Green Chile Cheese Pull Apart Bread Recipe (Crack Bread)
Pull Apart Bread is famously also known as "Crack Bread" for a reason, people can't stop eating it! A simple loaf of bakery bread is magically transformed into cheesy goodness with creamy garlic and green chile flavors. It can be a hot appetizer or a dinner side dish. Melty gooey cheese is tucked into the nooks and crannies, then baked to golden deliciousness. You will love the cheese pulls as you grab a piece of this decadent garlicky bread.
Servings: 12
Calories: 173kcal
Ingredients
- 1 whole crusty loaf of bread sourdough bread or French bread
- 3 cups shredded Montery Jack cheese or mozzarella cheese
- 2 four oz cans canned mild green chiles 1 cup
- ½ cup mayonaise
- ½ cup salted butter
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 whole clove finely minced
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Using a small serrated knife, cut the bread loaf into diamond shapes in a diagonal grid pattern. Make 1" cuts, and be careful to not cut down all the way through the bottom of the loaf.
- In a small bowl, mix the grated shredded 2 cups Jack cheese, 4 ounces green chile, and ¼ cup of mayonnaise. Hand grated cheese give you better cheese pulls!
- In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, melt ½ cup butter (one stick), add finely minced garlic, dried parsley (you can also use fresh parsley), and sea salt. Stir until just combined, then turn off heat. Pour the garlic butter into a measuring cup with a spout.
- Now its time to fill the pull apart cheese bread. Using a teaspoon and your fingers, pull apart each of the sections and pour in the garlic butter inside. Use a pastry brush, and dab leftover butter all over the top of the bread.Next, spoon in the chile cheese mixture. Using a spoon, push plenty of cheese mixture down inside each crack. Some of the cheese will pop out of the crevices and that is great, it will melt beautifully and make nice cheesy edges!
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the bread in foil and bake on a baking sheet pan for 20 minutes, then unwrap and finish 5-10 more minutes until the cheese in melty and bread is golden brown.
- Serve it hot on a bread board!
Notes
Best Cheese To Use: I recommend grating your own cheese so it melts better! Pregrated has an additive that doesn't get all melty and gooey. Good choices are Monterey Jack, Cheddar cheese, or Pepperjack cheese.
Best Bread To Use: Buy a good quality baked loaf (not bread dough), a dense loaf like a Sourdough (best choice) or rustic Italian, or French Boulle. The bread needs to be strong to hold all these ingredients.
Make Ahead Tips: Mix softened butter with the garlic, salt, and dried parsley instead of melted butter. Spread the butter with a small spatula, and push the grated chile cheese mixture in all the cracks. Wrap with plastic wrap, then a piece of foil and refrigerate. Remove the plastic wrap, rewrap with foil, and bake.
Variations: For a cheesy ranch pull-apart bread, swap in good Ranch Dressing in place of the mayonnaise! Add a marinara sauce for dipping the cheesy warm bread into. Leave out the green chiles, and swap in green onions or a tablespoon of finely minced jalapeno peppers are a great choice but they can be hot so taste a piece first. You can try other fresh herbs in place of the parsley, like sage, rosemary, or thyme. If you don't have minced garlic, use garlic powder. And in a pinch use some parmesan cheese in place of grated cheese, it will be delicious.
How do you reheat cheese garlic bread?
Wrap the bread in a piece of foil, and warm it up in a hot oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. You can also warm up bread in an air fryer at 350 degrees for 5 minutes, check at the 3-minute mark if the cheese is melting.
Nutrition
Serving: 12g | Calories: 173kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 339mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 399IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 149mg | Iron: 0.3mg