I Tried 5 Frozen Garlic Breads & The Best Was Crisp and Packed With Flavor

Bread is pretty darn tasty to begin with, but adding a little garlic elevates the simple carb to a whole new level of deliciousness. When done right, garlic bread is crispy, buttery, salty, and absolutely packed with bold flavor. It's just as good eaten by itself as it is dunked into your favorite marinara sauce.

Preparing this popular snack or side at home is pretty straightforward. Many recipes will just have you slather the bread with garlic butter and then toast it until golden brown and crisp. For those who are short on time, motivation, or ingredients, grocery stores also sell a variety of premade frozen garlic bread brands that only require a few minutes in the oven and no prep work. But which of the freezer aisle garlic bread varieties available in 2024 is the most delectable?

I recently set out to answer that question by combing through the frozen bread selections at my local grocery stores and trying every brand I could find: New York Bakery, Pepperidge Farm, Furlani, Great Value (the private-label Walmart brand), and Mama Cozzi's (the private-label Aldi brand).

While all of these brands offered at least a couple of different garlic bread varieties and flavors, including ones topped with cheese or shaped like breadsticks, I opted for the most basic versions I could find. In some cases, this ended up being full frozen loaves of garlic bread. In others, it was sliced Texas toast topped with a garlic spread.

I judged each option on taste, texture, and appearance and compiled my reviews below. Read on for my thoughts on each option, starting with my least favorite and ending with my top pick—a crispy, savory delight with a strong hit of garlic.

Pepperidge Farm Garlic Bread

Pepperidge Farm's Garlic Bread is made with real garlic and parsley. Unlike the Texas toast varieties I tried for this taste test, Pepperidge Farm sells its frozen garlic bread in whole loaves that are sliced lengthwise and baked open-faced. The 10-ounce loaf cost me $3.99.

The look: The garlic spread on this option was a vivid yellow hue that did not mellow out or brown that much while it was in the oven, but the loaf itself had a decently thick crust and developed some nice color. While it didn't come with tons of parsley, Pepperidge Farm's Garlic Bread did have a bit more of it than the other varieties I tried for this taste test.

The taste: For something that calls itself garlic bread, this option had shockingly weak garlic flavor. In fact, it was the blandest variety I tried in the entire taste test. Pepperidge Farm's bread also lost points for its disappointing textures. The edges and bottom did develop a decent crunch, but the top stayed pretty soggy and saturated with oily spread. Overall, this option was a big miss for me and isn't one that I'd buy again.

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Mama Cozzi's Garlic Texas Toast

Available at Aldi, Mama Cozzi's Garlic Texas Toast is made with thick-cut bread topped with garlic spread and parsley bits. A box with eight slices cost me $2.29.

The look: This iteration developed some nice browning around the edges, but the rest of the exterior stayed relatively pale. That probably has something to do with Aldi's instructions, which called for the shortest cooking time of the Texas toast-style options I tried. While I didn't expect a frozen Texas toast to be loaded with parsley, there was so little of the herb that the producer might as well have forgotten it in the first place.

The taste: Biting into this option was a much better experience texture-wise than trying Pepperidge Farm's garlic bread. Pretty much every inch of the toast's exterior was crisp and toasted, while the inside was soft and not at all soggy. Unfortunately, this Aldi offering left a lot to be desired in terms of flavor. I could detect some garlic, but I tasted more butter and salt than anything else. I absolutely adore garlic and prefer a lot of it when I eat garlic bread, so this weak showing from the star ingredient put Mama Cozzi's near the bottom of the pile.

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Great Value Garlic Bread

Walmart's Great Value-brand Garlic Bread is made with real garlic and, like Pepperidge Farm's iteration, comes in whole loaves that are baked open-faced. The 16-ounce loaf cost me $2.38.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The look: The garlic spread on this store-brand option had a deeper-than-expected color than fell somewhere between yellow and orange, with only a scant dusting or what looked to be dried herbs adding any pops of color to the bread. While the top didn't brown much in the oven, the edges and bottom of the loaf became tantalizingly golden brown.

The taste: I've found Great Value to be a reliable (and sometimes standout) brand in past taste tests, so I wasn't surprised at all that it makes a pretty solid frozen garlic bread. It didn't have quite as big of a garlic punch as I wanted, but the flavor was still stronger than it was in the two lower-ranking varieties. The baked loaf also featured some really enjoyable textures between the crisp exterior and the soft, slightly chewy interior. There were two varieties that brought a little more to the table in terms of taste, which is why Great Value landed in the middle of the ranking. Even so, this was still a super tasty option that I would happily enjoy in lieu of fresh garlic bread on a busy night.

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New York Bakery Garlic Texas Toast

New York Bakery's Garlic Texas Toast features thick slices of bread, real garlic, and parsley bits. A box with eight slices cost me $2.97.

The look: Beautifully caramelized. New York Bakery's instructions had me cook its garlic bread for a few minutes longer than the other Texas toast varieties I tried, which resulted in super deep browning that I found really enticing. As there was very little parsley on the bread, the dark color was the main component that set it apart visually.

The taste: With a toasty, lingering garlic flavor combined with comforting notes of butter and salt, I knew from the very first bite that this was one the best contenders in the taste test. The extra few minutes in the oven also gave the bread a super satisfying crunch, while the inside stayed soft with a slight chew.

Though it's a very simple and straightforward iteration, New York Bakery's Texas toast outshined most of its rivals in this experiment because it's executed well and delivers the garlic flavor it promises. I even considered ranking it in first place because it was so good, but it was slightly outstripped by one especially craveable variety.

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Furlani Garlic Texas Toast

Furlani's Garlic Texas Toast is made from thick Texas-style toast topped with garlic spread and parsley. A box with six slices cost me $2.49.

The look: With its medium golden brown color and dark edges, this brand was a sort of middle ground between the pale Aldi Texas toast and the deeply-toasted New York Bakery bread. Like the other Texas toast options, there was very little parsley to be found on Furlani's garlic bread.

The taste: Practically identical in flavor and texture to New York Bakery's version, which made picking a first place winner pretty difficult. However, this ultimately rose to the top of the pack for me because it's a little less salty, allowing the garlicky flavor to really shine through—a welcome change after trying several options that fell on the blander side.

To be clear, I don't think this or any store-bought frozen garlic bread beats the fresh-made stuff. But if you want garlic bread without the hassle of making it yourself or buying it from a restaurant, Furlani is super tasty, delectably crunchy, and my favorite of the bunch. I can't wait to enjoy my leftover slices from this brand as a lazy side on busy weeknights.

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