The Ultimate Potluck Side: Cheesy Garlic Butter Bubble Bread
The easy, cheesy bread you need for every potluck plate.
Serves10 to 12
Prep25 minutes
Cook25 minutes to 28 minutes
When it comes to potluck side dishes, people often show up expecting the classics: pasta salad, mayo-laden broccoli slaw, maybe a fruit salad. While there’s nothing wrong with going old-school, I strongly encourage you to switch it up and bring a tray of bubble bread instead.
Bubble bread is really just dressed-up garlic bread, which means it’s familiar enough to please a crowd, but still offers something new and fun. It might as well have been made for potlucks: You can transport it in the pan or dish you bake it in, and it’s easy to share (the pieces are made to be pulled apart!). It’s also perfect for soaking up any extra sauce from, say, our ultimate potluck main dish: gnocchi lasagna.
This bubble bread starts with canned biscuits, so there’s no waiting on yeast to rise. Then you dress them in a fragrant garlic butter. It’s just the thing to bring all those community dishes together.
How to Make Bubble Bread for a Potluck
Bubble bread is a relative of monkey bread (or any pull-apart bread): Bread dough is cut into bite-sized pieces, piled together, and baked. Bubble bread is unique, however, in that it gets baked in a single layer, so it bakes faster and makes for a beautiful presentation. You can make bubble bread from any yeast dough or store-bought pizza dough, but we prefer canned biscuit dough for its ease.
You’ll make a simple garlic butter (flavored with Italian seasoning), cut up the dough, then dip it into the butter and arrange the pieces in either a quarter sheet pan or 9×13-inch baking dish. Then, top with cheese. The cheese topping is optional — this bread is flavorful and buttery without it. If you’re going to have some time between baking and eating (and you have access to an oven at the potluck), you can leave the cheese topping off until closer to mealtime, then pop it back in the oven to melt. Or you can bake the cheese right on top (as directed below), and the cheese will flavor the bread and help keep it moist during baking and transport.
Cheesy Garlic Butter Bubble Bread
The easy, cheesy bread you need for every potluck plate.
Prep time 25 minutes
Cook time 25 minutes to 28 minutes
Serves 10 to 12
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 6 cloves
garlic
- 8 tablespoons
(1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup
olive oil
- 2 teaspoons
Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon
garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
- 2 (16-ounce) cans
refrigerated homestyle biscuit dough
- 2 ounces
low-moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup), optional
- 2 ounces
Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup), optional
Instructions
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F.
Peel and mince 6 cloves garlic. Melt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the garlic, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and stir to combine. Remove from the heat.
Unwrap 2 (16-ounce) cans biscuit dough. Use kitchen shears to cut each biscuit into quarters. Roll each piece into a tight ball.
Pour 1/2 cup of the garlic-butter mixture into a quarter sheet pan or 9x13-inch baking pan (preferably metal), then brush the butter on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Add the dough balls and arrange into tight rows. Pour the remaining butter evenly over the dough balls.
Bake the bubble bread until just beginning to brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Meanwhile, shred 2 ounces mozzarella cheese (about 1/2 cup), and grate 2 ounces Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup).
Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle with the mozzarella and Parmesan. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes more.
Recipe Notes
Make ahead: Bake the garlic bread as directed without the cheese. Then just before serving, sprinkle the cheese over the bread and bake for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown.