These homemade garlic knots are extra soft and fluffy, and use a dough almost identical to this reader-favorite pizza dough. Top with flavorful garlic herb butter before AND after baking. And use my detailed instructions, video tutorial, and step-by-step photos below to help with the shaping step.
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.
These are the BEST garlic knots. I’m knot even kidding. 😉
Tell Me About These Garlic Knots:
- Made from an easy homemade dough
- Leftovers freeze beautifully
- Super soft and fluffy
- Golden brown
- Extra garlic butter
And I know you’ll appreciate this too: You can use the entire batch of dough for 16 knots or you can use half of the dough to make a pizza or stromboli, and then have 8 knots on the side. Perfect for pizza night—no delivery required.
Garlic Knots From Pizza Dough
You can make these garlic knots with 1 or 2 pounds of store-bought or homemade pizza dough. Today’s dough is almost identical to my homemade pizza dough, which yields about 2 pounds of dough. You can make 16 knots or 1 pizza + 8 knots. If you only need about 8 knots, freeze the other half of dough for another time. You will want to make these garlic knots again.
- Besides garlic knots and pizza, you can use this dough for cheesy breadsticks, pepperoni pizza rolls, and ham & cheese pockets too! So versatile.
Compared to my pizza dough, I add 1 extra Tablespoon of olive oil for a little extra flavor and richness. Sometimes for extra flavor I use butter instead, similar to what I do when making homemade breadsticks. Either one works. (Melted butter in the dough is convenient because you also need melted butter for the topping.)
Even though store-bought dough is convenient, I encourage you to try homemade dough. The dough requires so few ingredients, and about 60–90 minutes of rise time.
You need flour, yeast, sugar, water, salt, and olive oil (or melted butter). I always use Platinum Yeast from Red Star. If you’ve been baking my yeast breads for a while, you know I swear by it! Its careful formula strengthens dough and makes working with yeast simple.
Let Me Show You How to Shape Garlic Knots
Start by making and kneading the dough. (Reference my How to Knead Dough video tutorial as necessary.) After the dough rises, punch it down to release the air. Then begin shaping the dough. If you know how to tie a knot, you can shape garlic knots.
- Shape into a 16-inch log: Using your hands, shape the dough into a 16-inch log. No need to use a rolling pin because this doesn’t need to be perfect.
- Cut into 16 strips: Cut the log into 16 1-inch strips.
- Roll each strip into an 8-inch rope.
- Tie the rope into a knot.
Here are step-by-step pictures of the shaping process. It’s a lot easier than it seems, and you don’t need any special tools.
Shape each strip into knots:
You can tuck the ends underneath the knot or leave them out—that’s totally up to you. The ropes are longer when making soft pretzel knots, but tying the knot is the same.
Let the shaped knots rest for about 30 minutes before brushing with butter and baking.
Garlic Herb Butter
Right before baking, generously brush the knots with garlic herb butter. Simply combine melted butter, fresh minced garlic or garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt.
- If you can’t find a spice labeled “Italian Seasoning” in the spice aisle, use dried oregano, dried basil, and/or dried parsley instead.
Bake the knots until golden brown and experience the lofty smell of garlic throughout the kitchen. Everyone (um, even your neighbors) will know what’s on the menu tonight!
Flavor Tip: Save some of the garlic butter to brush onto the knots as they come out of the oven, then top each with fresh parmesan and chopped parsley. The parmesan and parsley are completely optional, but make an awesome garnish. This is your happy place:
More Surprisingly Simple Homemade Bread:
- Sandwich Bread
- Whole Wheat Bread
- Homemade Cheese Bread
- Dinner Rolls
- Focaccia
- Soft Pretzels & Soft Pretzel Knots
Homemade Garlic Knots
- Prep Time: 3 hours (includes rising)
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 25 minutes
- Yield: 16 knots
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Follow these detailed instructions for super soft and flavorful homemade garlic knots. Review video tutorial and recipe notes below before beginning.
Ingredients
Homemade Dough
- 1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water (between 100–110°F, 38–43°C)
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast (1 standard packet)*
- 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) olive oil or (43g) melted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder*
- 3 and 1/2 cups (about 450g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
Topping
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, melted
- 3 garlic cloves, minced; or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning*
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- optional after baking: 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- optional after baking: 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. *If you don’t have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula in the next step.
- Add the olive oil (or butter), salt, garlic powder, and half of the flour. Beat for 15 seconds, then add the remaining flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer (and switch to the dough hook if using the paddle) and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray—just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 1–2 hours or until double in size. (Tip: For a warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it’s doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
- Shape the dough: Use the video tutorial and step-by-step photos as your guide for this step. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Using floured hands on a lightly floured work surface, shape the dough into a 16×5-inch (13x41cm) log. (5-inch width really isn’t as important as the 16-inch length here—no need to be exact.) Using a very sharp knife, pizza cutter, or bench scraper, slice into 16 1-inch strips. Roll each strip into 8-inch ropes. Tie each into a knot. You can tuck the 2 ends of the knots underneath or leave them out—that’s up to you. Arrange the knots on 2 baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Lightly cover the shaped knots and let them rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 45 minutes. They will slightly puff up during this time, producing softer rolls.
- Towards the end of the rise time, preheat oven to 400°F (204°).
- Make the topping: Stir the melted butter, garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt together. Brush on the knots. Reserve some of the topping for when the knots come out of the oven.
- Bake for about 20–23 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and brush the warm knots with remaining garlic butter. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and/or parsley, if using.
- Serve plain or with marinara sauce for dipping.
- Cover and store leftover knots at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freeze baked and cooled knots for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter, then reheat as desired. (I usually just microwave them for a few seconds.)
Notes
- Freezing Dough or Overnight Dough Instructions: See Pizza Dough recipe for details; the doughs are almost identical.
- Freezing Unbaked Shaped Knots: Instead of freezing the dough as a whole, you can freeze the shaped knots before baking them. Shape the knots as directed in step 4. Arrange on a lined baking sheet. Freeze, uncovered, for 1–2 hours. Remove from the freezer. At this point, knots should be frozen and no longer sticky. Place them into a freezer-friendly container or zipped-top bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter. Bring to room temperature, arrange on 2 lined baking sheets, cover lightly, and allow to rest/rise for 1 hour before continuing with step 6.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Stand Mixer or Glass Mixing Bowl and Wooden Spoon or Silicone Spatula | Dough Scraper | Pizza Cutter | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Pastry Brush
- Dough: You can make these garlic knots with 2 pounds of store-bought or homemade pizza dough. This recipe yields just about 2 pounds of dough, which is enough for 16 knots or 1 pizza + 8 knots. If you only want to make 8 knots, punch the dough down as directed in step 4. Cut in half. Use the other half of the dough however you’d like or freeze for later. Shape into an 8-inch log and cut into 8 1-inch strips. Continue with the recipe as directed.
- Garlic Powder: I now add a little garlic powder to the dough. You won’t see that addition to the dough in the recipe video, but it adds a little extra flavor. Highly recommended.
- Yeast: Platinum Yeast from Red Star is an instant yeast. You can use active dry yeast instead. The 1st rise time may take a little longer. Reference my Baking With Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Italian Seasoning: If you can’t find a spice labeled “Italian Seasoning” in the spice aisle, use dried oregano, dried basil, and/or dried parsley instead.
I think I messed up. I don’t know how, I followed the recipe to a T. I even measured everything while creating the knots. But, my garlic knots are the size of a baseball. They’re huge! I haven’t finished baking them yet, but oh my god. What did I do wrong?
Hi Lori! Could the dough have risen too much? We hope they turn out for you!
These were a hit with my family!
My garlic knots tasted too yeasty. I had used instant yeast and allowed the dough to rise for 90 minutes. But they tasted so bad. 🙁
Very disappointed. What could I have done differently?done
Does anyone have tips for how to stuff with cheese and get a little cheese pull? Excited to try this, Sally’s pizza recipes have been great
Hi Rawan, you could add 1 cup of shredded cheese into this dough when you add the second half of the flour. The cheese might melt around the edges a bit as the knots bake, but that’s not a problem. Or you can try adding a small cube of cheese to the center of the knot as well. Lining your pan with silicone baking mats or parchment is best. Let us know what you try!
Thanks this sounds amazing, will report back!!
I opened only the bottom of the oven, and followed the recipe to the dot but my bottoms got cooked quicker and burned while they were still uncooked from the top. Why did that happen?
Hi Sukaina, when baked goods burn easily on the bottom it can sometimes be the pan — do yours happen to be dark pans? For next time, you can try lowering the temperature a bit and moving it away from the heating element. This should help prevent the bottoms from burning too fast.
Awesome recipe! Thank you! Love the extra tips for freezing, etc.
The dough worked perfect! I hand kneaded so I ended up using a touch more water to make it a little easier…still wrked well.
I brushed mine in melted butter and za’tar spice mix.
SO good.
Tasted good. But dough was too wet. I used a stand mixer, a measuring cup for the water and a kitchen scale for the flour. So everything was exactly as the recipe called for. But it was too wet. Had to add more flour.
Another thing. They didn’t bake in 20-23 minutes. Took more like 30-35 at 400F.
I just finished making the dough (it is rising now) and it was so dry I had to add some water to get it to hold together. I double checked the ingredients and I measured them all perfectly, not sure why yours would be wet and mine was dry and crumbled?
Hi Amy! How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
Can I make one braided loaf with this recipe rather than individual knots?
Hi Lisa, We wouldn’t recommend one braided loaf with this recipe, but you might love our Rosemary Garlic Pull Apart Bread.
Can I use bread flour instead of all purpose? And is the substitution 1:1??
Hi Lara, you sure can — same amount!
The buns were not salty enough for me, but otherwise really good. Thanks for the recipe. Greetings from India!
Third time using this recipe today, this time as a side for a family BBQ. It’s been a hit every time and I have several people asking me for your recipe. Your recipes and clear instructions and pictures have never failed me and adding the weight of your ingredients as well helps a lot for this european girl. Your website will always be the first thing I go to when I wanna try a new recipe! Thanks a bunch!
Turned out delicious. I did bake for lesser time (15 mins) as per other comments and it was perfectly done.
Hi!
I’m wondering why we use all purpose flour and not bread flour on this one?
Would there be a difference?
Hi Rose! We find all-purpose to be just fine for this recipe. You can substitute bread flour for a chewier texture, but add a couple extra Tablespoons of water since bread flour contains more protein than all-purpose flour. Either option will be delicious!
Hey! I just pulled my knots out of the freezer and came back to check the directions for baking from here. I noticed it says freeze up to 3 months. It’s been 9. Whoops! Use or toss?
Hi Dalynn, that’s entirely up to you! We find they taste best when only frozen for up to 3 months.
These garlic knots were a huge hit with my friends and family. Everyone loved them and couldn’t stop raving about them. Sadly I didn’t have enough for seconds so I’ll definitely be making two batches next time. The only reason I’m giving 4 stars is because I measured everything using a scale but I had to add a lot more flour to the dough so it wasn’t super sticky. I also found the bake time to be high (they started browning at 13 mins from the bottom not the top) , but that depends on everyones oven.
I’d love to make my dough in the bread machine to save the work – would the amounts all be the same (subbing in bread machine yeast)? Thanks!
Hi Michelle! We have not tested this recipe in a bread machine, however all the amounts should be the same. We’d love to know how they turn out for you.
Cooking time way too much. Garlic knots turned out too crunchy and dry for me. Maybe I could try again and reduce cooking time down to 25 min and increase the garlic butter sauce for better results. Also I think you would need to add about half a teaspoon of garlic powder to the dough for good flavor. A good start!
I had the same problem of my knots being to dry. I was so disappointed! I have to try again with maybe baking less time. I did use regular yeast and gave it about 5hrs to rise. Humidity was pretty bad the day I made them. Please give me any suggestions for my next batch.
Could these be baked in an 8in circular foil pan instead? Kinda like pull-apart garlic knots
Hi Hannah, we haven’t tried it but we can’t see why not. Let us know how it goes!
How many grams is 2 and a half teaspoons of yeast?
Hi Kinjal, 2 and 1/2 tsp of yeast (one standard packet) is 7 grams.
I don’t have any butter at my house.
Is it okay if I use ghee, or vegetable shortening instead?
Or can I skip the butter topping altogether?
Hi Bee, we don’t recommend shortening in place of the butter. You could skip the butter topping, but then the knots will be plain and not like signature garlic knots.
what about the ghee? can I use ghee?
Hi Bee, the flavor would be different, but we don’t see why ghee wouldn’t work as a topping.
My favorite pizza place makes knots like this but they just use olive oil and fresh garlic… delicious!
I’m letting my dough rise overnight in the fridge. When I take it out of the fridge, can I use it right away or do I have to let it sit out for a bit before using it?
Hi Vanessa, you can punch the dough down right away, but if the dough didn’t quite double in size overnight, let it sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes before punching down. Enjoy!
Can I put in the refrigeration the night before my company comes for dinner or no ?
Thank you
Hi Laurna, You can allow the dough to rise for 8-12 hours in the refrigerator (see the overnight instructions in the Pizza Dough post for details.) Or you can bake the garlic knots and store them covered at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Feel free to warm them up before serving.
Hi, I just tried making this dough but when putting it into the stand mixer and mixing for the specified time, the dough was still very sticky compared to the video where it could be easily held in a ball right out of the mixer. I used weights for everything, including the water, so I really don’t know why it didn’t come together in the same way, and it seems to be something I have issues with often (pizza dough and bread dough is always too sticky). I had to use a large amount of flour on the work surface just to knead it. Any advice?
Hi Joseph! A lot of factors go into this dough such as mixing time, speed, weather, yeast, and temperature of water. Feel free to add a little more flour to make a soft, yet workable dough.
This is my experience as well when going by weight. I had to add a lot of flour to make it work.
After rolling into the little logs, before knotting, I brushed each piece of dough with some melted butter and pesto. This made a big difference- the knots were soft and buttery and they didn’t get too tough in the centre. Great recipe!! I was just making pizza and used leftover dough for these. (One quantity of dough for me made 3 pizzas and 5 knots)
Hi there,
Is sugar required for the yeast? Can I create the recipe without or with truvia?
Looking forward to trying your recipe
Hi Jennifer, we don’t recommend leaving the sugar out in this recipe. We’d love to help but we are not trained in baking with sugar substitutes. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a recipe that is specifically formulated for sugar substitutes like Truvia. Thank you!
Hi! I want to try making these this weekend but was wondering if I could make the dough, cover in garlic butter and let them sit in the fridge overnight? I want to make them fully in advance so all my husband has to do is pop them in the oven for dinner (I won’t be home beforehand). Thanks!
Unbelievably deee-licious! Soft, chewy and flavorful. Thanks, Sally for making baking simple and fun!
I just made these garlic knots. Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I did use bread flour instead. My only issue is they were let buttery when I added the second brushing of garlic butter when they came out of the oven. The knots soaked the butter right up. Do I need to let them cool for a couple of minutes first?
Hi Dee! Letting the rolls sit for a couple minutes before brushing with butter should help the butter stay on the outside of the roll, yes. Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try!
Hello, this recipe looks great however I was wondering if I would need to make any changes if I were to use active dry yeast instead of instant. I’m newer to baking with yeast, and have used both instant and active dry before but am out of instant and unable to go to store. I saw in the notes you said you can replace it but was wondering if any of the recipe would need to be changed. Thank you
Hi Elena! No changes necessary. The rise time may take slightly longer. You may enjoy this baking with yeast guide as well!
Thank you so much! Glad to know it won’t be too much of a difference, and that article is very informative and helpful!
Ok so 2, 1/4 teaspoons (lol), first time I made these I put 2 teaspoons plus 1/4.. they were huge and still good
omg! I just did the same thing didn’t think twice until i started to read the comments. haha. I was only reading the comments to see any tips for proof time !!
I retract my previous comment. I see it actually IS 2 and 1/4 teaspoons.
OH MY GAWD! I did the same
It seems someone else had the same experience as mine, I tried this recipe with exact amounts as stated, but the dough turned out to be a wet mess. Even after beating and kneading it in the mixer for 10-12 minutes (not the 3-4 minutes as stated), it was still a very wet and sticky paste rather than a dough. I had to add several extra spoons of flour to get it into the hardness shown in the video. Wonder what I was doing wrong.
Hi Upali! You’re not necessarily doing anything wrong– a lot of factors go into this such as mixing time, speed, weather, yeast, and temperature of water. Feel free to add a little more flour to make a soft, yet workable dough.
These were amazing! My husband was obsessed and the dough was so soft. It was hard not to eat them all before dinner time. The instructions for getting the knot shape was perfect. Thank you!
…and ☆☆☆☆☆ more! Our family thinks this recipe is better than the restaurant in Florida that hooked us to knots. I errored and put chopped garlic, along with everything else, over the baked knots. Aroma! mmm. Tnx Sally.