A surprising addition makes this recipe for Secret Ingredient Cheesy Garlic Bread the best loaf to ever hit your lips!
If you’ve been with me here since Day 1 (way back in 2008!), you’ll know that my mom, Noni, is the inspiration behind everything I do, both as a chef and as a mom.
She is the ultimate blend of home cook-slash-superstar mother of three, and I can think of no better example of her dual superpower roles than the time she drove the carpool to my field hockey game while dishing out hot apples turnovers à la mode from the front seat while stopped at red lights.
True story.
The woman served pastries and ice cream to a Suburban full of hungry middle school girls from the driver seat. Need I say more? Noni can do it all.
This recipe is just another one of her creations that transforms an ordinary dish into something so spectacular you wonder why you ever made garlic bread any other way to begin with.
This isn’t your average garlic bread. It’s made with a secret ingredient that’s the key to the creaminess.
It may seem strange, but read the comments on this recipe and you’ll see that it’s a tried and tested 5-star favorite. (I originally shared this recipe back in 2011 but recently gave it a photo makeover!)
I love pairing this cheesy garlic bread with any of my go-to pasta dishes or serving it next to a big salad. How would you serve it?
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup shredded Asiago cheese
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2/3 cup sliced scallions
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 loaf French bread
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a bowl, combine the softened butter, Asiago cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, mayonnaise, sliced scallions and minced garlic. Stir until combined.
- Slice the loaf of bread in half lengthwise then spread both sides with the cheese mixture.
- Bake the bread for 7 minutes then place it under the broiler just until golden brown, about 3 minutes.
- Cut it into slices and serve.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
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Recipe adapted from The Los Angeles Times.
Best garlic bread everrrr.
I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Jennifer!
Delicious both stuffed and not
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Dana!
Best garlic bread I’ve ever tasted, does not need any tweaking
Woohoo! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Ric!
So the secret ingredient is Garlic. Am I right LOL.
Mayo! :)
Delicious
We made this recipe; Secret Ingredient Cheesy Garlic Bread to go along with a meal we made. I would like to say this was very, very good! I do have one comment to ask though. In the INSTRUCTIONS portion of the recipe it says; Slice the loaf of bread in half lengthwise then spread both SIDES with the cheese mixture…to which we did probably because we sliced the loaf into a couple of individual slices. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say BOTH HALVES. Just a suggestion…non-the-less as I commented ‘We enjoyed the recipe as it was very good’.
Thank you for your recipes because we find them good, tasty and delicious!
Thanks for your note, David! So glad you loved the recipe!
Can you make it, slice it, then freeze it?
Hi Paula – I haven’t tried that so I’m not sure what the resulting taste/texture would be like. Would love to hear your results if you give it a shot!
Made it again but this time I only had a Mexican cheese blend on hand. It was soooo good with a little Mexican oregano and peperoncinis!
YUM! I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying the cheesy garlic bread, Casey!
Our go to recipe for garlic bread. We make it now without really measuring, add dried Italian Herbs, more garlic and use more traditional Italian cheeses to include Pecorino Romano. Best part is you can make a large batch and refrigerate spread for quick assembly of small portions baked in a toaster oven (son’s motivation for making it).
Yay! I’m so thrilled your family has been enjoying the recipe, Nicole!
The most AMAZING garlic bread ever! We all went bonkers and 36 hours left there’s not a crumb leftover. Just pre-ordered! Can’t wait – Kelly, you rock!
Woohoo! Love reading this, Laurie! And thanks so much for your support, I can’t wait to hear which recipe from the book is your favorite! :)
What can use to substitute the cheese you use? As I couldn’t find those cheese. Thank you.
Hi there! You could substitute Parmesan and shredded mozzarella cheese if you can’t find Asiago and Monterey Jack.
One word. NOM!!!
I’ve tried this once. My family went NUTS over it. I made the mistake of telling my husband what was in it lol I wanted to make it again and he wanted to do it his way. Long story short I should just make it behind his back, not tell him whats in it and watch him gorge. Thanks Hun, love the recipe
I’m so glad your family enjoyed the recipe, Krystal!
This was excellent!! Would not change a thing!!!
I’m thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Natasha!
Yum! I’ve been making a bread very similar for years, only difference, canned diced green chiles instead of scallions. Delicious!
YUM!
What is Asiago cheese? I live in Australia
Hi Margaret – Aged Asiago is similar in color and texture to Parmesan cheese but has a nutty and yeasty aroma with a strong flavor. You can substitute Parmesan if you can’t find Asiago. :)
That sounds delicious! I normally eat Miracle Whip, so what brand of Mayo would you recommend for this?
Any brand works great for this recipe but I prefer Hellman’s :)
How thick is the spread roughly once smeared on? Mine seems so thick and I wonder if my loaf is small and I should have used less?
It depends on how wide of a loaf you are using!
Just made this bread, absolutely amazing! Has no mayo flavor whatsoever, and it gets perfectly crispy. Only thing I would add personally is maybe 1 or 2 extra cloves of garlic, but that’s just because I’m a garlic fiend!
I’m thrilled to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Courtney!
It looks so tasty! Will give it a try.
Enjoy!
This sounds like a great recipe, Kelly. However, whenever I go to make it, I think that I am going to leave off the scallions, because neither me or my husband particularly like scallions
Hi Valerie! It will still be delicious even without the scallions :) Looking forward to hearing your results!
So good. So so good!!!! Just made lasagna and this bread. My husband and son never eat the bread and they devoured this. I had to buy mayo as I don’t eat it nor do I keep it in the house but it has just become a staple. Yummmmmo.
I am SO thrilled to hear you and your family enjoyed the recipe, Laura!
This is the best garlic bread! The mayonnaise adds an additional creaminess to every bite that can’t be beat.
I can’t wait to try it out.
I’ve been making garlic bread like this ever since I got the recipe after trying it at a pot luck barbecue picnic the first summer I lived in Anchorage, AK. At the picnic it was served with barbecued ribs, and I thought it was so good, that I set my shyness aside and requested the recipe.Only the very shy will understand how monumental that is. After a time, I became aware that this is a very heavy dish, and when I served it with a heavy entree, I felt very logy after dinner, and everyone else seemed like they could barely move either. So since that epiphany, I now serve this when we are having a relatively light main course. I serve it mostly when we have homemade soup: potato, chicken noodle, vegetable beef, split pea, and cabbage with sausage are pretty much all the different soups I make, and it is delicious with them all.
Tips: garlic powder works as well if not better than minced garlic. Just sprinkle it to taste into the cheese/mayo mixture. Any kind of cheese can be used, except the very hard and the very soft cheeses, such as , ricotta, cream, brie, feta, parmesan, romano, unless you are mixing it with another kind of cheese like cheddar, or Montery jack. Rather than separate the parts of the green onion, I slice and then top the cheese with all of the green onion.Then I sprinkle the top with a generous amount of paprika before broiling or baking. No one who has ever tried it has not loved it. I can’t tell you how surprised I was to find my secret recipe here for all the world to appropriate as their own. Which is fine: that’s the attitude that is needed today, more helping and more sharing. :-) And more cheesy garlic bread!
I Love The Garlic Bread…But on To More important Things…..What are your fur kids name.?……………)
Thank you, Judith! Their names are Bacsi, Buckley and Becks, and they are all total sweethearts :)
Hi Kelly, hope all is well !! I just had to tell you how amazing this truly is. I made it along with a speghetti and salad dinner and it was so good my husband actually said “This is for sure the tastiest and creamiest garlic bread ever” !! Thank you so very much for sharing :)
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it, Esther!
Can’t wait to try this with my Mexican Taco Lasagna. Should be a good pairing. Thanks for sharing.
Yum, my big splurge is to do bread but when I do…
I added green olives, blk olives and marinated artichoke hearts to this for a hearty appetizer before a soup lunch. To lighten, the second time made, I dropped the Parmesan and used half the mayo and just buttered the bread . Was still amazing!
How can it not be with those ingredients?
Going to try your spaghetti sauce this weekend.
Ohhhh myyy! Cheeeese. I would have no problem gobbling up the whole loaf poolside with an ice cold Diet Coke. I’m adding this recipe to my new favorite things!
Sounds amazing! I’m going to try this when I make Lasagna Roll Ups this weekend!
Hi Kelly, Great website “Just a Taste” that’s all it takes. Your garlic bread looks tasty and cheesy. Most of all it looks Delicious and Scrumptious” Awesome
Thanks, Yvonne!
Soooo good! I cut the mayo in half, doubled the garlic, used a mix of cheeses I had on hand (Mexican blend, pepper jack and cheddar!) and added a little basil and Italian seasoning. Rave reviews from my whole family! :) Went fantastic with my baked spaghetti. Definitely a keeper!
I love the photos of your dogs they are beautiful – I’m such a dog lover!! Now – on to the cheesy garlic bread! lol I never really cared for garlic bread, it just seemed “plain” to me – I always made it because everyone else loved it. Now with the cheese, this changes everything! I actually like it and I really could make a meal out of it alone! I wasn’t sure about the mayo and was reluctant to use it but I felt daring the night I made it! It’s a wonderful recipe and a keeper! :)
I never thought garlic bread could look so gooood! im inspired, this one is definitely going in the oven next time i host a dinner!
I promise you won’t be disappointed! I was seriously skeptical about the whole mayo thing, but when I tried it, I swore off ever making garlic bread without it again.
my mother was a notoriously bad cook. i remember the time she made tuna casserole and forgot to put the tuna in. the one thing she made that was great was garlic bread and her secret was mayo, haven’t thought about that in years. she just passed away a few months ago i will make this in her honor thanks for the reminder
Thank you so much for your comment, Janet. My mom shared this recipe with me, so I am so thrilled that you’ll be making it honor of your own mother. Enjoy!
Cute doggies!
This bread looks awesome! Can you believe I have never cooked with asiago cheese before? Your three furry friends are so cute!
My family and I will be on my aunt’s boat tomorrow, and I suspect that this will be a very popular snack on our mini-trip from the marina to the beach. Now, I’ve to remember to bring my microplane with me so I’m not stuck mincing garlic the difficult way- with a $3 ikea knife.
Haha you crack me up, Kamran! And now our email chain has me craving brownies… not a good thing on a Friday afternoon. Can’t wait to try out the recipe!
great poolside snack, especially after a few laps ;) Love the styling shot from above with that big kitchen knife
A few laps, indeed :)
I do my garlic bread similar to this, except I just mince the garlic finely and spread it over the bread, then drizzle olive oil over it and then top it off with cheese. Absolutely amazing. Yours looks so rich and delicious, I’ll have to try it your way one day!
That sounds fantastic… We’ll have to swap recipes!