Cheesy Pull Apart Bread with Lamb Crumbles

There’s nothing like a loaf of cheesy pull apart bread loaded with American lamb crumbles, cheese, jalapeños, garlic and butter! This crowd pleaser ground lamb recipe is one of my favorite for parties and games!

Today’s delicious recipe is in partnership with my friends at the American Lamb Board. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Have you made this easy pull apart bread recipe before? You know that cheesy flavor packed bread chunks that you can’t stop yourself from eating?

Just to make this extra delicious today, I’ve added lamb crumbles – YUM! If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m all for jazzing up everyday recipes with lamb.

And because I know lamb too well, I can certainly tell you that there’s nothing like American lamb! Seriously fresh tasty quality lamb. Every rancher that I’ve met has amazed me.

They put their hearts out day in and day out so you can get the highest quality lamb there is. I can’t think of a better time for us to support our local hard working ranchers. If you’re new to lamb, start with the most versatile cut : ground American lamb.

GROUND LAMB RECIPES

Smashed Potatoes With Spicy Lamb

Ultimate Lamb Kabab Platter

Fall Harvest Bowl with Lamb Meatballs Recipe

The Best Lamb Burgers Loaded with Nachos

Moroccan Lamb and Turmeric Lentil Soup

Ultimate Mujadara Recipe

Juicy Spicy Turkish Meatballs

And don’t forget today’s cheesy pull apart bread!

PULL APART BREAD VIDEO

So why you’ll love this pull apart bread?

• Super easy to make!
• You can serve it as a main dish, or a side dish to soup, or a the perfect snack food!
• Any type of bread works—even stale bread!
• You can flavor it endlessly with extra toppings or less!
• Serves a crowd
• Can be prepared in advance and reheated in the oven just before serving.
• Delicious!

Ingredients for Pull Apart Bread

• Whole Loaf of bread
• Cooked American ground lamb crumbles
• melted butter
• minced garlic
• salt
• minced jalapeno
• shredded cheese
• parsley
• YUM

MAKE CHEESY PULL APART BREAD

First of all, start off with some good American ground lamb. If you’re unsure where to find American lamb near you, click here.

You’ll need to preheat a skillet with some olive oil and add in the ground lamb. Then season the lamb with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and pinch chilli powder.

Within probably 4-5 minutes, your lamb will be cooked through and crumbly. And that’s when it’s ready to get off the heat.

Now you’ll make a simple garlic butter to brush and flavor the bread before assembling. This is optional but absolutely recommended for maximum flavor.

You’ll need some melted butter, salt, minced garlic and minced jalapeños. While it may feel like a spicy butter sauce, remember it gets spread through out the whole loaf of bread so you won’t feel the spice as much.

At this point, we’re ready for the bread. And there’s a major role that the bread plays here — the final texture. Read more about the bread below.

To slice the bread, you’ll need to cut lines on a diagonal, about one inch apart. Then turn your loaf of bread and cut on the opposite diagonal, also one inch apart. You’ll end up with about an inch diamond shaped cooks all over the bread.

Tip here is to make sure you cut deep enough into the bread but not all the way through. The deeper the cut, the more you’ll be able to flavor your loaf with fillings.

Assemble the Pull Apart Bread

Start off by spooning the garlic butter mixture along the diagonal lines you’ve cut up all over the loaf.

Sprinkle a layer of cheese. Use your favorite type of combo of cheeses here! I’ve made this with a combo of mozzarella and blue cheese before and it was super good!

This bottom layer of cheese is important because it allows your toppings to stick to the bread.

Now go in with your cooked lamb crumbles over the cheese layer along the diagonal cuts on the bread. Press down the lamb and cheese together using a spoon. Feel free to add jalapenos, onions, tomatoes, corn, or any topping you like with the lamb.

Finally, you’ll need a layer of cheese on top of the lamb mixture. This is the final layer of the pull apart bread.

Brush the tops with extra butter if you like.

Wrap the bread with aluminum foil and bake it for 15-20 minutes. Since everything is cooked, the baking here is to make sure he cheese has melted and to allow the flavors to seep into bread.

Serve right away and enjoy!

What is the Best Bread to Use for Pull Apart Bread Recipe?

I wanted to highlight this question because I used to get asked this a lot at the cooking school when I was doing a garlic bread or any bread recipe similar to this.

The trick is, you can use any type of loaf bread you like for this recipe. However you need to remember one thing : the type of bread you use will shape up the recipe.

So if you start with a soft Italian loaf of bread, you’ll end up with a soft pull apart bread. While if you start with a rustic artisanal loaf of bread, you’ll end up with a crunchy style pull apart bread.

I’ve tried it either way and somehow prefer the soft style loaf, however it’s entirely your choice. I’ve also made it with baguettes and they worked so well. If you’re making this for two people, the baguette is a great choice!

And the best tip for the type of bread is: stale bread works wonderfully well here! I know you probably feel that you need to rush to the store and pick up the freshest loaf of bread. But the truth is, stale bread is just as good for this recipe!

How To Make Pull Apart Bread Recipe in Advance?

We all love meal prep for a reason, and making pull apart bread recipe in advance is just as awesome as meal prep!

The best way to plan for this is to make a double or triple loaf. Assemble the recipe and wrap the bread loaves in foil.

To freeze, simple wrap an extra layer of cling film over the foil or if you have a large ziploc / foodsaver bag, it would be even better. Freeze the well wrapped loaves of bread in the freezer for up to 3 months.

On serving day, remove the bread from the freezer and allow to defrost on the counter, and then bake for 15-20minutes per the recipe.

You can similarly bake them frozen (right our of the freezer without defrosting), adding an extra 10 minutes to baking time. Remember to remove any plastic wrapping before baking.

TIPS FOR PULL APART BREAD

• The type of bread you start with will ultimately be the type of pull apart bread you end up with (either soft of crunchy). Read more on the bread above.
• Stale bread of any type works very well in the recipe.
• A sharp serrated knife is best to use for slicing the bread.
• When slicing the bread, make sure you slice as deep as you can —this allows you to flavor and add fillings as much as possible to the bread. However make sure not to cut all the way through.
• The garlic butter is used to flavor the bread and for that it’s used first.
• You’ll need to divide the cheese between bottom and top layers. The bottom one helps the filing stick to the bread, while the top layer makes the “cheesy” in the pull apart bread.
• Feel free to use extra cheese. Also feel free to use a combo of cheese to your taste.
• Use American lamb for this recipe. It makes a HUGE difference when it comes to taste and quality.
• Wrapping the bread with foil during baking allows for the cheese to melt and flavors to infuse beautifully without burning the bread.
• The pull apart bread is great to prepare in advance. It’s best to make two or three loaves at time and wrap the extra ones in the freezer.
• Baking time is the same if the bread is defrosted, however if you’re baking the loaf frozen, add 10 extra minutes of baking time. Read more details above in the Paragraph preparation in advance.

Enjoy this super easy and crowd pleasing recipe using American lamb! tag me on Instagram when you make this so I can see and share your beautiful creations!

5 from 10 votes

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Cheesy Pull Apart Bread with Lamb Crumbles

There’s nothing like a loaf of cheesy pull apart bread loaded with lamb crumbles, cheese, jalapeños, garlic and butter! This crowd pleaser ground lamb recipe is one of my favorite for parties and games!

Course Appetizer, Bread, Main Dish, Party Food, Side Dish, snacks

Cuisine American, TexMex

Keyword Cheesy Pull apart bread, ground lamb recipes, Pull Apart Bread, pull apart bread recipe, recipe video

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 425 kcal

Author Mahy

Ingredients

Lamb

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground American Lamb
• 1/4 teaspoon salt kosher or sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• pinch of chilli powder

Butter

• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 jalapeño minced more or less to taste. Seeds removed for less spice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Assembling

• 1 whole loaf of bread
• 2 cups shredded cheese cheddar or your favorite combo
• Lamb mixture above
• Butter mixture above

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Start with the lamb. Preheat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat and add in the ground lamb.
3. Season the lamb with all the seasonings and start sautéing while tossing the meat in the skillet. Four to five minutes later and the lamb should crumble and cook through. It’s ready at that point.
4. For the butter mixture, mix all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
5. Take the loaf of bread, and use a sharp serrated knife. Cut diagonal lines along the bread spacing each cut about an inch apart. Turn the bread and cut the same diagonal line across (also spacing them an inch apart). This creates an inch diamond shapes all over the bread. Make sure you don’t cut all the way through, however try as best as possible to cut as deep as you can.
6. Start by spooning in the butter mixture all along in the lines cut up on the bread loaf. Repeat the same with half the cheese. Scatter the cheese along the lines of the diagonal.
7. Add the lamb crumbles over the cheese and finally, add more cheese on the top in the same way. Brush extra butter over the tops of the bread.
8. Take a large piece of aluminum foil and wrap the bread in it. Place the wrapped bread over a king sheet an bake it for 15-20 minutes until the cheese melts and the flavors have infused beautifully.
9. Remove the bread and unwrap the foil. Serve right away pulling away the small inch pieces of diamonds.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

TIPS FOR PULL APART BREAD

1. The type of bread you start with will ultimately be the type of pull apart bread you end up with (either soft of crunchy). Read more on the bread above.
2. Stale bread of any type works very well in the recipe.
3. A sharp serrated knife is best to use for slicing the bread.
4. When slicing the bread, make sure you slice as deep as you can —this allows you to flavor and add fillings as much as possible to the bread. However make sure not to cut all the way through.
5. The garlic butter is used to flavor the bread and for that it’s used first.
6. You’ll need to divide the cheese between bottom and top layers. The bottom one helps the filing stick to the bread, while the top layer makes the “cheesy” in the pull apart bread.
7. Feel free to use extra cheese. Also feel free to use a combo of cheese to your taste.
8. Use American lamb for this recipe. It makes a HUGE difference when it comes to taste and quality.
9. Wrapping the bread with foil during baking allows for the cheese to melt and flavors to infuse beautifully without burning the bread.
10. The pull apart bread is great to prepare in advance. It’s best to make two or three loaves at time and wrap the extra ones in the freezer.
11. Baking time is the same if the bread is defrosted, however if you’re baking the loaf frozen, add 10 extra minutes of baking time. Read more details above in the Paragraph preparation in advance.

Nutrition Facts

Cheesy Pull Apart Bread with Lamb Crumbles

Amount Per Serving

Calories 425 Calories from Fat 333

% Daily Value*

Fat 37g57%

Saturated Fat 19g119%

Cholesterol 112mg37%

Sodium 661mg29%

Potassium 196mg6%

Carbohydrates 2g1%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 21g42%

Vitamin A 593IU12%

Vitamin C 3mg4%

Calcium 205mg21%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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