This Calabrian Chili Garlic Bread is a spicy take on the classic and so easy to make! Who doesn't love garlic bread?
This garlic bread is great as a side dish for pasta or steak or it can be served as an appetizer to go with your Antipasto Platter or Shrimp Cocktail!
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What are Calabrian chilies?
Just as the name suggests, they are a type of chili pepper from the Calabria region of Italy. They have a medium level of spice and a delicious flavor. In the United States, you will most likely find them jarred in oil. I like to buy jars of chopped Calabrian chilies because I find them to be the most versatile, but you can buy jarred whole chilies as well. If using whole, just give them a good chop for this recipe! Calabrian chilies have recently gained quite a bit of popularity and can be found at many grocery stores.
If you can't find them near you, you can always buy them online! They are a pantry staple for me!
Ingredients
Bread: You'll need a long loaf of bread that's soft in the middle and crusty on the outside but not too hard. There are lots of bread options that will work for this recipe, look in the bakery section of the grocery store for what looks fresh!
Butter: I like using unsalted butter so that you can control the amount of salt yourself.
Calabrian chilies: The star of this garlic bread! Look for chopped Calabrian chilies in a jar.
Garlic: Can't make garlic bread without garlic!
Parsley: Fresh parsley is an important ingredient for garlic bread because it gives it a little pop of brightness and color. You'll need Italian flat leaf parsley, not curly!
Kosher salt: Season the butter/garlic mixture with kosher salt to taste.
Pecorino Romano (optional): I know this will sound crazy, but I actually prefer to skip the cheese in this recipe. I know lots of people love cheese on their garlic bread though so I've made it an optional add in. Pecorino Romano works best, but you can use Parmigiano Reggiano if you prefer.
Recipe FAQ
Calabrian chilies are a pepper from Calabria, Italy. They are available in jars and are usually whole, chopped, or in paste form. For this recipe I like to use chopped Calabrian chilies. If you can only find whole peppers, just chop them up yourself.
While it won't have the exact same flavor, you could use chopped hot cherry peppers, Sambal Oelek, or just a good pinch of red pepper flakes!
I usually grab a french loaf or Italian loaf from the bakery section of my grocery store. You want something that's soft in the middle and crusty on the outside but not too tough!
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Calabrian Chili Garlic Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Loaf French or Italian bread
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
- 1 Tablespoon Jarred chopped Calabrian chilies
- 4 Cloves garlic minced
- ¼ Teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh parsley chopped, to taste
- Pecorino Romano grated, optional
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.
- Add the softened butter, Calabrian chilies, garlic, salt and parsley in a bowl and stir to combine. Taste and adjust salt to your preference, add more parsley etc.
- Cut the bread in half longways. Spread the butter mixture over the cut sides of the bread, all the way to the edges.
- Bake the bread for 10-12 minutes. If using cheese, grate over the bread at this step. Broil the bread for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.
- Slice the bread and serve!
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