Nova Scotia Garlic Fingers
Nova Scotia Garlic Fingers feature pillowy soft pizza crust with tangy garlic butter and stretchy melted mozzarella. It’s a great snack or appetizer!
If you go to any restaurant in Nova Scotia (or another Atlantic Canada province) that serves pizza, you will very likely find something called Garlic Fingers on the menu. If you’ve never heard of them before, you might be unsure of what they are.
Garlic Fingers are a pizza-like dish, but with garlic butter instead of tomato sauce, topped with stretchy mozzarella cheese. Instead of being cut into standard pizza wedges, they are cut into narrow rectangles (hence the “fingers” in the name).
My kids love garlic fingers, and we order them at least once on every visit to Nova Scotia, but they are uncommon to find at any of our local restaurants in Edmonton. For some reason, I have never made them at home until recently.
However, when I did make them, they were completely gone in one sitting (when I make regular pizza, the same amount normally lasts us two meals). If you like pizza and you like garlic bread, I highly recommend trying Nova Scotia Garlic Fingers.
How to Make Nova Scotia Garlic Fingers
To make Garlic Fingers, you will need pizza dough. I made the same pizza dough I always make, but if you choose to use it too, make sure you leave enough time for it to rise. Note that with this recipe, if you need to cut down on rising time, you can add more yeast. When I need it to rise in a couple of hours instead of a couple of days, I increase the yeast to 1½ teaspoons.
If you choose to use another pizza dough recipe or buy a store-bought dough, make sure to follow the directions to get it to the point of being ready to shape and cook the dough.
Move an oven rack to the bottom position and place your pizza stone on the rack. Heat the oven to 500°F at least 30 minutes before you’re ready to cook the first pizza to allow it enough time to heat up completely.
Stir together the softened or spreadable butter, garlic, minced parsley, and red pepper flakes. Set this aside for now. Using a box grater or food processor shredder attachment, shred the mozzarella cheese and Parmesan.
Divide the pizza dough into two equal pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, stretch and shape it into a large circle. Lay the dough onto a parchment-lined pizza peel or rimless baking sheet.
Evenly spread half of the garlic butter mixture over the dough, leaving a ½ to 1-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella and Parmesan evenly over the buttered dough.
Slide the pizza along with the parchment paper onto the pre-heated pizza stone. After about 5-7 minutes, pull out the parchment paper, and continue cooking for about 5 more minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and browning. Pull the pizza off the pizza stone, back onto the pizza peel, or directly onto a cutting board. Cut the pizza in half, then into thin rectangles. Repeat this process with the remaining dough, garlic butter, and cheese.
Serve immediately with the optional sweet donair sauce or another sauce of your choice.
Nova Scotia Garlic Fingers Ingredients
- Homemade pizza dough – Or use about 800g (1 ¾lbs) of your favorite store-bought pizza dough
- Spreadable butter or softened butter
- Garlic – I recommend using fresh garlic anywhere the garlic will be the focus of the dish, including in this recipe.
- Minced fresh parsley – you will be mixing minced parsley into the garlic butter mixture, as well as garnishing the cooked pizza with it.
- Red pepper flakes – I’m not sure if adding a bit of red pepper flakes to the garlic butter mixture is standard practice in Nova Scotia or not, but I prefer it to add just a little flavor and heat.
- Mozzarella – I highly recommend shredding your own mozzarella, as pre-shredded cheese often contains starches to prevent clumping, which can lead to a gritty texture when the cheese is melted. Use a box grater or shredder attachment for your food processor.
- Parmesan – Adding just a bit of Parmesan along with the mozzarella adds flavor.
- Sweetened condensed milk – This is used to make the optional sweet donair dipping sauce, which is the dipping sauce of choice for Garlic Fingers in Nova Scotia.
- White vinegar – Vinegar is used in the optional dipping sauce only.
- Garlic powder – This is only used for the optional dipping sauce.
Alternative Dipping Sauce Suggestions
I hesitate to admit this, just in case I get banned from entering Nova Scotia, but I do not like Sweet Donair Sauce – I just never have. If you’re like me, there are lots of delicious alternatives. Or simply skip the dipping sauce altogether – Garlic Fingers are delicious and full of flavor on their own.
- Marinara or pizza sauce. Find an easy and delicious recipe here.
- Ranch dressing. Make your own, or use your favorite store-bought brand.
- Hot sauce or buffalo sauce – perfect for spicy food lovers.
- Sweet Thai chili sauce – This is actually my preferred pizza dipping sauce. Don’t knock it ’til you try it.
Want more pizza recipes?
Nova Scotia Garlic Fingers Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one-eighth of a recipe, or one quarter or one of the pizzas. If your serving is larger (or smaller) than this, the nutrition information will vary accordingly.
Note that the nutrition information calculations use my homemade pizza dough recipe. Using store-bought dough or a different recipe may result in different nutrition information.
The nutrition information is for the garlic fingers only and doesn’t include the optional sweet donair dipping sauce or any other sauce.
Nova Scotia Garlic Fingers
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Start with pizza dough that is done rising and ready to bake. Move an oven rack to the bottom position and place a pizza stone on the rack. Turn on the oven to 500°F, and heat the oven for at least 30 minutes (note that you'll likely want to let the oven continue heating for at least 15 minutes after it beeps that it's ready – I find that it takes a little longer to get the pizza stone up to temperature).
- Cut 1¾ pounds (800 g) homemade pizza dough into 2 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball and place them at least 4 inches apart onto an oiled baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet lightly with plastic wrap or a clean, damp kitchen towel. Set the baking sheet aside in a warm spot while you prep the remaining ingredients.
- Stir together 2 Tablespoons (23 g) salted spreadable butter, 6 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley, and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Using the large holes of a box grater (or a food processor shredding attachment, if you have one), shred 8 ounces (225 g) mozzarella. Using the smaller holes of the box grater, grate 2 Tablespoons Parmesan. You can mix the cheeses together or keep them separate.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time, press and stretch the dough into a large (12-14") round on a lightly floured surface. Place the dough on a sheet of parchment paper on a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet. Spread half of the garlic mixture all over the dough round, avoiding ½-1" around the edges. Sprinkle half of both cheeses evenly over the dough round.
- Slide the pizza dough (and parchment paper) onto the pizza stone in the hot oven. After about 5-7 minutes of cooking, carefully pull the parchment out from under the pizza and continue cooking for about 5 minutes until the cheese is melting and beginning to brown.
- Use a fork or tongs to help you pull the pizza from the stone back onto the pizza peel or directly onto a cutting board. If desired, garnish the pizza with additional minced fresh parsley. Cut the pizza in half, then rotate the pizza and cut it into rectangular "fingers". Repeat the previous steps with the remaining piece of pizza dough, the rest of the garlic butter, and the rest of the cheese.
- Serve garlic fingers with the optional sweet donair sauce, or with pizza sauce (find my favorite recipe here) or marinara sauce.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 13 ounce (300 mL) canned sweetened condensed milk, ⅓ cup (85 g) white vinegar, and 1 teaspoon (3 g) garlic powder. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
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