Korean Garlic Cheese Bread
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
Bread Rolls & Cream Cheese Filling
- 6 soft bread rolls, I used King's Hawaiian
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp parmesan
- 1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
Garlic Butter
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp parmesan
- 1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
- ¼ tsp salt
Optional Garnishes
- Extra garlic butter
- Extra parsley
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine your room temperature cream cheese with sugar, parmesan, and parsley. Mix until smooth, then transfer the mixture to a ziploc bag and cut off the corner to pipe.
- In another bowl, combine melted butter with minced garlic, parmesan, parsley, and salt. Mix until well combined.
- Cut each bread roll with deep slits, about ¾ of the way down, making sure not to cut all the way through.
- Pipe your cream cheese mixture into each slit until the rolls are generously filled.
- Place your filled rolls on a baking sheet and brush the tops with your garlic butter mixture.
- Bake in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for 5–8 minutes, or until warm and lightly golden.
- Serve immediately. You can optionally brush on even more garlic butter, but it’s your food, you eat it how you like.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Why This Korean Garlic Cheese Bread Is The Best Starter
I love myself a great dinner roll, but when you can add so many more ingredients to it, why stop at just the classic butter and salt? With this Korean Garlic Cheese Bread, the edges get all crispy while the middle is filled with soft, creamy cheese that melts into every piece. The garlic butter also gets into all the crevices, which gives you that burst of flavor with every bite. The best part of this is that the slits in the bread act as little serving sizes, so they’re easy to pull apart and split up!
What Makes These So Addictive
As all good dishes, this Korean Garlic Cheese Bread is so addictive because it has that perfect balance of salty, sweet, and richness. The cream cheese filling is slightly sweet, the garlic butter is super from the garlic (duh) and salt, and together, they both give those soft, pillowy rolls that signature flavor profile and contrast beautifully with the crispy exterior of the dinner roll. You kind of get the richness of an incredible garlic bread with the indulgence of a cream cheese filling. Every single part of this dish works, and I just know whoever you serve this to will agree.
What You’ll Need To Make Korean Garlic Cheese Bread
Bread Rolls & Cream Cheese Filling
- 6 soft bread rolls, I used Hawaiian King Bread!
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp parmesan
- 1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
- Salt, to taste
Garlic Butter
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp parmesan
- 1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
- ¼ tsp salt
Optional Garnishes
- Extra garlic butter
- Extra parsley
How to Make Korean Garlic Cheese Bread
Combine cream cheese, sugar, parmesan, and parsley in a bowl. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a Ziploc bag and snip the corner for easy piping.
In a separate bowl, stir together melted butter, garlic, parmesan, parsley, and salt. Set aside.
Use a serrated knife to cut deep slits in each roll, about ¾ of the way down, without slicing through the bottom.
Pipe the cream cheese filling generously into the slits of each roll.
Place rolls on a baking sheet and brush thoroughly with the garlic butter.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 5–8 minutes, until warmed through and lightly golden. Serve hot. Brush on even more garlic butter.
Tips & Variations
If you want your cream cheese filling to be as smooth as possible, make sure that the cream cheese is at room temperature. This allows for all the fillings to be evenly dispersed and for the filling to be piped easily.
I know sugar may throw some people off, but it’s what gives the filling that balance and the bakery-style flavor that you get at the bakeries!
Soft rolls like King’s Hawaiian, milk buns, or brioche work best for that fluffy interior and crispy shell.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of rolls should I use?
You want something soft and slightly sweet like brioche, milk buns, or King’s Hawaiian (my personal fav!). They’ll hold the filling without getting soggy and get nice and crispy on the outside.
Can I make these ahead of time?
You can prep the filling and garlic butter in advance, but it’s best to assemble and bake right before serving. These are best fresh.
Do I need to pipe the filling?
Piping gives you cleaner, more even results, but if you don’t have a bag, a spoon or butter knife works just fine. It doesn’t need to look all professional to taste good!
Try These Next
Craving another appetizer? You’ll love my Crispy Potato Balls!
Want even more dishes for a holiday party? Try my Garlic Parmesan Chicken Tenders!
Looking for something even simpler? Check out my Miso Butter Pasta!
