We Tried All the Frozen Garlic-Covered Carbs We Could Find — Here’s What We’re Buying from Now On

It is a truth universally acknowledged that when your red sauce-covered carbs are in want of a side dish, the answer is usually a garlic-covered carb. (If it’s unclear, we’re talking about spaghetti and garlic bread.) Luckily, the freezer aisle has your back when you’re in a pinch — and don’t want to go through the whole process from scratch.

Somewhere in the vicinity of all the frozen pizzas at your local supermarket you’ll find a trifecta of ready-to-heat bread-based garlicky goodness — knots, toast, and bread — that are ready to step up to sidekick duty. To figure out which are the best of the best, we gathered all the garlic bread, toast, and knots we could find and put them all to a taste test. 

All of the products were baked at the temperature and cooking time specified on the package. Tastings were timed so we could try items in each category side by side while still hot. There were definitely some really big discrepancies in flavor and texture among the brands, but perhaps the biggest surprise was that none of the products were as garlicky as we craved (certainly not even close to homemade). Still, there were definitely crowd-pleasers in the bunch. Here’s how they stacked up.

Maybe homemade garlic bread has ruined us for frozen, because we were pretty disappointed by the overall lack of garlic flavor in all the breads we tried. If you like buttery bread with a hint of garlic, nearly any brand will do. But if you really want a frozen version that’s somewhat close to the decadence of homemade, go with this one from New York Bakery. This loaf is meant to be baked in its plastic package, but it seems to keep the butter in contact with the bread, resulting in a very moist and rich garlic bread, with a decent amount of garlic flavor. We missed the crunch of broiled homemade garlic bread, but at least it had the flavor we were after. 

Buy: New York Bakery Pre-Sliced Loaf, $3.18 for 14 ounces at Instacart

The difference between garlic toast and bread is simply thickness. The best thing about garlic toast is how it gets deliciously crispy while also staying decadently buttery. To claim our top spot, we were searching for real garlic flavor and a satisfying chew. Some brands we tried were too airy and insubstantial in texture, or so light on garlic you could barely tell it was there. This one hit all the right buttons. (It’s great with a fried egg for breakfast too.) 

Buy: New York Bakery Mama Bella’s Garlic Toast, $2.59 for 13.5 ounces at Target

If you live on the East Coast, you’re in luck — because this Canadian brand is distributed in major supermarkets in your neck of the woods, and the garlic knots are unmatched. These baked up gorgeously golden-brown with a prominent knot (some brands lost their knots or just looked pale). None of the knots we tried were really garlicky enough for our taste, and this brand was no exception, but the flavor of the bread was deliciously yeasty, and had a fluffy-yet-chewy texture that couldn’t be beat. If you can’t find these knots, maybe go for the toast instead?

Buy: Furlani Garlic Knots, $2.99 for six at Instacart

Do you have a favorite frozen garlic-carb that’s not on this list?