Use A Tortilla For The Easiest, Cheesiest Garlic Bread

As evidenced by chimichanga burritos and countless quesadilla recipes, flour tortillas are pliable vessels for cheese and other spreadable condiments, and they crisp up beautifully in the fryer, oven, or over a griddle. So, swapping bread for flour tortillas to make cheesy, herby garlic bread is an easy and logical move.

Flour tortillas have a neutral flavor that'll pair with any ingredient you plan on spreading or stuffing into them. Plus, you can customize the thickness of your cheesy garlic tortilla by either making a crispy flatbread with a single tortilla or layering ingredients between multiple tortillas. A layered garlic cheese tortilla guarantees the cheesiest, most decadent results. All it takes to assemble this garlic bread hack is spreading garlic butter over a tortilla, followed by a generous layer of shredded mozzarella, a second tortilla, and a final layer of butter and cheese. Then you can slide the tortilla into an air fryer at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 to 5 minutes, or into the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You can cut them into strips or triangles fresh out of the fryer.

If the ease and efficiency of this tortilla hack don't convince you, the cheese pull certainly will. You can also make a single-layer garlic and cheese tortilla for a lighter option with nice crisp edges to contrast the cheesy, buttery center. A single-layer flatbread will take around the same time in the air fryer and around 10 minutes in the oven.

While you can spread plain, unsalted butter over your tortillas, followed by your choice of aromatics and seasonings, making compound butter is a flavorful step up. Plus, you can make a large batch to freeze and use on future garlic bread batches or to cook and season the proteins or veggies you'll be enjoying with your cheesy garlic tortillas. You can easily make compound butter by whipping room-temperature butter with fresh or dried herbs like parsley, oregano, thyme, and basil, minced garlic, and seasonings.

Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper flakes would bring heat, salt, and nuttiness to the compound butter. Make use of hot honey by incoporating it into the butter for sweet, spicy, and floral notes. Fresh garlic is ideal as it can be the star of the show. It'll caramelize as it bakes, bringing more complexity to cut through all that rich cheese. Roasted garlic compound butter will render even more flavor-packed results. However, garlic powder or granulated dried garlic will work in a pinch. 

You can also make a compound seasoning fat with vegan butter or olive oil for a dairy-free version of this garlic tortilla, which you can elaborate with store-bought vegan mozzarella and parmesan. For a shortcut that's just as garlicky and herby as compound butter, you can spread your favorite store-bought pesto over the tortillas. Blending a portion of sharp cheddar or tangy, salty feta with mozzarella would bring more robust flavors and textures.