Dipping oil is one of the easiest appetizers you can make! All you need is a good olive oil and balsamic vinegar, fresh garlic, and a few dried herbs. Place everything in a shallow bowl and then tear apart crusty bread for dipping. You’ll feel like you’re at an Italian restaurant! It’s also a simple side dish if you’re serving bread along with a soup, salad, or pasta meal.
Ingredients Needed
- Olive Oil – you’ll want to use a good tasting olive oil. Olive oil can sometimes taste bitter when it gets old. Before you pour out a bowl of it, take a dab on your finger to taste.
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Fresh Garlic – I like to put my fresh garlic through a press so it’s super fine.
- Dried Herbs – I use dried basil, oregano, and thyme, though you can feel free to play around with different flavor combinations. I’ve made this with fresh herbs as well, and I actually prefer the dried! If you do have some fresh herbs available, feel free to finely mince some and sprinkle a few in, but I still like to use dried herbs as the base flavors as I think they distribute better.
- Bread for dipping
How to Make Dipping Oil
- Pour olive oil into a shallow dish.
- Add fresh minced garlic and dried herbs and whisk to combine.
- Drizzle balsamic over the oil mixture.
- Dip warm chunks of crusty bread in for dipping!
Storage and Other Info
If you don’t use all of your dipping oil, you can store at room temperature in an airtight container. It’s also great drizzled over sandwiches or grilled veggies or used as a salad dressing.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, but fresh garlic (actual fresh garlic, not jarred/bottled garlic) is absolutely the best option. It adds so much depth and flavor.
You can finely mince your garlic, or use a microplane grater.
Normally I will always choose fresh herbs over dried, but I found with fresh herbs in this recipe, you had to add so many to reach the flavor concentration you want, that it becomes pretty wet and gloppy. I however like to make as directed with dried herbs and add just a few fresh for kind of a garnish and punch of freshness.
Just store at room temperature in an airtight container. Aside from dipping, you can also use this as a salad dressing, drizzled on a sandwich, or on vegetables or eggs.
Absolutely! Personally, I think that garlic, basil, and oregano are necessary, but feel free to switch up beyond that if you like!
What Kind of Bread is Best for Dipping?
Look for a crusty artisan bread. One with nooks and crannies for soaking up oil and herbs is ideal. You’ll want to avoid sandwich bread and go for an artisan loaf in the bakery! Flavored loaves (I love a rosemary garlic loaf) can add another dimension of flavor, too! If you’d like to try your hand at making homemade bread, I love this Easy Overnight Artisan Loaf and also this Rosemary Focaccia Loaf.
Dipping Oil
Ingredients
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons pressed fresh garlic
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3-4 cracks black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ⅛ teaspoon ground dried thyme (if using thyme leaves, do ¼ teaspoon)
- 1 pinch chili flakes optional
- 2 tabespoons balsamic vinegar more to taste if desired
- bread for dipping
Instructions
- Pour olive oil into a shallow bowl, or deep plate, about 6 inches in diameter.
- Add garlic, salt and pepper, basil, oregano, thyme and chili flakes (if using). Whisk with a small whisk or fork to combine and distribute garlic and herbs in oil.
- Drizzle balsamic vinegar over the top.
- Take chunks of bread and dip into the oil mixture, using the bread to stir and pick up herbs and balsamic.
