Air Fryer Garlic Bread

I love using this method for homemade air fryer garlic bread—or, perhaps, I should call it homemade-ish. Because I keep things super simple by using ready-baked bread and then add my own garlic butter. I like to use a baguette or French stick, but you can use a ciabatta loaf or any other sliceable bread just as long as it fits in your air fryer.

Garlic bread is one of my favorite indulgent side dishes. Crispy on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside, it's hard to beat! But sometimes I find supermarket garlic breads a little bit disappointing. So, I like to make my own garlic bread in the air fryer. I use a loaf or baguette from the bakery for convinience but then make my own garlic butter. This means I can make it as buttery and as flavourful as I like and I know that it has been made with real butter rather than a vegetable spread or oil that pre-packaged garlic breads often use.

How to Make Garlic Bread in Air Fryer

Step 1: I begin by making the garlic butter. This is so easy. Just mix your butter (softened to room temperature)in a bowl with the minced garlic and seasoning. I like to use a mixture of sea salt, black pepper, oregano and chili flakes. You can add a combination of different dried herbs if you like—or even a sprinkling of parmesan for a cheesy twist.

Step 2: Next, I take the butter and place it onto a square of clingfilm (or food wrap) and roll it into a thick sausage shape. Then I chill this in the fridge for around 30 minutes. This creates a log of butter that can then be easily sliced. (You can skip this stage if you're short on time, it just means you'll need to spread the butter onto the bread with a knife in the next steps).

Step 3: Once the butter has chilled, unwrap and slice into rounds. You'll need one round for each slice of bread.

Step 4: Take your baguette or loaf and make slices by cutting around ¾ of the way through the loaf (be careful not to cut all the way through).

Step 5: Now, take the slices of butter and slot one into each of the slots that you have made (if you didn't chill and slice the butter in step 2, use a knife to carefully guide a knob of butter into each of the cuts.

Step 6: Wrap the bread in greaseproof paper (this stops it from burning in the air fryer and also saves on mess) and place into your air fryer basket. Cook on the air fryer setting at 360F (180C) for around 5 minutes or until the butter has melted.

Tips for Perfect Air Fryer Garlic Bread

1. Choose the best bread. I like to use a French-style baguette when making homemade garlic bread. You can use other types of bread if you prefer but generally, rustic-style breads which have a crusty exterior and are soft inside work best. Whatever you choose, just make sure it fits into your air fryer basket before you begin.
2. Watch the time. Garlic bread cooks quickly in the air fryer so keep an eye on it to prevent burning.
3. Get creative. It's really easy to customise your garlic bread with different flavours. You can use your combination of dried herbs or chilli flakes to create your perfect flavour.

Why You'll Love Cooking Garlic Bread in the Air Fryer

I love cooking garlic bread in the air fryer when I need it to be ready quickly - or when I'm short on oven space. The air fryer heats the bread in next to no time - perfect for melting the garlicky butter. If you're serving garlic bread alongside a soup, cooking in the air fryer means you don't need to put the oven on at all to enjoy your favourite side.

Looking for more tasty side dishes? Try these air fryer halloumi fries or air fryer halloumi with roasted cous cous. Or for the ultimate easy side, go for air fryer frozen French fries.

Or why not try serving this garlic bread the next time you have pizza? Talking of pizza, here's a great method for reheating pizza in an air fryer.

If you've made this air fryer garlic bread, let me know how it went by leaving a ⭐star rating and a comment below. I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for visiting!