Almost every meal is improved by adding garlic bread! It’s pretty easy to cook in the oven, but we started to think, what can you do if you don’t have an oven? Can you microwave garlic bread instead?
To microwave garlic bread, place slices of the bread on a microwave-safe plate, cover with a paper towel and microwave for around 30 seconds.
How to Microwave Garlic Bread
Microwaving garlic bread is easy to do, and it really doesn’t take long at all. A few seconds at most! Here is how you would cook it in the microwave.
- Place Slices Onto a Plate
Take your garlic bread slices and pop them onto a plate that is safe to put in the microwave. You need to ensure that they are placed in a single layer and are spread apart so the slices are not touching. - Cover and Microwave
Place a paper towel over the top of the bread slices and then pop the plate of garlic bread slices into the microwave. Heat for about twenty to forty seconds. - Check
Check the garlic bread is cooked. If not pop it back into the microwave for a few seconds longer. Be careful because it would be very easy to overcook the bread. - Serve
Serve and eat the garlic bread as soon as you have heated it up. If you leave it too long, then it won’t be edible any longer because it hardens as it cools when it has been cooked in the microwave.
Yes, frozen garlic bread can be microwaved directly from the freezer. Pop it onto a microwave-safe dish, cover and then microwave for 30 seconds. Flip it over and then microwave for a further 30 seconds.
How to Microwave Garlic Bread Successfully
If you want to have the best chance of success when microwaving garlic bread then ensure you read and use these three top tips:
- Cover with Paper Towel – Placing a paper towel over the bread helps avoid spray from hot garlic making a mess. You don’t want to cover it completely with a lid like you would other foods, so a paper towel is a good compromise that works.
- Crisp Under the Grill – If you want a crispy finish but still need to cook it quickly, then you can heat it up in the microwave and then pop it under the grill for a few seconds to crisp up the tops of the garlic bread.
- Eat Immediately – If you are microwaving your garlic bread, make sure you eat it immediately. When you cook bread in the microwave, it softens initially but gets very hard and solid when it cools, If you leave it too long, you won’t be able to bite it at all!
Why You Should Microwave Garlic Bread
As you can probably imagine, there are a few benefits to using the microwave versus the oven or toaster when cooking garlic bread:
Speedy
Speed is the main advantage of microwaving your garlic bread. You can have hot and delicious garlic bread to eat in less than a minute. It doesn’t get much quicker than that!
There is, of course, no preheating involved either. As you’re using it for less time and it uses less energy, using the microwave is much cheaper than using the oven.
Oven Not Needed
Being able to cook garlic bread in the microwave is a big advantage if you don’t have easy access to an oven. It’s great to know that even with just a microwave you can have most of the usual foods you love.
Why You Shouldn’t Microwave Garlic Bread
Unfortunately, it’s not all good news as there are several drawbacks to using a microwave to heat garlic bread:
Lack of Crisp
Microwaved garlic bread doesn’t taste as good as baked or grilled garlic bread. A lot of the deliciousness of garlic bread comes from the crispy golden edges as the bread toasts. You will never achieve the same crunch in a microwave.
If you’re going to dunk it into pasta sauce or soup, then chances are the crisp edge won’t be hugely missed, so consider how you plan on eating it.
Not Reheatable
If you cook garlic bread in a microwave, you have to eat it immediately, and it will no longer be suitable for reheating. This is because bread hardens as it cools if you cook it this way.
You will also need to avoid refreezing garlic bread that you have microwaved.
Microwaving Garlic Bread FAQs
If you have more questions about microwaving garlic bread, then these FAQs may help out:
A major benefit of cooking frozen garlic bread is that you don’t need to thaw it out before cooking. Cook it from frozen for best results. This makes it really easy to cook and eat without too much fuss.
Yes, garlic knots can be microwaved. They will take longer to microwave than garlic bread as the heat needs to get into the thick dough. Microwave for around 1 minute on a plate, covered with a paper towel.
Yes, garlic bread can be cooked in the air fryer. It will take between 10 and 12 minutes to cook in the air fryer depending on the size of the bread.
Sources
Where we obtain our information and verify the facts in this article:
Simply Recipes
The easy way to make garlic knots
Sally’s Baking Addiction
Homemade garlic knots
Ross is a freelance writer with a passion for delicious food and drinks, having worked in the hospitality industry in the past. He began working with Let’s Foodie when it first launched to provide information on how to reheat, freeze and microwave different foods.
