This is the kind of bread that makes everyone suddenly "hang around" the kitchen. Crispy, full of flavor, and perfect for a sunny Sunday afternoon moment-pull-apart bread with garlic butter and cheese. Pop it in the oven, and you're done. So simple.
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Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread (Diamond Cut Loaf)
Pull-apart bread is wildly popular for a reason. You even see ready-made versions in supermarkets around the holidays, because it's the ultimate quick snack when you've already cooked half your life that day.
But making it yourself is ridiculously easy-and then you can make it exactly how you like it.
The best part is the moment you pull out a piece and the melted cheese stretches like it's showing off. Put it on the table fast and watch it disappear.
Perfect for Friday night drinks, game night or as a fun side next to soup or a big salad.
What You'll Need
Exact amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Unsliced loaf: Go for a sturdy round loaf (white, brown, seeded-anything that holds shape). You're cutting a pattern, so you need a bread that won't collapse.
- Butter: This is the flavor carrier. It soaks into every cut and turns "nice bread" into "where did it go?!" bread.
- Garlic cloves, squeezed: Classic garlic-bread smell that pulls people in like a magnet.
- Parsley, finely chopped: Freshness + that "I totally planned this" finish.
- Maldon salt: Those little crunchy flakes on top are magic. If you don't have it, use coarse sea salt.
- Mozzarella, grated: Melts beautifully and gives proper cheese pulls. Want more punch? Mix in a little Gouda cheese or cheddar, but keep mozzarella for the stretch.
How to Make It
- Step 1: Melt the butter in a small pan. Take it off the heat. Stir in the pressed garlic, 1 tablespoon parsley, and ¼ teaspoon Maldon salt. This is your garlic butter "paint".
- Step 2: Now cut the loaf diagonally every 2 cm / ¾ inch, but DO NOT cut all the way through-stop about 1 cm / ½ inch from the bottom so the loaf stays together. Rotate the bread and cut diagonally again the other way, so you get a diamond pattern. Same rule: don't cut through.
- Step 3: Use a brush (or a spoon) to spread the garlic butter into all the cuts. Open the diamonds gently with your fingers so you can get the butter in there-this is where the flavor lives.
- Step 4: Stuff the grated mozzarella into the openings. Don't dump it all on top-push it between the cuts so every pull-apart piece gets cheese.
- Step 5: Brush the top with a little more garlic butter. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and the remaining ¼ teaspoon Maldon salt.
- Step 6: Wrap the loaf in foil (loosely, but sealed). Bake for 20 minutes. Open the foil on the top (leave the sides wrapped) and bake for another 7-8 minutes until it's golden and the cheese is bubbly.Remove the foil and serve immediately. Waiting is how you lose the cheese pull.
Troubleshooting
- The loaf fell apart. You cut too deep. Next time stop about ½ inch (1 cm) from the bottom so it stays "one loaf".
- The cheese mostly sat on top. Push it into the cuts. The magic is inside the diamonds, not on the surface.
- Not golden enough on top. Give it 2-3 extra minutes uncovered, but keep an eye on it-cheese can go from bubbly to "oops" quickly.
- Garlic butter didn't get inside. Open the cuts gently and brush again. Butter on the outside is nice. Butter inside is the whole point.
Serving ideas
Put it in the middle of the table and let everyone pull their own piece-instant party. It's great with soup (tomato soup is a classic), next to a BBQ, or as a snack board star with dips like aioli or herby cream cheese.
Did you make this delicious recipe? Tag #byandreajanssen via Instagram! I love to see what your creation looks like and regularly share the most beautiful photos of you! Did you like this recipe? Then leave a rating on the recipe card! Your feedback helps other home cooks and me enormously.
Need more inspiration?
- You can find video recipes on my YouTube channel.
- And don't forget to save the recipes on Pinterest, so you can easily find them again next time!
📖 Recipe
VIDEO
RECIPE CARD
Recipe Help
Two easy tools to make cooking even easier. Cooking mode keeps the screen on. The easy-step recipe displays the recipe step by step, including the ingredients needed. And you can adjust servings easily
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter, unsalted
- 2 cloves garlic, squeezed
- ½ teaspoon Maldon salt
- 2 tablespoons Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
- 1 ½ pound whole bread, loaf, unsliced
- 1 cup shredded Mozzarella
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 390 °F.
- Melt butter remove from heat. Stir in garlic, 1 tablespoon parsley, and ¼ teaspoon Maldon salt.1 stick butter, 2 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon Maldon salt, 2 tablespoons Fresh Parsley
- Cut the loaf diagonally every ¾ inch (2 cm), stopping about ½ inch (1 cm) from the bottom.1 ½ pound whole bread
- Rotate and cut diagonally again to create a diamond pattern (don't cut through).
- Brush garlic butter into all cuts.
- Stuff mozzarella into the openings.1 cup shredded Mozzarella
- Brush the top with more garlic butter. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and Maldon salt.
- Wrap in foil and bake 20 minutes.
- Open foil on top and bake 7-8 minutes until golden and bubbly.
- Remove foil, let it sit 1-2 minutes so nobody burns their fingers, then dive in.
Notes
- 5. Storage
Make the garlic butter earlier, keep it covered in the fridge, then melt it gently when you're ready.- Smart tip from my kitchen: if you buy a loaf and freeze it, you always have pull-apart bread ready for an unexpected drinks-and-snacks afternoon.
- Leftovers: keep airtight. Reheat in the oven to bring back the crisp (microwave = soft bread).
Nutrition
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Prefer to read this recipe in Dutch? See my Pull-apart brood met knoflookboter en kaas.
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