Little Caesar's Italian Cheese Bread is one of our favorites! This is my copycat version of it! Made from scratch and ready in under an hour! This cheesy garlic bread will have you ditching the takeout and making it yourself!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Less expensive and more servings than Little Caesar Pizza sells!
- If you love those pizza kit fundraisers from Little Caesars, you'll love this easy recipe!
- Compliments any Italian dish like Pizza Rolls or Three Cheese Manicotti!
- Better than Crazy Bread!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Olive Oil - vegetable, canola, or coconut oils work great too!
- Butter - Either salted or unsalted butter is fine.
- Flour - All-purpose, not self-rising
- Italian Cheese Blend - This blend of cheese comes in most brands and is available in most grocery stores. It usually contains shredded Romano, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and provolone cheese.
- Italian Seasoning - is a blend of Italian spices like basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, and thyme.
Step by Step Instructions
- Measure the yeast, sugar, and warm water into the base of a stand mixer or a regular mixing bowl to start the pizza dough for the cheese bread base.
- Let it stand for 3-5 minutes and allow it to get foamy.
- Add the salt, olive oil, and flour to the foamy yeast.
- Mix until a very sticky dough comes together.
- Add enough additional flour for the dough while kneading to make a very soft ball of dough that is still sticky to the touch after being kneaded.
- Kneading in the additional flour should only take a minute or so.
- Cover the dough with a clean dish towel and let rise for 20 minutes.
- Press the risen dough into a 9x13 baking dish that has been lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick spray. Lining with foil allows you to lift the cheese bread out of the pan to cut it into sticks.
- NOTE- I find that a cookie sheet is not quite deep enough.
- YES! This is enough dough to cover the bottom of the baking dish. Once pressed out, it will only be ¼ to ½ inch thick, about the same as when you roll out cookie dough.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and let the dough rise while your oven preheats.
- Once the oven is preheated, sprinkle 2 cups of an Italian blend of pre-shredded cheese over the top of the dough.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. The top of the cheese should be golden brown, especially on the edges of the crust.
- Melt 3 Tbs. butter in a microwave-safe container.
- Pour the melted butter over the top of the cheese bread while brushing it around with a pastry brush.
- Sprinkle garlic salt and Italian seasoning blend over the top of the cheese bread.
- Lift the hot Italian cheese bread out of the baking dish and set it on a cutting board.
- Cut into 12 cheese sticks with a pizza cutter. Serve!
Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips
Can this recipe be done without a stand mixer?
Yes, absolutely! I use a stand mixer because I'm a bit on the un-muscular side, but you can make this recipe by hand too!
This doesn't look like enough dough to cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan!!!
Yes, trust me, there is enough dough. When pressed out into the bottom of the baking dish, it's only ¼-1/2 inch thick, about the same as when you roll out cookie dough.
What goes well with this cheese bread?
We like to eat these breadsticks with some homemade Pizza Sauce or fresh Alfredo Sauce or some Lasagna cooked in my crockpot. If you want to go for a bit lighter meal, try this Layered Green Salad or this Chicken Pasta Caesar Salad.
How long is it good for?
It's best to consume this cheese bread within 2 days.
Does it need to be refrigerated?
Yes, please refrigerate any leftovers. Reheat carefully in the microwave.
Have you tried this recipe? If so, leave me a rating and a comment below! And don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter to get my latest recipes sent right to your email! You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram!
Copycat Italian Cheese Bread Recipe
Little Caesar's Italian Cheese Bread is one of our favorites! This is my copycat version of it! Made from scratch and ready in under an hour! This cheesy garlic bread will have you ditching the takeout and making it yourself!
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
- 2 teaspoon Sugar
- 1 Cup Warm Water
- 2 Tbs. Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 Cups Flour
- 2 Cups Italian Blend Cheese pre-shredded
- 3 Tbs. Butter
- Garlic Salt
- Italian Seasoning blend
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast with the warm water and sugar in your mixing bowl. Let stand to activate for 5 minutes.
- Add the olive oil, salt, and 2 cups of flour.
- Mix together and knead until a sticky dough forms. It will be a softer dough and won't come together in a firm ball. Add more flour if you need it.
- Cover the dough and let rise until doubled, about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Line a 9x13 baking dish with tin foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Lightly press the risen dough into the prepared baking dish and cover to let rise for 10-15 minutes while your oven preheats.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Once your oven is preheated, sprinkle the 2 cups of Italian cheese blend evenly over the dough.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. The cheese will be mostly golden brown.
- Melt the butter and brush it across the top of the hot cheese bread.
- Sprinkle garlic salt across the top. We like a generous amount.
- Sprinkle the Italian seasoning across the top.
- Lift the hot cheese bread out of the baking dish and place it on a cutting board.
- Slice into 12 pieces with a pizza cutter.
- Serve.
Notes
- You might think there isn't enough dough to cover the bottom of the pan, but yes, trust me, there is enough dough. When pressed out into the bottom of the baking dish, it's only ¼-1/2 inch thick. About the same as when you roll out cookie dough.
Nutrition
Calories: 170kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 6gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 94mgPotassium: 17mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 77mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Thanks for stopping by! Before you go, be sure to check out a few of my most popular recipes!
Wayne Prather
Just made a loaf folllowing your recipe for some in-laws. They could not believe I made this. Served with Lasagne and Pizza and a little salad. All said, even my wife, this is the best bread they have ever had. Not cheesy bread, ANY bread. Thanks for this easy and quick recipe. I even sent a picture of my loaf and this site to my sister.
Mindee
Wow! Thanks so much!!!
Jeff
Delicious!!
Caitria
So delicious and easy to follow.
We even had an extra side of little caesars crazy sauce in the fridge to go along with these 🙂
Will be saving to make again! Thank you!
Tappi
I made this today. I wasn’t sure about that very slack dough, but it turned out great. Delicious!
Stephanie
Sooooo delicious and not a difficult dish to recreate. My fam and I loved them, I'm craving more now as we speak lol
Mindee
It is addicting 🙂
Joanne
I just made this. My 5yo daughter has been asking me constantly for this dish and we’ve moved to a town that doesn’t have a Little Caesar’s. She’s gobbled it all up from her plate and asked for some for school tomorrow. It tastes just like the real thing. If not better!!
Angela
These are really good. The dough is impossible to press into the pan due to being so sticky, but the bread comes out so soft. I oiled the pan so the bottom would develop a golden crispy crust. They were perfect.
Paul
FYI, if you stop in to your local Little Caesars, they likely either have "Zap Pak" packets with the seasoning blend that they put on the Italian Cheese Bread, or some sell a shaker for a few bucks so you have plenty to use (the blend really makes the bread, not the same as any generic Italian seasoning blend)
Alicia
Delicious!!! Is there a way to possibly freeze the dough at some point to make it easier for quickly making for dinner?
mindeescookingobsession
I haven't done it but I think that if you made the recipe up to the point that you press the dough in the pan, roll it out or press it out so it will fit in your pan later and then freeze it instead of having it raise to bake, it should work. Then I would either let it thaw and rise on the counter top which I think should take a couple hours, or I would put it in the fridge to thaw first thing in the morning and let it warm up and rise for 45ish minutes before baking. These times are just rough estimates of what I think it should take to thaw and rise. I'd love to hear if try it!
Desiree Jordan
Love it! Thank you so much!
Debby
These are absolutely delicious!
Pat
What type of flour? Plain or self raising?
mindeescookingobsession
Just regular all purpose flour.
Pat
Thanks. I tried it with a mix of both. No good. I’ll just use plain next time.