Easy Garlic Parmesan Knots
by Chungah
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These easy garlic parmesan knots are soft, chewy and so fluffy! Made in just 30 min with pizza dough. And the herb butter is simply the best!
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Why you’ll love these easy garlic parmesan knots
- The double dunk. These garlic knots are coated in a Parmesan butter sauce both before and after baking, really letting the bread soak up all the irresistible garlicky buttery goodness.
- Budget-friendly. Making garlic knots at home costs a fraction of the price than ordering in a restaurant or delivery. In fact, the recipe repurposes leftover pizza dough (or you can buy cheap ready-made pizza dough from your local grocery store), adding in a few pantry staples or ingredients already on hand.
- Guaranteed crowd-favorite. Appetizer or side dish, these garlic knots are so great for sharing, perfect as an after-school snack, a holiday gathering or game day.
What are garlic knots?
Garlic knots were invented by pizzerias in NYC as a way to repurpose leftover pizza dough during the 1970s, tying the leftover dough into knots, baking, and tossing in a rich butter mixture. They are typically served warm as an appetizer or side dish alongside marinara sauce for dipping.
why use pizza dough for garlic knots?
Homemade garlic knots are incredibly easy (and quick) to make using homemade or store-bought pizza dough!
- Huge time-saver: you can skip the yeast dough with mixing, kneading and rising, and instead, pick up fresh pizza dough from your local pizzeria or the refrigerated aisle of the grocery store
- Crispy and fluffy: the pizza dough allows the knots to bake with a crispy crust on the outside and a soft, airy, pillowy inside
- Superior elasticity: the high gluten in pizza dough makes it very elastic for easy shaping, letting you stretch the dough and ties into knots without breaking or tearing
- Repurposes leftovers: this is a great way to use up any leftover pizza dough from pizza night
How to make garlic parmesan knots
- Prep the sheet pan. Preheat the oven to 400°F and lightly coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray to prevent sticking.
- Make the butter sauce. Combine the melted butter, Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano, parsley and salt.
- Shape the dough. First, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, roll into 6-inch ropes, then tie into overhand knots, tucking in the ends.
- Add the first butter coating. Arrange the garlic knots in an even layer on the baking sheet, brushing the knots with half of the butter sauce.
- Bake. Bake until the knots are golden brown, about 18-22 minutes.
- Add the second butter coating and serve. Brush the warm knots with the remaining butter sauce and serve warm.
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Tools For This Recipe
Easy Garlic Parmesan Knots: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This is my go-to pizza dough recipe, and it’s freezer-friendly!
Absolutely! It is a great shortcut that saves so much time. You can also buy fresh, ready-made pizza dough from a local pizzeria.
This will create nooks and crannies to hold up and trap the garlic butter sauce.
Marinara sauce and pizza sauce are both excellent options.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days, reheating in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil, until warmed through.
Easy Garlic Parmesan Knots
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 pound pizza dough, homemade or store-bought, at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together butter, Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano, parsley and salt; set aside.
- Cut dough into 12 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece into a 6-inch rope, about 1/2-inch thick, and tie into a knot, tucking the ends.
- Place knots onto the prepared baking sheet and brush each knot with half of the butter mixture.
- Place into oven and bake until golden brown, about 18-22 minutes.
- Serve immediately, brushed with remaining butter mixture.
Equipment
Notes
- Use freshly grated Parmesan. Freshly grated cheese will melt smoothly into the warm butter, clinging very well to the hot garlic knots.
- Room temperature dough will be easier to work with. Let the pizza dough come to room temperature, about 30 minutes, to allow the dough to stretch easily without snapping back or tearing.
- Cut into uniform pieces. Divide the dough into equal pieces for even cooking, allowing all of the knots to bake through at the same time.
- Avoid overcrowding. Overcrowding the sheet pan will steam the knots instead. Always spread the knots in a single layer with a little bit of space between each of the knots to ensure even browning. Use two sheet pans if needed.
- Add the butter sauce immediately after baking. This will allow the knots to absorb the rich fat, similar to a sponge, while softening the hot crust.
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These look delicious and so easy! I will be making these tonight!!
Made these using a convection oven. They were amazing! I made them in 2 batches of 6 and the last batch of 4. I kept the temperature the same but baked them for 12 min instead. I saw this recipe and wanted to try it out first since I needed something to take to a potluck. Thanks for the recipe!
I am always buying the pre-made savory garlic knots from Wal-Mart. Well.. I have seen them made on cooking shows, they look super simple to make! Tonight, I made these, and they were SUPER EASY to make!! They were pretty good, but the biscuits had an underlying biscuit taste.. not exactly what I was going for. The recipe is great and simple, but I’m going to try pizza crust dough the next time I make them!
These are heavenly! Made them twice just over this weekend and still want more. I was worried they would end up tasting like biscuits, but they definitely had that doughy garlic knot taste everyone loves. The seasoning in the butter is perfectly balanced, and the recipe really did take just 20 minutes, and half of that was baking time. Thanks for the recipe!
I just tried freezing the knots and then popping them in oven. It worked great! Instead of putting them in the oven to bake, just pop them in the freezer in the baking sheet. Once frozen, you can put them in a freezer container and store them. Bake them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes and voilà! No need to thaw.
That looks amazing! I’m curious if you have tried it with dough from scratch? If so, did it turn out well?
I actually haven’t. Sorry!
they look so good
Have you tried making this with real garlic? While the rest sounds good, I am wondering if the real real will make it taste better comparing to using powder.
Yes, I have made it with both fresh garlic and garlic powder – either works well – I just prefer the latter. It’s easier too so it’s a win-win situation! 🙂
My husband wanted garlic knots to go with his caesar salads at lunchtime and he absolutely loves them! He said I absolutely nailed it. He would eat the entire batch in one sitting if I let him! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Can you make these with regular parmesan instead of freshly grated ?
I have – and I always dust mine with Parmesan cheese in the can – which you could use in the melted butter as well – if you do not have fresh parmesan. Add whatever additional spieces you like too =)
I made these for my family and they loved them. These are delicious and easy. Thanks for the recipe.
Do you think these would freeze well?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Questions and … The only 2 things missing from your instruction is when and how to apply the dry seasonings. From your pics, it looks like I apply this before baking. Do you roll them in this mixture or sprinkle ? Does re-buttering them in the last step, remove the dry season ? Last, if I pre-make them a day ahead, will the dough rise changing the baking time ?
It sounds and looks delicious. Please let me know.
Alyssa, the recipe indicates when to apply the dry seasonings here, referred to as the “butter mixter”:
Place knots onto the prepared baking sheet and brush each knot with half of the butter mixture.
If this is made ahead of time, the baking time should not vary, but as always, please use your best judgment.
I’ve made these many times and still get a lot of requests for them! They are SO GOOD. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Made this on 9/19/15, but instead of using refrigerated rolls, I made my own pizza dough instead, and then followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Instead of making knots, we made little round balls. It was so delicious. It was buttery and had great garlic flavor. Everyone loved them!
These are soooo good!
Quick, easy, delicious. Husband furtively snacked the left overs all night last night. That was after I “quality control” snacked a few straight out of the oven. Picky second grader scarfed her fair share too.
Does it really matter if the butter is salted or unsalted?
In a nutshell, yes, it does matter because you have no idea how much salt is in the salted butter, which makes it difficult to calibrate the rest of your seasonings in the recipe. You can read more about it here.
This looks awesome. I will be making this receipt tonight!
I’m going to make this tonight!
Made these last night for dinner & they were so tasty! My hubby asked if we had a second can of biscuits to make more 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!!!
If I make these in advance (night before), do I make the knots, refrigerate and then brush the butter mixture right before baking? Or do I brush the mixture, refrigerate and then bake the next day?
I recommend brushing the butter mixture prior to baking.