Best Italian Restaurant-Style Olive Oil Bread Dip
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Effortlessly make the Best Italian Restaurant-Style Olive Oil Bread Dip with good-quality olive oil and your pantry spices. Infused with herby flavors and fragrant garlic, it’s the perfect accompaniment for dipping into a freshly baked, crusty loaf of warm bread.
One of my favorite parts of dining out at a local Italian restaurant is being served a basket of soft bread that’s usually wonderfully crisp on the outside alongside a shallow dish of high-quality olive oil with the perfect balance of herb and garlic flavor for dipping.
Now, you can enjoy the experience in the comfort of your own home for a weeknight dinner or host guests with this easy recipe for olive oil herb dip!
Why you’ll love this bread oil recipe!
Ingredient notes
- Dried Herbs | Using dried herbs extends the shelf life of the mix so you can use it repeatedly. The best combination is dried parsley flakes, basil, oregano, and rosemary.
- Garlic | Granulated garlic is best for this recipe, but garlic powder will do the trick if you can’t get your hands on the other.
- Red pepper | Add red pepper flakes for a hint of spice.
- Salt and pepper | Balance the flavors with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Balsamic vinegar | If desired, serve this simple olive oil dip with a splash of balsamic vinegar.
- Olive oil | Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
- Bread | Serve with warm crusty bread, like Italian bread, tangy sourdough bread, or French baguette.
How to make Italian Bread Dipping Oil Recipe
This is the best olive oil and Italian seasoning mix you’ll ever make, and perfect to impress at your next dinner party!
STEP 1 | Combine herbs and spices
Begin with a small bowl, and combine the basil, rosemary, oregano, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
STEP 2 | Combine herb mixture with olive oil and serve!
When you’re ready to serve, add one tablespoon of the herb mixture to the center of a small shallow bowl. Next, pour in 1/3 cup olive oil and an optional splash of balsamic vinegar for extra flavor.
Serve with warm crusty bread slices for dipping, and enjoy! How easy is that?!
tips
- If not serving immediately, store the mix in an airtight container for later. This recipe will make more than you should need in one sitting, so be sure you have something, like a jar, to hold the blend to use with other recipes or when you serve this again.
Must-Have Bread Dipping Saucers
Italian Market Original since 1906
- Porcelain, 4-Ounce, Set of 4
Variations and substitutions
- Bread Options. Choose your favorite bread, like French Bread, Ciabatta Rolls, Focaccia, and more!
- Seasoning Short Cut. Instead of combining the separate dried herbs, try using a trusted Italian seasoning blend with some of the same and some different herbs for variety. Or make your own Italian Seasoning Substitute!
- Fresh Herbs. Substitute fresh herbs and fresh garlic cloves when available in place of the dried herbs, then use the mix immediately.
- Infused Olive Oil. Mince 2 garlic cloves and saute them in the olive oil — until crispy, but not burned — before pouring over the spice mix to serve.
- Feel free to add freshly grated Parmesan cheese to the delicious oil dip.
Storage and reheating tips
- Using dried herbs, this spice mix will keep for up to six months when stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
- When combined with the olive oil, it’s best refrigerated and will last a few days.
Serving suggestions
This recipe is the perfect appetizer to start off a meal of traditional Italian recipes, like Nikki’s Pasta e Fagioli Soup, Homemade Italian Meat Sauce with Spaghetti, Italian Meatball Subs, or Italian Sausage Butternut Squash Pasta Bake, perfect for fall! And end the meal with this easy and classic Lemon Ricotta Cake Recipe.
Frequently asked questions
Sure! Bread dipping oil is easily made a couple of days ahead of time. If using dried herbs, combine all ingredients, not including the olive oil or any fresh ingredients, like minced garlic or parmesan cheese. Before serving, add the seasoning blend to the oil and other remaining ingredients, and enjoy!
In reality, this is up to your preference, but some popular picks are focaccia, ciabatta, and sourdough bread. The best bread usually has a crunchy outside and soft and fluffy inside.
Yes and no. It’s certainly not like eating a large serving of greens. However, olive oil is heart-healthy and an excellent alternative to other bread dips filled with cheese, creams, and butter.
Italians do not traditionally dip their bread in olive oil with or without herbs and a swirl of vinegar. It’s much more common to save oil and vinegar for salads and other recipes and is rarely used with bread.
From My Bookshelf
This simple yet satisfying recipe was adapted from Carrabba’s Italian Grill: Recipes from Around Our Family Table. How generous of this famous Italian food chain to offer some of its most delicious recipes!
- 75 authentic Italian recipes
- Tips on successful grilling and the perfect pasta
I have even more copycat recipes from your favorite restaurants, like Cracker Barrel’s Homestyle Chicken Pot Pie, buttery Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay Biscuits, and the obsession-worthy Chick-fil-A Nuggets Recipe! Or, check out this Italian Grilled Chicken recipe for more Carrabba’s flavor!
Looking for more Delicious Dips and Sauces?
For dipping buttery crackers, toasted baguette, and pita chips, whip up a batch or two of this Hot Pepper Jelly Cheese Dip with Bacon or Cheesy Shrimp Dip with sauteed shrimp scampi!
Or, with crispy tortilla chips, serve Creamy White Queso or Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip with tons of flavor and delicious artichoke hearts!
Like this recipe?
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Best Italian Restaurant-Style Olive Oil Bread Dip
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- balsamic vinegar optional, for serving
- grated Parmesan cheese optional, for serving
- sliced crusty bread loaf for dipping
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the basil, rosemary, oregano, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Store in an airtight container.
- To serve, add 1 tablespoon of the herb mixture to the center of a small shallow bowl. Pour in 1/3 cup olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar, if desired. Serve with warm crusty bread slices for dipping. Store the remaining herb mixture in a tightly sealed container for later use.
Notes
- Using dried herbs, this spice mix will keep for up to six months when stored in an airtight container.
- For an extra flavor boost, mince 2 garlic cloves and saute in the olive oil — until crispy, but not burned — before pouring over the spice mix to serve.
- Substitute fresh herbs when available in place of the dried herbs, then use the mix immediately.
Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
About Sheila Thigpen
Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Food Writer
Sheila Thigpen is the publisher of Life, Love, and Good Food — a Southern food blog — and the author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook. After 20+ years in the publishing industry, she retired in 2018 to focus on her own creative endeavors full time. She and her husband live near the beautiful Smoky Mountains and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. As an influencer, Sheila has collaborated with brands like Creamette, Kroger, HERSHEY’S, Hamilton Beach, Garafalo Pasta, OXO, Smithfield, Valley Fig Growers, and more.
