Italian Pull-Apart Bread
Published
Published
Easy boule-style Italian Pull-Apart Bread with melted Provolone, marinara sauce, butter, garlic, and seasonings. Always a hit for game day, at gatherings, or even as side for dinner the entire family will go crazy for – it’s great served with tomato soup!
More delicious pull apart recipes to try include our Breakfast Pull-Apart Bread and Garlic-Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread.
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Italian Sourdough Pull-Apart Bread Recipe
There are a bazillion recipes available for pull-apart bread, all varied by the type of loaf you use, seasonings, and of course, cheese. I wanted an Italian taste this time around, but not too strong, so I went with my beloved homemade marinara sauce and provolone cheese, which is mild, but also rich and flavorful.
Ingredients Needed
This pull apart bread recipe calls for just a handful of simple ingredients.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Sourdough Loaf – You’ll need a 1 pound round boule-style sourdough loaf.
- Provolone cheese – Sliced cheese, not shredded.
- Butter – You can use salted or unsalted, depending in your taste.
- Marinara sauce – We love our homemade marinara sauce recipe, but store bought it perfectly fine too.
- Garlic – Both fresh garlic and garlic powder are used.
- Seasonings – Garlic powder, onion powder, dried Italian seasoning
- Fresh chopped parsley – For garnish, which adds extra flavor and a pop of color.
How to Make Pull Apart Bread
Making boule sourdough pull apart bread is so easy in just a few simple steps.
(Don’t miss the detailed printable recipe card below.)
- Cut the bread. Cut the loaf into 1-inch slices with a serrated knife, leaving about 1/4-inch of the base of the bread intact. Repeat cuts in the opposite direction to create a crosshatch pattern. Place bread on a large pieces of foil coated with nonstick spray.
- Add cheese. Press provolone pieces between all the slices of bread.
- Make the sauce. Whisk together the butter, marinara, minced garlic, and all the seasonings. Gently pry apart the bread pieces and drizzle the mixture evenly over the loaf and inside the seams.
- Bake. Wrap the bread up in the foil. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes. Open up the foil, increase oven temperature to 425 degrees, and bake another 5 or so minutes.
- Stand and serve. Let stand 5 minutes before serving with a sprinkle of parsley. Pull apart the pieces and enjoy!
Video: Boule Sourdough Pull-Apart Bread
Serving Suggestions
This can be enjoyed as a hot appetizer or a side for dinner. Or make it a meal served with a bowl of tomato soup or zuppa toscana and a simple side salad.
Proper Storage
This pull-apart bread is best served right away while the cheese is nice and gooey. If you do have leftovers, it can be stored tightly covered in the fridge for about 3 days. To reheat, wrap it back in foil and bake at 350F until warmed through.
More Easy Cheesy Bread:
- Cheese Zombies
- Olive Cheese Bread
- Cheddar Bay Biscuit Cheese Bread
- Oven Grilled Cheese
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Italian Pull-Apart Bread
Ingredients
- 1 pound round boule-style loaf of sourdough
- 8 slices provolone cheese, , cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, ,melted
- 1/4 cup marinara sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, , minced
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- chopped fresh parsley, , to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Rip off a large enough piece of foil to wrap around the entire sourdough loaf; place on a large baking sheet and coat with nonstick spray.
- Using a serrated knife, cut the loaf of bread into 1-inch slices, leaving about 1/4-inch of the base of the bread intact. Repeat cuts in the opposite direction to create a crosshatch/cubed pattern. Place bread on the foil.
- Place provolone pieces between ALL the slices of bread, making sure to get down in the grooves.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, marinara sauce, minced garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning.
- Gently pry apart the bread pieces and drizzle the butter mixture over the loaf evenly, making sure to get in all the seams and cover all the pieces.
- Wrap the bread up in the foil.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Open up the foil, increase oven temperature to 425 degrees, and bake another 5 or so minutes until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden brown.
- Let stand 5 minutes before serving, sprinkle with parsley, pull apart the pieces and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!
So easy and tasty! Will definitely make again.
Another awesome recipe, Amy! Yummy!
My hubby and I bake our own sourdough and this was a great recipe to use up a loaf!
I am new to baking so this might be a dumb question. Do I buy a already cooked loaf of bread or just the dough ?
Hi Josh…not dumb! Already cooked. Look for it in the bread aisle or the bakery.
Fantastic and easy. The kitchen smelled awesome as it was baking. My boys gobbled it up.
Made this for poker night. Awesome.
This was absolute cheesy perfection! Can’t think of a better dish for game day!
If you need me in the next 48 hours, I’ll be eating my way into and out of this. OMG. YES.
Oh wow! This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it at home!
Bread like this is my absolute favorite thing in the world. I bought a tiny loaf, halved the ingredients, and baked for less time. My husband and I polished it off!
This tasted as good as it looks!
Served this as a side to dinner. It’s so so good…and quite filling!
This was way more filling than I expected. I served it with dinner, but we didn’t have room for our actual meal because we couldn’t stop eating it. LOL. It’s so good.
Me + this bread + 5 minutes = Pac Man situation followed by a 5lb weight gain. And you know what? Worth it!
I made this for bunco night and it was a huge hit.
This bread looks amazing! I would totally eat it all…haha.
I am dying for a piece of this!
I’m going to serve this for Halloween and call it brain bread!
Oh. My. Gosh. Dying for this. And I need to get that provolone for Jordan. She’s addicted!
My entire family loved this recipe, Amy. Thank you for sharing.
Adding this to my must-try soon list! So delicious!
What a delicious bundle of ingredients. True comfort food!
I took notes and followed some other comments by adding in pepperoni and parmesan. We loved this so much.
One of my favorite kinds of bread (the pull apart I mean), I can’t wait to try this version!
I’ve made this recipe a few times – my family just loves it. It’s very filling and you can easily enjoy it for dinner with soup and salad.
So so delicious. Would also be good with ham and pineapple.
I want this in front of me asap. What an awesome pull apart bread combination!
Made this but used alfredo sauce!
I added in some mini pepperoni and used pizza sauce and also a bit of crushed red pepper flakes for heat. We loved it!
I love the fresh perspective husbands can give sometimes! Ha ha! Great idea:) And simply loving these photos. Makes me want to tear off a bite right now!
I consider myself to be the queen of Halloween, so this is perfect for fright night by calling it brain bread!! It’s beautiful too and perfect for any time of year.
I added some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, but otherwise no changes. It was bomb!!
Made this but added in slices of pepperoni. So good!
Couldn’t wait to make this and it did not disappoint!
wow..you nailed this recipe!
My family devoured this so fast! Will make again for sure.
What a beautiful presentation bread, and it sounds and looks delicious.
This recipe hit on all the notes – easy, visually appealing, and DELISH.
Love love love!
I need to try this! I swear my mouth started watering when I saw it.
This looks so delicious!!