Korean Sweet Garlic Bread with Dinner Rolls: No Cream Cheese, Air Fryer
Weren’t you surprised the first time you tried Korean garlic bread, If you’re from Europe or the US? “Wait, why is garlic bread sweet?” Garlic bread in Europe and the US is salty. But Korean garlic bread tastes more sweet than salty. And like the cream cheese version that went viral on TikTok, sometimes it’s filled with sweet cream cheese to make it even sweeter, haha.
This Korean sweet garlic bread takes 5 pantry ingredients, 2 dinner rolls and 8 minutes in the air fryer! That’s it. No cream cheese, no dough, no oven! If you want Korean bakery flavor at home without the fuss, you won’t want to miss these Korean garlic bread rolls, right? And if you live in Europe, eat plant-based or want a lighter version, I’ve got you covered below!
So, What Exactly Is Korean Garlic Bread?
The big difference from American or Italian garlic bread is the sugar. Korean garlic bread, maneul-ppang (마늘빵) in Korean, is bread brushed with a sweet garlic butter sauce and baked until golden. Mayonnaise goes into the sauce too, so the inside turns creamy and the outside bakes up crispy. You can find it in almost every Korean-style bakery.
Sorry to my French friends, but this sweet garlic butter sauce goes on baguettes the most, so you’ll see garlic baguettes in almost every bakery in Korea. It also goes on all kinds of other bread, like the Korean salt bread that’s trending in Paris right now, or milk bread.
The cream cheese garlic bread that went viral online is one style of Korean garlic bread. This recipe is the original, classic style. It’s closer to what many Koreans grew up eating, and honestly it’s much easier to make. For me, cream cheese makes it too heavy, so I prefer the no cream cheese version I’m sharing today.
Why You’ll Keep Coming Back to This Recipe
- It’s fast. 1 minute to prep, 8 minutes in the air fryer. Done in 9 minutes.
- Ingredients you already have at home. Butter, garlic, mayo, sugar, parsley. That’s the whole garlic butter sauce.
- No cream cheese needed. If you’ve been looking for a light Korean garlic bread, this is it.
- No dough. Super easy and super cheap with dinner rolls.
- Easy to adapt. Lighter, vegan or loaded with cream cheese, the same base works for all of them. You’ll find each version below.
Ingredients for Korean Garlic Bread Rolls
How to Make Korean Sweet Garlic Bread in the Air Fryer
- Score the rolls. Cut 2 to 3 slits across the top of each dinner roll. Go about two-thirds of the way down, not all the way through. Small rolls get 2 cuts, bigger rolls get 3.
- Mix the sauce. Put the butter, minced garlic, mayonnaise, sugar and parsley in one microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for about 10 seconds, just until the butter softens.
- Stir it smooth. Mix everything well until you have a thick, creamy sweet garlic sauce.
- Fill and coat. Spoon the sauce into each slit, then spread the rest over the top of the rolls.
- Air fry. Bake at 170°C (340°F) for 7 to 8 minutes, until the tops are golden and the edges look caramelized.
- Check halfway. Every air fryer is a little different. Peek at the 5-minute mark. If the tops are browning fast, take them out a minute early. My air fryer runs hot, so mine was done in just 5 minutes.
- Serve your garlic bread rolls warm, while the outside is still crisp and the inside is soft and buttery.
Living in Europe? Here’s What to Buy Instead
I lived in Belgium for years, so I know the feeling. You read an American recipe, walk into your supermarket, and “dinner rolls” simply don’t exist. Good news: Korean garlic bread is very forgiving. Here’s what works where you live.
| Ingredient | UK | France / Belgium | Germany / Austria | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dinner rolls | Brioche rolls, soft white bread rolls | Petits pains au lait, brioche buns, sandwichs (Belgium) | Milchbrötchen | Zachte witte bolletjes, brioche bolletjes |
| Unsalted butter | Unsalted butter | Beurre doux | Ungesalzene Butter (Süßrahmbutter) | Ongezouten boter |
| Mayonnaise | Hellmann’s | Amora, any Belgian mayo | Thomy | Any mayonaise |
| Sugar | Caster sugar | Sucre en poudre | Feinzucker | Fijne kristalsuiker |
| Dried parsley | Dried parsley | Persil séché | Petersilie, getrocknet | Gedroogde peterselie |
A few tips from my own kitchen:
- I don’t recommend hard rolls like Belgian pistolets. The butter sauce doesn’t soak in deep enough.
- Belgian and Dutch mayo is often richer and more eggy than American mayo. It works beautifully here.
- If you only have salted butter (beurre demi-sel is common in France), it’s fine. Your Korean garlic bread rolls will just lean a bit more savory.
Want a Lighter Version? My Wellness Swaps
Do you love the taste but want something a little kinder to your body? You don’t have to give up Korean sweet garlic bread. A few small swaps keep the flavor and lighten things up.
How to Make Vegan Korean Garlic Bread👆🌿
Eating plant-based? You can still have vegan Korean garlic bread. Only three things change.
- Butter: Use 1 tbsp of a plant-based butter block.
- Mayonnaise: Use a store-bought egg-free mayo.
- Rolls: Ask your bakery for a roll without dairy or eggs.
Craving the Cream Cheese Kind? Here’s the Easy Upgrade
Mix 2 tbsp cream cheese with 1 tsp sugar until smooth. After you score the rolls in step 1, spoon or pipe the sweet cream cheese into the slits. Then add the garlic sauce on top and air fry as usual. You get a creamy center with the same crispy, sweet garlic crust.
Small Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Korean Garlic Bread (and How to Avoid Them)
Melting the butter completely. A fully melted sauce slides off and pools at the bottom, or soaks into the bread and makes it soggy. Just 10 seconds in the microwave, so the butter is soft but not liquid.
Cutting all the way through. Stop about two-thirds down. If you cut through the bottom, the roll falls apart and the sauce leaks out.
Walking away from the air fryer. Sugar goes from golden to burnt very quickly. Check after 5 minutes.
Using dense, hard bread like pistolets. Hard rolls never get that soft, saucy middle. Choose soft dinner rolls or brioche. I also recommend baguette, since the inside is soft.
Skipping the top. Don’t only fill the slits. Sauce on top gives you the caramelized, crispy crust that makes Korean sweet garlic bread so addictive.
Storing and Reheating
- Korean garlic bread is best right out of the air fryer. If you have leftovers, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days, since the sauce contains mayonnaise.
- To reheat, air fry at 160°C (320°F) for 2 minutes. The top crisps up again and the inside gets soft. Avoid the microwave, it makes the bread chewy.
- You can also mix the sauce ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.
More Recipes for Your Leftover Dinner Rolls
Buying dinner rolls always leaves you with too many, right? Here are more recipes using dinner rolls. You can even make the trendy salt bread!!
Soboro Bread Recipe with Dinner Rolls | Easy Korean Bakery Style
Easy Coffee Bun Recipe Using Dinner Rolls: Korean Bakery Style
Easy Korean Salt Bread with Dinner Rolls
FAQ
Korean Sweet Garlic Bread with Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 dinner rolls
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter 14 g, or salted
- 1 tbsp minced garlic about 2 cloves
- 2.5 tbsp mayonnaise about 35 g
- 1 tbsp sugar 10 g
- 1 tsp dried parsley
Instructions
- Cut 2 to 3 slits across the top of each dinner roll, about two-thirds of the way down. Use 2 cuts for small rolls and 3 for larger ones.2 dinner rolls
- Add the butter, garlic, mayonnaise, sugar and parsley to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for about 10 seconds, until the butter is just soft.1 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 2.5 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp dried parsley
- Stir well to make a smooth sweet garlic sauce.
- Spoon the sauce into the slits, then spread the rest over the tops.
- Air fry at 170°C (340°F) for 7 to 8 minutes, until golden.
- Check at 5 minutes, since air fryers vary. Serve warm.
Nutrition
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