place it in the fridge right after making or shaping the dough. There’s no need to let it rise at room temperature. It will rise in the fridge slowly, and you can use it straight from the fridge.
Pam says
My husband and I both thought these were amazing. If I were to attempt them using whole wheat flour, or even rye flour what, if any, modifications would you recommend?
Shiran says
When I experiment with whole wheat or rye flour, I only replace half of the all-purpose flour with a similar amount of the other flour first. If the dough will look dry you can add a bit more liquid.
Katy says
Tested these out to see if I wanted to make them for Thanksgiving, and I definitely will!! They are incredible. I didn’t have any instant yeast on-hand, so I used active yeast in a 1:1 ratio, and they turned out fine. I also added an extra tablespoon of flour. Only problem I encountered was tying the knots as my dough was super sticky, but I just floured my hands, and it was easy. For Thanksgiving I might try an egg wash to make them more golden brown and shiny.
Elizabeth says
Just made these, and my whole family (even my picky toddlers) loved them! Great feeling dough without much work, too. This is definitely my go-to for garlic knots now!
Chris says
The basil was a bit strong for me / I think I would prefer Italian seasoning . The rolls themselves came out great. A keeper recipe.
kitsune says
made these and brought them to work (I use my coworkers as test subjects in most of my cooking ventures). tripled the recipe. Only problem was the supervisors on shift heard and migrated to the break room for goodies… and didn’t migrate back out…refused to answer their calls. Next time I’ll have to make a separate batch to store in the cash office so certain individuals can still do their jobs.
why does the star rating only go up to five?
Mila says
Hi Shiran, I have 2 questions, first, in the instructions you mentioned that the dough can be frozen up to 2 months. Should I froze it after the 2nd rise or before? And second question, after taking out from freezer should I let it sit at room temperature or in the fridge?
Shiran says
You can freeze it after the first or second rise. Let it sit at room temperature to thaw and rise as needed.
Mummypuah says
Hi, I tried the recipe earlier but wasn’t able to achieve a golden brown top for the knots. They are all still quite pale looking in fact. Other than baking longer and getting a harder texture, any tips? Thank you!
Shiran says
In general, brushing the tops with an egg wash helps with that, but these knots already have a different topping. You can try placing the baking sheet closer to the upper heat in the oven.
Dr Elaine Cooper says
Hi. Your recipes are great! Where can I find your chocolate bubka recipe!
I live in Canada, our flour has a higher gluten percentage. How will the difference affect the rise! Also do you have a Beali. Recipe. (No, I didn’t come from Bialystok). The kosher bakeries in Toronto May bake great bagels, but never ever beallies (transliterations are not my strong skills
Baking is my hobby. Since my daughter the Chef moved to Brooklyn and became frum she no loner bakes with butter. I briefly opened a kosher Mediterranean Cooking School….However I had to make a choice between the cooking school and my professional commitments
Natalie says
So delicious! Just shared the recipe (gave you credit) on my own blog. Thank you for the recipe!
Maggie says
Hi,
I tried it twice, somehow both the time the bread came out hard and chewy. Very dry from the inside. What possibly could I have done wrong?
Shiran says
Hi Maggie. It’s hard to know why. It should be very soft, not hard. If it’s dry maybe it was overbaked.
John Mullins says
Great article. This article is full of information & knowledge. Many thanks to the author for sharing this delicious garlic knots recipe with us.