Pillsbury Breadsticks 6 ways recipe makes delicious copycat cheese breadsticks just like the cheese sticks from Pizza Hut and Olive Garden. If you want to create your own homemade garlic pizza bread, all you need is pizza dough and this fabulously versatile recipe!
Pizza Dough Breadsticks
Breadsticks. A prelude to a meal or a snack unto themselves, either way these crispy, seasoned breadsticks are a delight.
From the moment I bit into one of these crunchy, cheesy breadsticks, I knew I'd be making pizza dough breadsticks regularly. Trying them with different kinds of sauces was and is a lot of fun.
If you're familiar with this site, you know I'm a big dips fan. I enjoy some dips more than others, of course. Without any hesitation, pizza dipping sauce is one of my absolute favorites.
Although making homemade dough can be very rewarding, it takes work. And we don't always have the time to do it.
The truth is, when I began using refrigerated pizza dough to make breadsticks, no one in my household could tell the difference between them and homemade. They just assumed I was making the dough myself. So, I figured why do all that extra work if I don't have to? From that point on, it was refrigerated pizza dough all the way!
Making breadsticks with cheese from Pillsbury pizza dough makes life in the kitchen a little easier. Less labor doesn't mean less taste. You'll soon see why.
Pillsbury Breadsticks 6 Ways
If making your own breadsticks appeals to you, let me know and I'll dig out my oldy, but goody homemade breadstick recipe and send it to you. They turn out to be the most amazing homemade breadsticks ever!
Otherwise, get ready to make breadsticks 6 ways with ready-made pizza dough - a bunch of different kinds of pizza dough breadsticks with or without cheese. There's something here for everyone!
Pillsbury breadsticks 6 ways recipe is easy to follow and breadsticks flavored six different ways gives you variety. There's nothing boring about them! Perfect for just about any occasion, you might be impressed at how impressed your guests will be.
Inspired by the Olive Garden and Pizza Hut, I've been able to come up with 6 different flavored breadsticks. Five savory and one sweet.
If you come up with other combinations, and you're willing to share your recipes, please let me know. The more options, the better.
Garlic Pizza Bread Breadsticks
My friend and I used to visit the Olive Garden often, and the first thing we'd do was order their breadsticks. We'd devour them in minutes! They were so good, we could have easily skipped the meal.
Thanks to the Olive Garden, I found the inspiration to make my own Olive Garden copycat garlic pizza bread breadsticks.
When I'm in the mood (which is often), I make my own. I have watch myself because there's been certain occasions where I've eaten a whole bunch of them in one sitting! Not my proudest moments, but there you are. You get the point. I enjoy them that much.
Most of the time, I make garlic pizza breadsticks when we're entertaining. And they make the greatest snacks for movie or game night!
I remember having a party once where I served breadsticks along with a whole bunch of other snacks. To my surprise, all the breadsticks were gone and the other snacks were just sitting there! That night I got a lot of requests for my garlic pizza bread recipe.
Breadsticks with Cheese
If there's an opportunity to put cheese on something, I will opt for it every single time. My whole family is cheese crazy. Breadsticks without cheese would be sacrilegious in my house! So, breadsticks with cheese is a given. Can you relate?
Pizza Dough Breadsticks (Copycat Cheese Sticks from Pizza Hut)
Instead of making your own, buy a pound of bagged fresh or frozen pizza dough from your local supermarket. Rolling out a tube of refrigerated pizza dough will save you a lot of time and effort.
Whether you choose fresh or frozen pizza dough, either one will work beautifully. You're going to love the final results.
Allow the store-bought pizza dough to come to room temperature. This activates the yeast and ensures the breadsticks will rise nicely in the oven.
Also, room temperature dough is easier to shape and work with.
Do not use Pillsbury Pizza Dough with this method.
- 1 pound of store-bought pizza dough, room temperature
- ¼ cup of unsalted butter, melted
How to Make Breadsticks 6 Ways from Pizza Dough
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces or as equal as you can get them.
On a lightly-floured cutting board or workstation, roll out and stretch each piece of dough into a roughly 9 x 5-inch rectangle.
Transfer each piece of dough to one side or half of the baking sheet. The goal is to have one piece at each end of the same baking sheet.
Using a brush, coat the doughs with half of the melted butter.
Sprinkle doughs with selected mixtures.
Flip doughs, brush with remaining melted butter and sprinkle with remaining mixture.
Using a knife (a pizza cutter would be ideal), slice doughs across at 1 inch intervals to create nine five-inch breadsticks with each piece of dough.
Do not separate the breadsticks. Although you can, for best it's best not to as it makes pulling the breadsticks apart at the seams super easy once they're cooked.
Bake until they're a wonderful golden brown color; somewhere between 10 and 12 minutes. Allow breadsticks to cool for a few minutes.
Pull the breadsticks apart at the seams.
Serve and enjoy every bite, with or without dip.
Pillsbury Pizza Dough Recipes
All of my favorite Pillsbury pizza dough recipes are listed on this post. There are more than a half a dozen to choose from.
If you LOVE breadsticks as much as I do, then this blog post could easily become one of your favorites. Try every kind of Pillsbury breadstick listed here, and there will be never be a dull moment.
Pillsbury Breadsticks
Pillsbury breadsticks, plain or with cheese are guaranteed to be tasty every time you make them. The biggest decision will be whether to bake them as breadsticks separately, or just sliced.
Make them both ways and find out for yourself which one suits you best. Personally, I found baking them individually a little easier to deal with after they're baked.
I slice them after they're nice and bubbly and ready to serve.
Olive Garden Copycat Breadsticks
Olive Garden breadsticks are the perfect side dish to any soup, pasta or salad. Create your own carb heaven with breadsticks made 6 ways and serve on the side with whatever else you crave.
Olive Garden copycat breadsticks are a cinch to make. Just add butter and garlic powder and you're off to the races.
Cheese Sticks from Pizza Hut
Cheese sticks from Pizza Hut are hugely popular and there's nothing to making your own. All it takes to achieve that Pizza Hut flavor is some mozzarella cheese, garlic powder, Parmesan, salt and pepper. That's it!
Cinnamon Sticks Recipe
I first fell in love with Cinnamon Sticks or Cinna-Stix at Dominos many years ago. I came up with my own cinnamon sticks recipe and we haven't stopped eating this treat ever since
Cinnamon Breadsticks Recipe
There's not much to this cinnamon breadsticks recipe. A little cinnamon, sugar and salt with a hint of ginger is all it takes to turn these breadsticks into a sweet treat. Consider adding cream cheese glaze or use it as a dip and they become a little more decadent.
Whip up a batch of cinnamon breadsticks and they'll disappear in a hurry! I guarantee it.
How to Make Garlic Pizza Bread
Fill an empty spice bottle with spices and herbs and shake evenly over top.
- refrigerated pizza dough
- unsalted butter, melted or salted butter if that's all you have. Just don't add any additional salt
Option 1 - Spicy Parmesan
- Parmesan cheese
- garlic, granulated
- crushed red pepper flakes
- sea or kosher salt
- pepper
Option 2 - Olive Garden Copycat Breadsticks
With Unsalted Butter
- garlic salt
With Store-Bought Garlic Butter
- sea or kosher salt
With Homemade Garlic Butter
- garlic cloves, minced
- sea or kosher salt
Option 3 - Everything Bagel
- poppy seeds
- white sesame seeds
- black sesame seeds
- garlic, minced, dried
- onion flakes, dried
- flaked sea or kosher salt
- pepper to taste, if desired
Option 4 - cheese sticks from Pizza Hut
- 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 heaping tablespoon of garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon of salt
- 1 heaping tablespoon of onion powder
- 1 heaping tablespoon of Italian seasoning
Option 5 - Cinnamon Sugar
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon of ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon of kosher or sea salt
Icing Sugar Dip
- 4 cups of powdered sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons of milk
- 2 teaspoons -1 tablespoon of vanilla
Option 6 - 3 Cheese Garlic Pizza Bread
- garlic, minced (if not using store-bought garlic butter)
- Italian seasoning
- Parmesan cheese
- cheddar, mozzarella, Jack blend of cheese
- parsley, dried, if desired
Instructions for Pillsbury Breadsticks 6 Ways
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and some cooking spray.
- Roll out dough and cut into 11 slices, but do not separate slices, unless desired. You will have 12 breadsticks. If you cut them in half again, you'll end up with 24 breadsticks.
- Brush with melted unsalted butter or garlic butter. Remember, if you're using store-bought garlic butter, DO NOT add extra salt as there's enough in the butter already.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Decide which option you're going to use and prepare the toppings.
Option 1 - Spicy Parmesan
- Combine Parmesan, granulated garlic, pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Sprinkle dough with half of the Parmesan mixture.
- Flip dough, brush with remaining melted butter and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan mixture.
Option 2 - Olive Garden with Unsalted Butter
-
Sprinkle garlic salt liberally over buttered breadsticks.
Olive Garden with Store-Bought Garlic Butter
-
Sprinkle sea or kosher salt liberally over buttered breadsticks.
Olive Garden with Homemade Garlic Butter
- Add minced garlic cloves to butter while it's melting.
- Sprinkle sea or kosher salt liberally over buttered breadsticks.
Option 3 - Everything Bagel
- In a small bowl combine poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried garlic, onion flakes and sea or kosher salt.
- Sprinkle liberally over buttered breadsticks.
Option 4 - Pizza Hut
- In a small bowl combine Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, onion powder and Italian seasoning.
- Bake buttered breadsticks for 10 minutes.
- Put more butter on the breadsticks.
- Sprinkle mixture liberally over buttered breadsticks and bake for 5 more minutes.
- Remove from oven and brush on more butter and sprinkle with remaining mixture.
Pizza Dipping Sauce
- 1 can of (15 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 2 teaspoons - 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon of salt
Using a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine tomato sauce, sugar, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt.
Bring to a boil and reduce temperature to low to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and allow to cool somewhat or until needed.
While breadsticks are baking, get the breadstick seasoning ready to go and melt the butter.
Immediately after breadsticks are baked brush each breadstick with melted butter and cover with seasoning. Allow breadsticks to sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes before serving with dipping sauce, if desired.
Option 5 - Cinnamon Sugar
- Combine sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a bowl.
- Using a pastry brush, brush dough with half of the melted butter.
- Sprinkle doughs with half of the sugar mixture.
- Flip and brush with the remaining melted butter, and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture.
- Bake until golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Icing Sugar Dip
- Combine powdered or icing sugar, milk and vanilla.
- Microwave in 10 second increments to warm, stirring in between, if desired.
Instructions for Pillsbury Breadsticks with Pizza Dough
- Remove breadsticks from oven, brush with half of the melted butter and sprinkle with half of the seasoning.
- Bake an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and brush with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle with remaining seasoning.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
- Pull breadsticks apart or cut at the seams.
- Serve with your favorite dip or dipping sauce. Enjoy every bite!
Option 6 - 3 Cheese Garlic Pizza Bread
- If using store-bought garlic butter, skip this step. If making garlic butter, add minced garlic cloves to butter as it's being melted in a small, microwave-safe bowl.
- Add Italian seasoning to the garlic butter.
- Microwave in 15 second bursts, stirring in between, until melted.
- Brush garlic butter all over breadstick dough.
- Add cheeses and dried parsley, if using.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and browned. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Breadsticks 6 Ways
Ingredients
- 1 tube (13.8 oz) refrigerated pizza dough
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted or garlic butter and omit salt
Spicy Parmesan
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Olive Garden with Unsalted Butter
- 1-1½ teaspoons garlic salt
Olive Garden with Store Bought Garlic Butter
- ⅛ teaspoon sea or kosher salt or none at all
Olive Garden with Homemade Garlic Butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced, added to butter while melting
- ¼-½ teaspoon salt
Everything Bagel
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
- ¼ teaspoon flaked sea or kosher salt
- 1 pinch pepper, if desired
Pizza Hut Cheese Sticks
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
3 Cheese Garlic Pizza Bread
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup cheddar, Jack and/or mozzarella cheese blend
- ¼ cup Parmesan, grated
Pizza Dipping Sauce
- 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Sugar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ground
- ¼ teaspoon ginger, ground
- ¼ teaspoon sea or kosher salt
Icing Sugar Dip
- 1 cup powdered or icing sugar
- 1½-2 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Prepare the oven: Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.
- Prepare the dough: Unroll the pizza dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Choose a variation: Prepare one of the breadstick variations below, following its specific instructions for cutting, buttering, seasoning, and topping the dough.
- Bake and serve: Bake according to the time given for the variation. Let the breadsticks rest for about 5 minutes before separating or cutting and serving.
Spicy Parmesan
- Combine the Parmesan, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle half of the mixture evenly over the parchment paper where the dough will sit.Unroll the pizza dough and score it crosswise into approximately 10 breadsticks without cutting completely through. Brush the bottom of the dough with half of the melted butter.Place the dough buttered-side down onto the Parmesan mixture and gently press so the seasoning adheres. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle evenly with the remaining Parmesan mixture.Bake at 425°F for 9–12 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Cool for 5 minutes, then separate the breadsticks along the scored lines.
Olive Garden with Unsalted Butter
- Prepare the oven and dough as directed above and cut into approximately 10 breadsticks without separating.Brush the dough lightly with some of the melted butter.Bake for 9–12 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.Immediately brush the hot breadsticks with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle evenly with 1 teaspoon garlic salt. Taste before deciding whether the additional ½ teaspoon is needed.
Olive Garden with Store Bought Garlic Butter
- Prepare the dough and cut into approximately 10 breadsticks without separating.Brush lightly with some of the melted garlic butter.Bake for 9–12 minutes, or until golden brown.Brush immediately with the remaining garlic butter. Taste before adding any salt. Add up to ⅛ teaspoon only if needed.
Olive Garden with Homemade Garlic Butter
- Melt the butter with the minced garlic. Let the garlic flavor the butter without browning it.Prepare the dough and cut into approximately 10 breadsticks without separating.Brush lightly with some of the garlic butter. Bake for 9–12 minutes, or until golden brown.Immediately brush with the remaining garlic butter and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt. Taste and add up to another ¼ teaspoon only if necessary.
Everything Bagel
- Combine the poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion, salt, and pepper.Prepare the dough and cut into approximately 10 breadsticks without separating.Brush with melted butter and sprinkle the seasoning evenly over the top. Don't automatically use all the seasoning if the breadsticks already have good coverage.Bake for 9–12 minutes, watching closely near the end so the dried garlic and onion don't burn. Cool for 5 minutes before separating.
Pizza Hut Cheese Sticks
- Prepare the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Leave it as one piece but lightly score it into approximately 10 strips for easier cutting after baking.Brush the dough with melted butter.Combine the Parmesan, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and garlic salt. Sprinkle evenly over the dough, then cover with the mozzarella.Bake at 425°F for approximately 10–13 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned and the dough is cooked through. Rest for 5 minutes, then cut along the scored lines.
3 Cheese Garlic Pizza Bread
- Melt the butter with the minced garlic. Stir in the Italian seasoning. Unroll the pizza dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush evenly with the garlic butter. Sprinkle with the 1 cup shredded cheese blend followed by the Parmesan. Bake at 425°F for 12–15 minutes, or until the dough is cooked through and the cheese is melted, bubbly, and lightly browned. Rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
Pizza Dipping Sauce
- Combine the tomato sauce, sugar, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt in a small saucepan.Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving warm with the breadsticks.
Cinnamon Sugar
- Prepare the cinnamon sugar: Combine the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle half of the mixture evenly over the parchment paper where the dough will sit.Prepare the dough: Unroll the pizza dough and score it crosswise into approximately 10 breadsticks without cutting completely through. Brush the bottom of the dough with half of the melted butter.Coat both sides: Place the dough buttered-side down onto the cinnamon-sugar mixture and gently press so the mixture adheres. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter and sprinkle evenly with the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture.Bake: Bake at 425°F for 9–12 minutes, checking the bottoms around 8 minutes since the sugar can caramelize quickly. Cool for 5 minutes, then separate the breadsticks along the scored lines.
Icing Sugar Dip
- Whisk the powdered sugar, 1½ tablespoons milk, and vanilla until smooth.Add additional milk a little at a time until the dip reaches the desired consistency.Serve at room temperature or microwave for a few seconds if you prefer it warm.
Margie says
Easy, quick, and delicious! I split the Pillsbury dough in half and did the same with the ingredients for both the Pizza Hut and Cinnamon recipes, so it was lunch and dessert baked all at once. I will be making these again and have already shared the recipe. Thank you.
Karin and Ken says
As always you are most welcome! I have to admit it but I love them too and eat them way too often myself, especially the cinnamon sugar breadsticks with that dip. Luckily, I have a tube of dough inside my fridge and will be making a batch shortly. I have a feeling. Glad I'm not the only one who enjoys this easy breadstick recipe! Now I'm going to finish this post! I had no idea. I can't thank you enough for taking the time to comment. Take care and all the best. Karin