Traeger Grilled Garlic Bread

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Get your smoker ready, we are making Traeger grilled garlic bread. What could be better than delicious, crusty bread smothered in fresh garlic and dripping with hot butter and cheese?

The subtle, smoky flavor pairs perfectly with butter and garlic, while the grill creates a perfect, crispy crust. It’s become my go-to side for pasta nights, steak dinners, and backyard BBQs – looks impressive but takes almost no effort, and it won’t heat up your kitchen.

Traeger Garlic Bread Recipe

Smoked garlic bread is super quick and the perfect accompaniment for any meal, like a juicy steak, pasta, stews, bolognese, and lasagna. Or you can have it for a simple smoked appetizer for game day.  

The beauty of this Traeger garlic bread is its simplicity. Use whatever bread you have – French, sourdough, Italian – and it turns out amazing. Get that butter-garlic mixture into every crevice, let the grill work its magic, and add cheese in the last few minutes if you want.

Shopping List

• Bread — I used frozen garlic bread for this recipe, but ciabatta is my personal favorite. The open crumb of ciabatta soaks up the butter better and the crust gets crispier on the grill. Avoid sandwich bread — it’s too soft and goes soggy rather than toasting.
• Butter — use melted, not softened. Melted butter soaks into the bread rather than sitting on top of it, and it won’t drip off and cause flare-ups on the grill.
• Garlic — fresh minced garlic only. Garlic powder gives a completely different flavor — use it as a backup if you have no fresh garlic, but fresh is what makes this recipe. 6 cloves for a full baguette is the right amount.
• Mozzarella and parmesan (optional), Italian parsley, garlic salt, salt, pepper

How to make Garlic Bread on the Traeger

Step 2 – Prep

Now the best tip for grilled garlic bread is to use melted butter instead of softened butter. That saves the butter from dripping off and causing any flare-ups on the grill. 

You also don’t want to lose all that fabulous flavor! Combine the butter and garlic in a bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Brush the butter mixture on your chosen bread.

The key is getting the butter into every surface — not just the cut face but the sides and top as well. Any dry patches will just toast without the garlic flavor. After buttering, the bread will smell intensely of garlic and butter. 5 minutes on a hot grill transforms that raw garlic smell into something much softer and toasted.

Note: Skip if you’re using frozen garlic bread. Also, I thawed my garlic bread, but if you’re using frozen garlic bread, cook for an extra 2 minutes.

Step 3 – Grill

Place the bread face down on the grates and grill for 15 seconds — you want to hear an immediate sizzle when it hits the hot grates. Rotate 90° and grill for another 15 seconds to get crosshatch grill marks.

The butter will be caramelizing on the cut face and the garlic smell will intensify as it toasts. Turn down the grill and flip to toast the other side for 1–2 minutes. The crust should feel firm and the bread will have picked up color from the grill. Add cheese and let it melt for 1–2 minutes.

Remove and serve immediately — garlic bread is always best straight off the grill.

What Types of Bread to Use?

Any type of bread can turn into smoked garlic bread: baguettes, sourdough, Italian bread, or French breadsticks. Make sure you have enough to go around because everyone will be back for seconds and thirds!

Anything you can spread butter on will work. You can use pre-made bread rolls, frozen dough rolls, or make your own from scratch. 

It all depends on how much time and energy you are willing to invest. I used frozen garlic bread for this recipe, but my preference is ciabatta — the open crumb soaks up the butter better, and the crust holds up to the heat without going soft.

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Smoke On!

Charlie

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