You can make these cheesy parmesan bread bites in one hour with chewy pizza dough, parmesan cheese, and garlic butter! They are the perfect appetizer for any occasion that everyone will love!
The holy grail of carb-lover appetizers is these parmesan bread bites! Made with store-bought or homemade pizza dough, they are brushed with the most delicious garlic herb butter and generously sprinkled with parmesan cheese.
Perfect for sharing as a snack or appetizer—you won’t have to wait long because they come together in under one hour! They are so popular that I turned them into a large garlic bread roll version, and they are equally to die for!
Table of Contents
Tips for Fluffy Bread Bites
Activate your yeast! This step is critical if you want the dough to rise. For more help, I wrote a whole post about working with yeast!
Knead until the dough is soft and tacky. If your dough ball is sticking to the sides of the bowl, add one tablespoon of flour at a time until it looks like the photos provided.
Don’t overbake! Bake until the tops barely turn golden brown to keep them soft and fluffy.
Sprinkle generously with cheese. To help the grated parmesan cheese stick to the bread bite, add the parmesan right after you brush the tops with melted butter.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Active dry yeast: This yeast needs to be activated in warm water before use. If required, it can be substituted with instant yeast—follow the instructions on the back of the packet before using.
Olive oil: High-quality olive oil will give the pizza dough the best flavor and help keep it soft yet crispy. You can also use avocado or vegetable oil if needed.
Parmesan cheese: Avoid pre-shredded cheese, as it will not melt properly in the oven. For a saltier flavor, you could also use pecorino cheese!
Mozzarella cheese: Similar to the parmesan, I don’t recommend using pre-shredded cheese. Buy a block and shred it yourself for the best results!
Honey: I love the floral flavor honey gives bread dough, but it can easily be substituted with regular granulated sugar. Don’t leave the sugar out, or the pizza dough will not rise.
Fresh herbs: For this recipe, we used fresh thyme and sage, but you can use any other herbs or a variety of herbs like oregano, chives, or parsley. Like my garlic rolls, I don’t recommend using dried herbs as they give the bread bites a different flavor.
Find the full ingredient measurements and instructions in the recipe card below!
Recipe Instructions
Step 1: Mix and knead the dough. Knead the wet and dry ingredients in a stand mixing bowl until the dough is soft, smooth, and elastic.
Step 2: Form and rest the dough. Form the dough into a ball and place it into a lightly oiled bowl.
Step 3: Let the dough double in size. Cover the top tightly with plastic wrap and put it in a warm spot. It will double in size!
Step 4: Cut into breadsticks. Once doubled in size, lightly press the dough into an 8×8 square on a clean surface. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough into 1-inch sticks. Gently separate the cut strips to keep them from sticking together.
Step 5: Cut into mini bites. Cut each strip of dough into 1-inch bite-sized pieces. Transfer each one to the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart.
Step 6: Brush with garlic butter. Brush the tops of the bread bites with the melted garlic butter.
Step 7: Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, then bake! Sprinkle the tops generously with the parmesan cheese herb mixture. Then, bake each tray until the dough is puffy and the tops are lightly golden brown. Cover the tops with more garlic butter and cheese and serve warm!
Storage and Reheating
Any leftovers should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They can be reheated at 300°F until warmed through.
FAQs
The dough will be double its size when you first put it in the bowl.
The very tops of the bites will just barely be golden brown when they’re done!
While they are so delicious alone, they are even better with homemade pizza sauce or marinara for dunking! We love serving them as appetizers for holidays!
If you tried this or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments; I love hearing from you! Also, please leave a star rating while you’re there! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
Parmesan Bread Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey, substitute granulated sugar
- 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, *See notes below for measuring*
- 1/2 cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Garlic Butter
- 6 tablespoona unsalted butter
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
- Combine the water, yeast, and honey in a mixing bowl. Set aside to active the yeast for 5 minutes. It should look foamy when active.2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g) active dry yeast, 1 cup (214 g) warm water, 1 tablespoon (16 g) honey
- Then add the flour, salt, olive oil, parmesan, and mozzarella cheese to the bowl.2 3/4 cup (338 g) all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup (39 g) fresh shredded parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup (39 g) freshly shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 tablespoon (14 g) olive oil, 1 teaspoon (5 g) fine sea salt
- Knead on low for 8-9 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, and elastic.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oil bowl. Cover the top tightly with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place to rise for 20-30 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F/205 C.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, place it on your counter, and form it into an 8×8-inch square.
- Then, use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut 8 one-inch strips from the square. Separate the strips to keep them from sticking together.
- Cut each strip into one-inch squares and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, giving them at least an inch of space.
- Make the garlic butter by melting the butter and minced garlic together until the garlic is sizzling and fragrant. Stir in half of the fresh thyme and fresh sage.6 tablespoona (84 g) unsalted butter, 4 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, 1 tablespoon fresh sage
- Spoon or brush the tops of each bread bite with the garlic butter.
- Mix the parmesan cheese with the other half of the fresh herbs and generously sprinkle the tops with it.1/2 cup (39 g) parmesan cheese
- Bake them one tray at a time for 10-12 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden brown.
- Once out of the oven, brush or spoon more garlic butter over the tops and sprinkle with more cheese.
- Serve warm with marinara, and enjoy!
Notes
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below & tag @cambreabakes on social!
I made these two weeks in a row. I placed all the little squares close together so it ended up being a monkey bread situation. So popular with the little one. She loved it!
I am sooo happy to hear that Shani! Thank you so much for the kind review!
Ok I made these for Friendsgiving last weekend! And they are amazing!!!! 10/10
These were so unbelievably delicious! They were soft and fluffy and were a great side dish for our pasta dinner last night!
These were so good! They made the perfect appetizer for Italian night! Thanks so much for sharing
Happy to hear that, thanks Kelley!