Homemade Garlic Knots Recipe

These homemade Garlic Knots are made completely from scratch in just over an hour! My recipe is easy (no mixer needed) and makes perfectly chewy, buttery, and garlicky knots. Includes a how-to video!

Quick & Easy Garlic Knots

So many recipes for garlic knots start with pre-made dough, and while I totally understand being in a rush, nothing stacks up to the taste of a completely from-scratch recipe. Maybe I’m biased, but homemade is always better! Especially with a recipe as easy as this one.

Just like my homemade breadsticks, this homemade garlic knots recipe starts with my simple, from-scratch pizza dough. It’s a very easy yeast dough that’s great for beginners, so don’t be intimidated if you don’t often bake with yeast (like I was for the longest time). If you can stir and you can tie a knot, you can make this recipe!

Once your knots are tied and baked, you will generously brush them with garlic butter before serving. The butter (and that garlicky flavor) will absorb into the bread for a burst of lip-smacking goodness. The final result is equally as tasty on its own as it is when dipped in sauce from baked ziti, beef ragu, or chicken pasta. You are just going to love these!

What You Need

Look at that, only 10 ingredients! I told you this recipe was easy 😉 Here’s what you need:

• Flour. Either bread flour or all-purpose flour will work, but you will get slightly different results from each. Bread flour is my preference, as it gives the knots a slightly more crisp exterior and a chewier interior. All-purpose flour will make them softer and fluffier. While I like my cakes to be soft and fluffy, I prefer my garlic knots to be a bit chewier.
• Yeast. This recipe uses instant/rapid rise yeast for quick and easy results. If you’d like to use active dry yeast, you can. I talk a bit more about this below!
• Garlic. We are adding a bit of garlic powder (just half a teaspoon) into our dough, but most of the garlic flavor is going to come from our buttery, garlic-infused topping.
• Fresh basil. Fresh parsley would alternatively work!
• Parmesan cheese. Optional, but highly recommended for restaurant-style knots.

SAM’S TIP: As with many of my yeast recipes, the amount of flour you will ultimately need will vary depending on the conditions of your kitchen. Do NOT dump it all in at once; just add it gradually until your dough reaches the right consistency. Watch the video below if you would like a visual of what this looks like!

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Garlic Knots

1. Dry ingredients – Combine 1 cup of flour with the remaining dry ingredients, then stir in the oil and warm water.
2. Gradually add more flour as needed until the dough becomes elastic and cohesive.
3. Let rise – Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
4. Deflate and divide – Gently deflate the dough and form it into a 15″ log before cutting into 9 even pieces.
5. Tie into knots – Roll each piece into an 8″ rope, tie in a knot, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Bake – Brush each garlic knot with olive oil (optional) and let sit for 5 minutes. Bake for 13 minutes at 400F.
7. Brush with garlic butter after baking and sprinkle with grated parmesan just before serving.

SAM’S TIP: This is optional, but I like to brush my knots with olive oil before baking to encourage them to turn a beautiful golden brown in the oven. It’s a quick and simple extra step!

Frequently Asked Questions

I hope you enjoy this recipe! We make these frequently and pair them with everything from my meatballs to beef stew! If you’re serving them as an appetizer instead of a side, I highly suggest making a batch of my homemade marinara for dipping.

Enjoy!

Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook

Garlic Knots

These homemade garlic knots are made completely from scratch in just over an hour! My recipe is easy (no mixer needed) and makes perfectly chewy, buttery, and garlicky knots.

Recipe includes a how-to video!

4.99 from 153 votes

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Course: Bread

Cuisine: American, Italian

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 13 minutes minutes

Rising Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 3 minutes minutes

Servings: 9 knots

Calories: 200kcal

Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

• ▢ 2-2 ⅓ cups (250-295 g) bread flour* divided
• ▢ 1 packet instant yeast 2 ¼ teaspoons
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons olive oil + additional
• ▢ ¾ cup (180 ml) warm water 105-115F [40-46C]

Garlic Butter:

• ▢ 4 Tablespoons salted butter
• ▢ 3 cloves minced garlic about 1 ½ Tablespoons
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon minced fresh basil
• ▢ Grated parmesan cheese optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F (205C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine 1 cup (125g) of flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, and garlic powder and stir well.
  2-2 ⅓ cups (250-295 g) bread flour*, 1 packet instant yeast, 1 ½ teaspoons sugar, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• Add olive oil and warm water and use a wooden spoon to stir until all ingredients are well-combined.
  2 Tablespoons olive oil + additional, ¾ cup (180 ml) warm water
• Gradually add another 1 cup (125g) of flour. Add any additional flour as needed (I've found that sometimes I need as much as an additional ⅓ cup), stirring until the dough forms a cohesive, elastic ball and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the bowl (see video below recipe for visual). The dough will still be tacky but still should be manageable with your hands.
• Drizzle a separate, large, clean bowl generously with olive oil and use a pastry brush to brush up the sides of the bowl.
• Transfer your dough to prepared bowl and roll the dough through the oil until the entire surface of the dough is lightly coated with oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place on top of your oven to rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Once the dough has risen, use your hands to gently deflate it and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Form into a log about 15” long and cut into 9 even pieces.
• Roll each piece between your palms and slightly pull it to form a rope about 8” long (lightly dust the dough with flour if needed).
• Carefully tie each rope into a knot (see video for guidance) and place on prepared baking sheet. Lightly brush with olive oil if desired.
• Set tray on top of warm oven and let garlic knots rest/rise for 5 minutes before baking.
• Transfer to oven and bake on 400F (205C) for 13 minutes or until just beginning to turn a light golden brown. Meanwhile, prepare garlic butter.

Garlic Butter

• Combine butter and garlic in a small saucepan over medium/low heat. Cook until butter is melted and garlic is fragrant.
  4 Tablespoons salted butter, 3 cloves minced garlic
• Remove from heat and stir in minced basil. Once knots have finished baking, use a pastry brush to generously brush garlic butter mixture over each knot. Sprinkle with grated parmesan, if desired.
  1 Tablespoon minced fresh basil, Grated parmesan cheese
• Enjoy served warm.

Notes

*You can use all purpose flour instead (a straight one for one substitution). However, all purpose flour will make them softer and fluffier while bread flour keep them chewier (and more like a breadstick).

Nutrition

Serving: 1garlic knot | Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 231mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 150IU | Vitamin C: 3.3mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

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