This Unexpected Creamy Condiment Will Seriously Upgrade Your Garlic Bread

Garlic bread can be a super simple addition to liven up almost any meal — always great with soup or salad. Some certainly consider it de rigeur for a pasta dish, but it's also an incredible and easy snack all on its own. If you need more garlicky goodness, maybe you should double down on the garlic for ultra flavorful garlic bread. You can even add a few swirls of Italian dressing for a simple but amazing garlic bread. Or, if you want a quick trip to Flavortown, you can give garlic bread the Guy Fieri overhaul to light up your taste buds by adding hot sauce.

But this addition might come as a surprise, and it's probably something you already have in your refrigerator or pantry. Add a creamy spread of mayo to your garlic bread for an upgrade that might seem out of the box but works beautifully with garlic bread's flavor profile — especially with a cheesy version. The wonderfully chewy, crunchy garlic bread comes together with a mayo spread made with cheese and just a few other ingredients. The mayo and cheese mixture melts together perfectly and give a nice chewy and gooey, but also crispy, topping. It won't melt into the bread to make it overly moist and soupy or dry it out, so it gets nice and crisp in the oven.

Now, while this preparation will work perfectly well with a regular baguette, you may want something a bit wider and breadier to allow the ingredients to spread out as they cook on the halved loaves. Think Italian bread, sourdough, or a nice and thick ciabatta. The mayo spread is the main ingredient here, and a big dollop of the condiment mixed with some shredded mozzarella, diced garlic, and salt will work great. However, you can also make a melted butter, garlic, and herb mix to spread on the bread before the mayo mixture goes on.

If you want to get into more flavorful cheeses, try a four cheese Italian mix, or use some of your favorites that are fairly low in moisture so they don't get too oily when melting. To make the mayonnaise mix, simply spoon all the ingredients into a bowl and stir until the mix is firm but spreadable. You still want to hear the moisture of the mayo when mixing to be sure it's not too dry and over-cheesed. This is a good time to add extra flavors, like more garlic, fresh parsley, any array of dried herbs, pepper flakes, or even some hot sauce to do it up Guy Fieri-style.

Toast the garlic bread in the oven until it's bubbling and golden brown on top. You'll be amazed at the chewy, crispy texture and killer flavor in every piece when you cut it up. It might just be your new go-to when it comes to cheesy garlic bread. And, hey, if you like crunchy, cheesy bread concoctions, you can also use mayo for the crispiest grilled cheese you've ever had.