This $1.50 Trader Joe’s Find Is the Ultimate Weeknight Side Dish

Simply Recipes / Wanda Abraham

Want to know the secret behind the best homemade garlic knots? Garlic-flavored pizza dough! Though you can make quick and easy garlic knots with any store-bought pizza dough, my favorite is Trader Joe’s Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough. It’s an upgraded pizza dough flavored with dried basil, oregano, and garlic powder—it also happens to be just $1.49.

Brushed with garlicky butter, this store-bought staple quickly becomes the ultimate weeknight dinner side. There is nothing better than ripping into a warm garlic knot and feeling the butter roll down your fingers as the knot uncurls. Plus, garlic butter on garlic dough? Having grown up in a Sicilian household, I am no stranger to garlic and these double garlic knots are my love language.

Simply Recipes / Dana Beninati

How to Make Trader Joe’s Double Garlic Knots 

Garlic bread can come in any shape or size—I’d eat them all—but there is something truly special about the curves of a garlic knot and how they effortlessly trap and create little pockets of garlicky butter. All you need to know about shaping the knots is that the technique is essentially the first step of tying one’s shoelaces. Cross one end of the strip of dough over the other and thread it through the hole. That’s it! 

To make double garlic knots, you’ll need:

1 (16-ounce) package Trader Joe’s Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough 
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 400°F and allow the dough to come to room temperature on your kitchen counter. Then, lightly flour a clean work surface and the dough. Use your fingers to pat the dough into an 8x8-inch square. Use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut the dough into eight strips. Tie each strip into a knot by crossing one end over the other and threading it through. Tuck the ends under the knot to create a neat, round shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and set aside while you make the butter.

In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, salt, garlic, and parsley. Brush half of the garlic butter over the knots and bake the knots for about 20 minutes, until puffed and golden brown, rotating the sheet pan halfway through. Generously brush the knots with the remaining garlic butter and serve with warm tomato sauce.

More Ways to Enjoy TJ’s Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough

The obvious use for this dough is a homemade pizza, but the options are truly endless—this dough is the perfect shortcut to so many delicious recipes. Think calzones, pizza pockets, or a meaty stromboli! Or how about homemade garlic bread sticks or herby cheese bread? Here’s a show stopping party centerpiece: stuff small balls of dough with cheese to make garlicky monkey bread! And while this dough plays nicely with any Italian-inspired meal, I also love it on top of an easy chicken pot pie or simply baked and sliced into a flavorful sandwich bread.

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