The first time I tasted Little Caesars Crazy Bread in college, it began a beautiful friendship. There I was, a broke student craving something chewy, garlicky, and utterly comforting. One bite of those butter-slathered, garlic-infused breadsticks with their generous coating of Parmesan cheese, and I was hooked for life.
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Years later, I’ve perfected this copycat recipe that brings all the flavors of Little Caesars’ iconic side dish right into your kitchen. The best part? When you make them at home, you can customize the garlic intensity, butter generosity, and cheese quantity to create your perfect breadstick experience.
What Makes Little Caesars Crazy Bread So Irresistible?
Almost every pizza joint offers its version of garlic breadsticks, but Little Caesars Crazy Bread inspires a particular devotion. Perhaps it’s the dough’s distinct chewy texture with its slight greasiness, or maybe it’s the bold garlic punch complemented by that unmistakable coating of crispy, savory Parmesan cheese.
Whatever magic creates that crave-worthy combination, one thing is sure—there’s nothing quite like Little Caesars Crazy Bread. And with this recipe, you can recreate that magic in your own kitchen.
Why This Homemade Recipe Is Worth Trying
While nothing beats the convenience of picking up fresh long breadsticks from your local Little Caesars, this homemade version offers several advantages:
- Freshness guaranteed: Enjoy them hot from your oven at peak deliciousness
- Customization control: Adjust garlic intensity, butter amount, and cheese quantity to your preference
- Quality ingredients: Use real butter instead of the butter substitute most restaurants use, you can use real butter
- Cost-effective: Make a double batch for less than the restaurant price
- Satisfaction factor: Experience the pride of creating something delicious from scratch
What Exactly Is Crazy Bread?
For the uninitiated, Crazy Bread is Little Caesars’ signature breadsticks—soft, chewy dough sticks brushed with garlic butter and generously sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. They’re typically served with Little Caesars’ “Crazy Sauce” for dipping, though they’re delicious enough to enjoy alone.
If you’ve never experienced the simple pleasure of biting into these freshly baked, aromatic breadsticks, you’re missing out on one of the most beloved side dishes in fast-food history.
Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need for this copycat Crazy Bread recipe:
- Instant yeast – Provides the leavening power that makes the bread rise and creates its light, airy texture
- Water – Activates the yeast and forms the base of the dough, affecting its final consistency
- Olive oil – Adds richness to the dough and helps create that signature tender chewiness
- Bread flour – Contains higher protein content than all-purpose flour, resulting in better structure and chewier texture
- Salt – Enhances all other flavors and controls yeast activity for proper fermentation
- Butter – Creates the rich, flavorful coating that makes the breadsticks irresistible (we use real butter, unlike the restaurant!)
- Garlic salt – Delivers that signature savory, aromatic flavor that defines Crazy Bread
- Parmesan cheese – Adds the final layer of savory flavor and creates a delicious crispy texture on the outside
Equipment Needed
- Food processor or stand mixer with dough hook (can also mix by hand)
- Large mixing bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Baking sheet
- Pastry brush
- Pizza cutter or sharp knife
- Clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap
- Silicone mats
How to Make Crazy Bread
Here are the steps for making this copycat Little Caesar’s Crazy Bread recipe:
- Proof the yeast in warm water. Add oil and more warm water.
- Place flour and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. You could use a stand mixer or a dough hook.
- With the processor running, add yeast, olive oil, and water through the top tube. Process until the dough forms and is smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough ball in a greased bowl. Cover the dough and let it rise untilit is doubled.
- On a floured surface, pat out the dough into a rectangle. Cut the dough in half then into strips, you may want to use a pizza cutter to make the slices even.
- Coat a baking sheet with non-stick spray and place the strips on it, you could use silicone matts if you prefer.
- Bake at 375°F for 18 minutes or until the breadsticks become golden brown.
- Combine melted butter and garlic salt. Brush the garlic butter mixture over the breadsticks. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the breadsticks.
What to Serve with This Crazy Bread Recipe
Little Caesars bundles their breadsticks with Crazy Sauce, a spiced-up version of the restaurant’s marinara sauce. In addition to Crazy Sauce, customers can purchase other dips at Little Caesars, including:
- Cheezy Jalapeno Caesar Dip
- Buffalo Ranch Caesar Dip
- Ranch Caesar Dip
- Butter Garlic Caesar Dip
You can keep it classic and stick to pairing your copycat Crazy Bread with one of the options above, or you can go a bit wild with these other ideas:
- Roast Shallot Chutney
- Bacon Jam
- Brown Gravy
- Mango Chutney
- Pizza Sauce
- Garlic Aioli
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating Instructions
Storage
Crazy Bread is best enjoyed fresh, but you can store leftovers in a paper bag at room temperature for up to 24 hours.
Freezing
For make-ahead convenience:
- Prepare and bake the breadsticks without the butter-garlic-cheese topping
- Cool completely
- Wrap individual breadsticks in parchment paper
- Store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months
Reheating
For the freshest taste:
- Thaw frozen breadsticks in the refrigerator
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Place breadsticks on a parchment-lined baking sheet
- Heat for 8-10 minutes if cold, 3-4 minutes if room temperature
- Flip halfway through reheating
- Prepare a fresh butter-garlic-cheese topping and apply to the warm breadsticks
Listen to the Little Caesar’s Crazy Bread Podcast
Here, I have added tips and additional insight to this recipe.
Little Caesars Crazy Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm water (~100° to 110°F)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast (1 package)
- 1 1/4 cups water room temperature
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups (18 ounces) bread flour plus more for working the dough
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Place the warm water and yeast in a medium bowl and briefly whisk to combine. Allow the yeast a few minutes to bubble up and become active. If the yeast is inactive, you may need to replace the yeast and try again.
- Add the room temperature water and oil to the yeast mixture and stir to combine.
- Place the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. With the motor running, add the yeast mixture through the tube of the food processor. The dough will form a ball. Process until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough in a bowl that has been sprayed with nonstick spray, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, up to 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and gently pat it out into a rectangular shape. 6. Cut the dough in half vertically. Then make about 8 cuts horizontally across the dough. Roll each portion of dough into a breadstick.
- Place the breadsticks onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 18 minutes, until golden.
- Combine the melted butter and the garlic salt. Brush the garlic butter over the breadsticks and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.
Video
Nutrition
Love Other Pizza Favorites? Try These Recipes
- Pizza Hut Cheese Stick Recipe
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- Crescent Roll Veggie Pizza with Hidden Valley Ranch
- Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
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Do you have leftover bread? Make these recipes
Be sure to check out more of my easy bread recipes and the best copycat restaurant recipes.
Scaling the Recipe
For a Larger Batch
- Double all ingredients
- Split the dough into manageable portions for rising
- Bake in multiple batches for even cooking
For a Smaller Batch
- Halve all ingredients
- Reduce the rising time slightly
- Check for doneness a few minutes earlier
They are so different…
I love little Caesar crazy bread, Olive Garden breadsticks and Pizza Hut breadsticks.
All three are my favorites.
Olive Garden is my 1st fave, because paired with their amazing Alfredo sauce, and ice cold salad, the others don’t compare.
For that reason only. LC and PH ar tied.
I miss little Caesar’s breadsticks being a dollar. I would go there’s four times a week otherwise. Instead making my own next time.
Thank you
I hope you enjoy them.
I hope you enjoy the breadsticks.
So, after we portion the dough out into individual breadsticks, do we let them raise on the pan before baking or do you put it straight into the oven?
TIME SAVER: Similar to Manny i also managed a LC store many years ago. We used the hand tossed dough which was made fresh that morning and allowed to rise at least 4 hours (as opposed to the pan pizza dough which was cooled and set overnight). We simply stretched it out on the pizza pan – used a pizza cutter and cut it into strips then straight to the oven (no forming them into breadsticks). When they came out we brushed them with garlic butter (yes real butter) then using a large shaker (filled with 50% Parmesan cheese and 50% kosher salt) we coated them then in the bag and out the door.
Did you ever make the pepperoni crazy bread. It’s been off the menu for YEARS but was amazing. Its essentially crazy bread with pepperoni inside….any ideas how to make that?
I have never made this before, I would guess you could just add some pepperoni to the dough, and make it just the same.
Ahh, there are very few things that tempt me to cheat on my diet, and that’s rolls from Ryan’s, breadsticks from Olive Garden, and Crazy Bread! It’s so worth the consequences of eating gluten.
BUT I love you so much, because I just made this gluten free and it was great! I used Great Value GF AP Flour and I had to add nearly a cup extra of water. I just dumped it in 1/4 of a cup at a time until it formed a dough ball. Then I stopped mixing it, since kneading does nothing to GF dough. I used half the dough to make breadsticks and froze the other half to make pizza later. I pulled them out after 18 minutes, they didn’t turn brown at all, but the insides were fully baked. Obviously the texture is not the same as kneaded regular bread, but it’s pretty good for GF. The cheese and garlic spread on it was spot on. Thanks for the recipe!
Turned out great, will be making again, the kids polished them all off.
I used to make a crazy bread type loaf years ago, using a no knead dinner role recipe garlic powder/margeribe
and topped with parmesan plus a tiny sprinkle of the club house garlic plus
Thanks I will try with garlic salt instead and use a pizza dough this time
Your recipe sounds delicious!
Do you have a recipe for _stuffed bread? The cheese is on the inside. I am not looking for recipes like this. The cheese must be on the inside.
You couyld possibly make this dough and wrap it around mozzarella sticks?
Even better than the recipe is the phrase :
“lil muthafkkn treats outt da sky”
My world is complete
Classy
????
That was for Ashley. Dude clearly loves Crazy bread!!!!
If I’m not planning to use this right away do I store it in the fridge?Can it be froze?
You should be able to leave the dough in the fridge for a day or two before making it. I personally have not frozen the dough before.
do I let the pizza dough rise in the fridge or at room temperature?
I would let the dough rise at room temperature.
Your recipe calls for instant yeast. I only have traditional dry yeast at home. Can I use that instead?
It should work just fine, it will need more time to raise.
how much longer do I need to wait for it to raise?
Until it’s doubled in size I’d say.
Wow! !
This is crazy delicious!! Comes very close to the original and is so easy to do. .
I used all-purpose flour and also stuffed each with a Mozzarella CheeseStick. So Yummy
Thank You for that awesome recipe
I managed a Little Caesar’s years ago. Crazy bread was made from the pizza dough and from what I remember that is the basic dough recipe. Only thing different was that we used stick of butter/margarine mixed with a tablespoon of minced garlic and heated it in the microwave to melt.
I didn’t know you used real garlic! I will have to try it this way.
Do you know how to make the Italian sub? I can’t remember what meats & cheeses were used.
Genoa salami, cotton salami, and provolone cheese. The sandwich bread as simply pizza dough baked in a semi-circle.
So they actually do use real butter because in this write up she says they don’t. Call me confused because I am…. ??
I LOVE crazy Bread! And this recipe is as close to taste as it gets! I’m a bread fanatic and garlic lover so combining the two is great. Thanks for this recipe!
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hey, instead of Olive Oil, do you think I could use canola oil?
best sub for bread flour..? I was thinking mix of AP and whole wheat?
I think I would just make the recipe using the AP flour. Whole wheat flour isn’t a good substitute for bread flour. Bread flour has a different protein content, I would use the AP flour.
go make me a sandwich
Do i have to use bread flour, I have all pourpose and self rising will either of those work?
You can use all purpose flour. Do not use self-rising flour.
I love this recipe. I’ve been doin somthing similar, however I just use pre made pizza dough from the bakery. 1/2 tsp of garlic salt and the 2 tbls of butter is a good ratio, however I also add a few cloves of fine minced garlic and a pinch of parsley to the butter mixture before I heat it up. This gives it an extra lil kick and makes it better than crazy bread!
Love anything made using garlic, maybe even ice-cream. This presentation I liked because it went to the subject without any loud fanfare music like so many do to glorify their own ego and in doing so diminish .joy of learning different methods of home style cooking and baking.
I just want you to know you really can create delicious food at home, and it isn’t difficult to do!
Do you like these or the Olive Garden Breadsticks the best?
olive garden
Nah B, U b Str8 Triipn, CRAZY BREad be lik god;;s lil muthafkkn treats outt da sky
Really? Your parents must be proud.