Olive Oil Bread Dip Recipe

An olive oil bread dip recipe for a restaurant-style olive oil, perfect for bread dipping. It’s fast, punchy, and makes everything smell like garlic. It’s also very easy to customize.

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Garlic Olive Oil Bread Dip Recipe (Garlic-infused Olive Oil)

The joy of a restaurant oil blend in 5-10 minutes

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Bread, Dipping, Garlic, Garlic Olive Oil, Infused Olive Oil, Olive Oil, Sauces and Dips

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• 1 head of garlic
• .24 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• .5 tsp salt
• .25 tsp basil (Or spices of your choosing)

Instructions

• Finely mince each clove of garlic
• Place a small saucepan with the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and spices.
• Heat until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat and pour into a ramekin or heat-safe container. Serve with warm bread.

The simplicity and flexibility of this recipe is unique and truly to-taste. You can infuse olive oil with any of your favorite savory spices. It’s basically a vehicle for spice rubs. With the expectations brought on by restaurants, most associate this with Italian spices and flavors – basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, onions,etc. I did try to add some Parmesan to this once. It kind of works. Not as well as I was hoping; however, with cheese certain allowances must be made for experimentation.

The recipe isn’t too finicky if you have a hand for your own spice preferences; it’s easy to add some spices or take some away. Over-spiced concoctions can be brought back into palate using additional oil. Smallish batch sizes can help you navigate experimentation. You could even make a few types and create a plate of bread dipping options that are uniquely you. Try it and host an olive oil bread dip party.

Is this a versatile recipe? Also, yes. This works well as a dip on freshly baked bread, or as a spread to bake really wonderful garlic bread (as long as you’re careful with the temperature). In a moment of clarity and brilliance, I tossed freshly cooked pasta with some of this. I’ve slipped it into white and tomato sauces for heightened intrigue and flavor.

Despite the glorious taste, oil and tiny bits of garlic are not necessarily on the friendliest of terms. The garlic can and will burn, given the chance. It’s good to remember that even when you’ve removed the pan from the heat source, the oil will remain hot and continue to cook the garlic; and burnt garlic is sad garlic.