Homemade Cheesy Breadsticks are made with pizza dough, a hint of garlic, and plenty of mozzarella cheese. They are perfectly chewy, so delicious and a cinch to throw together for a quick and easy appetizer any night of the week.
Easy Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks
This recipe makes the easiest, cheesiest breadsticks in no time. Who needs delivery when you can make your own in about an hour, and for a fraction of the price?
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Our Homemade Cheesy Breadsticks use a simple pizza crust recipe that’s generously brushed with butter, sprinkled with garlic salt and loaded with mozzarella cheese.
If you’re looking to make these even quicker, you can purchase pre-made pizza dough. Many grocery stores now sell fresh rounds of pre-made dough in the deli section. At that point, all you need to do is shape, sprinkle, and bake!
What Should I Serve with Cheesy Breadsticks?
Everything? Seriously, if we could eat these every night, we probably would.
If you want to serve these Homemade Cheesy Breadsticks as an appetizer, they would taste great with Homemade Marinara Sauce, Southwest Ranch Dressing, Garlic Basil Hemp Aioli or your favorite pizza sauce. To really double up on cheesy goodness, try with a cheese dip like Cheddar Queso Dip or Homemade Pepper Jack Queso.
You can also think of these breadsticks as a cheesy substitute for a roll or garlic bread, and serve alongside your favorite pasta dishes, like Homemade Lasagna and Garlic Parmesan Orzo.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Cheesy Breadsticks
The first step is to make your pizza dough.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, or stand mixer, combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast and mix well. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, or until it becomes frothy and bubbly.
- Once your yeast has proofed, add the olive oil, salt and about 1 ½ cups of flour. Using a paddle or dough hook, mix until all the ingredients are completely combined.
- Add in the rest of the flour, about a ¼ cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the edges of the bowl.
- Mix on low speed for another 1-2 minutes, then cover and let the dough rest in a warm place for 15 minutes, or until about doubled in size (or wrap and store in the fridge overnight).
Now it’s time to turn them into Homemade Cheesy Breadsticks!
- Shape. Prepare your baking sheet by spraying with non-stick spray. You can also line your baking sheet with parchment paper if you would prefer. Lightly grease your hands, Lightly grease your hands, then gently pull the dough out of the bowl and place in the baking sheet. Pull and press the dough until it covers the bottom of a large baking sheet (or two 9" x 13" baking pans).The edges will be rounded - that’s fine!
- Add cheese and seasoning. Brush melted butter over the dough, then sprinkle with the garlic salt. Sprinkle your shredded mozzarella evenly over the dough, leaving a ½" border.
- Bake. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Once baked, let cool for 10 minutes and then cut into 1 ½" stripes.
- Enjoy plain, or with your favorite dip!
Ingredients in Homemade Cheesy Breadsticks
- Flour - we use all-purpose flour but you can also use bread flour.
- Salt - salt is important for the flavor and for the structure of any bread, so don’t forget to add it!
- Water - warm water is best because it helps to wake up your yeast. It should be between 95-110 degrees F.
- Yeast - we use active dry yeast in this recipe, which needs to be proofed. (check out our Homemade White Bread recipe for more info on activating yeast). If you use instant yeast, you can skip the proofing step and just mix the dough together, knead and then let rise.
- Sugar - we use regular granulated sugar, but you could also substitute honey.
- Oil - olive oil, or else any other cooking oil that you’d like to use. It’s best to use something with little flavor, like avocado oil.
- Mozzarella Cheese - purchase this pre-shredded to save yourself an extra step. Either whole milk or part-skim will work great.
- Garlic Salt - you can purchase garlic salt, or else mix together equal parts of salt and garlic powder to make your own!
- Butter - this should be melted so that it’s simple to brush over your dough.
Variations to this Homemade Cheesy Breadsticks Recipe
- Try different cheeses. You can try any combination of shredded or grated cheese that you’d like.
- Add toppings like pepperoni, black olives, sliced green onions, artichoke hearts, sliced jalapeños, bacon, etc.
- Use Italian seasoning, or another herb mixture, in addition to the garlic salt.
- Cinnamon sugar. For a dessert variation, brush the Dough with melted butter and sprinkle with a hefty dose of cinnamon sugar before baking. Once baked, you can eat as is, or drizzle with icing.
Can I Freeze Pizza Dough?
Yes! Once your dough has risen completely, transfer it to a freezer bag and press gently to remove any air from the bag and flatten the dough slightly. It can remain frozen for up to 3 months.
When you are ready to use your dough, allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge. The next day, remove the dough from the cooler and let sit at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes, then use to make your Homemade Cheesy Breadsticks, or any other type of pizza.
Homemade Cheesy Breadsticks Recipe
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup Water warm (95-110 degrees F)
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil or any cooking oil
Toppings
- 3 tablespoons Butter melted
- 2 tsp Garlic Salt or half garlic powder, half salt
- 1 ½ cup Mozzarella Cheese shredded
Instructions
How to Make Dough for Breadsticks
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, or stand mixer, combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast and mix well. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, or until it becomes frothy and bubbly.
- Once your yeast has proofed, add the olive oil, salt and about 1 ½ cups of flour. Using a paddle or dough hook, mix until all the ingredients are completely combined. Add in the rest of the flour, about a ¼ cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the edges of the bowl.
- Mix on low speed for another 1-2 minutes, then cover and let the dough rest in a warm place for 15 minutes, or until about doubled in size (or wrap and store in the fridge overnight).
How to Shape and Bake Breadsticks
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Grease a baking sheet with olive oil or non-stick cooking spray.
- Lightly grease your hands. Gently pull the dough out of the bowl and place in the baking sheet. Gently pull and press the dough until it covers the bottom of a large baking sheet (or two 9" x 13" baking pans).
- Brush the melted butter on the dough, then lightly sprinkle with garlic salt. Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the entire rectangle of dough, leaving a ½" border.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the bottom and the top are golden brown.
- Let cool for about 10 minutes, then cut into 1 ½" strips with a pizza cutter and serve with your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy!
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Here are some other recipes made we pizza dough that we love!
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Our Homemade Cheesy Breadsticks use a simple pizza dough recipe that’s generously brushed with butter, sprinkled with garlic salt and loaded with mozzarella cheese. They are perfectly chewy, so delicious and a breeze to throw together for a quick and easy appetizer any night of the week.
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