This olive oil bread dip recipe is ridiculously good. It’s a lifesaver for entertaining, comes together in 5 minutes, and everyone loves it!
I can’t get enough of this delicious garlic herb olive oil dip. It’s perfect with bread, so easy to make, and is always a hit when friends and family come over.
You’ll make a mixture of fresh garlic, herbs, and spices, then spoon it onto a plate and pour over olive oil. Add crusty bread, homemade pita, or homemade focaccia, and you are set! For another easy appetizer, make tomato bruschetta.
Key Ingredients
- Garlic: I love the flavor of fresh garlic. If you prefer a milder, sweeter flavor, roasted garlic is a great substitute.
- Capers: They are salty and super flavorful, which helps season the dip.
- Herbs: I like a mix of fresh rosemary and thyme, plus dried oregano. A pinch of red pepper flakes adds just a little heat.
- Parmesan: Use a good-quality Parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano is my favorite). I grate the cheese with a fine microplane so it melts into the olive oil.
- Olive Oil: Your favorite extra-virgin olive oil will do! I prefer a fruity extra-virgin olive oil.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make My Favorite Olive Oil Dip for Bread
Tip 1: Chop everything finely. Chop the garlic, capers, herbs, and Parmesan into tiny pieces. Then use the back of a spoon to mash them together into a loose paste. The smaller the pieces, the better the flavor spreads through the oil.
Tip 2: Build it on the plate. Spoon a little of the paste into the center of a plate, then drizzle generously with olive oil. The oil spreads the flavor, and the paste stays concentrated, so you get a bit in every dip.
Tip 3: Make extra. This goes fast. I almost always end up adding more paste and more olive oil to the plate. It’s a flavor bomb in the best way. Honestly, make a double batch (you’ll be glad you did).
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Easy Olive Oil Bread Dip
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- TOTAL
This garlic and herb mixture is a flavor bomb. When topped with olive oil, it turns into a delicious dip for bread. Keep extra olive oil close by. You can always top up the plate with more.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
2 garlic cloves, or more depending on how garlicky you want it
2 tablespoons capers, drained
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
3 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
Pinch sea salt, see tips
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes, optional to make it spicy
½ cup (118ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
Crusty bread
Directions
1Finely mince the garlic and capers. Add to a bowl along with the oregano, rosemary, thyme, and cheese. Season with a small pinch of salt and pepper.
2Use the back of a spoon to smoosh the herbs into the garlic and capers.
3Make one or two mounds of the garlic-herb mixture on a rimmed plate. Drizzle the olive oil on top. Serve with bread.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Make-ahead: Prepare the garlic-herb mixture a day or two in advance and store, covered tightly, in the refrigerator. The fresh herbs may lose some color. When ready to serve, add the mixture to a plate and top with olive oil.
- Capers: We love the saltiness capers add to the dip, but you can leave them out. The dip still tastes great without them.
- Dried herbs vs. fresh: We prefer fresh rosemary and thyme, but you can use dried rosemary and thyme instead of fresh. Crush the dried herbs a little in the palm of your hand before adding them to the mix. You will also want to use a little less (about ½ teaspoon). To use fresh oregano instead of dried, use a teaspoon of chopped fresh oregano.
- Salt: Use your favorite salt. If you have it, I love truffle salt for this recipe.
- Balsamic vinegar: Adding a small splash of balsamic vinegar is delicious!
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We did not include bread in the calculations.
I made this for friend’s Easter appetizer. Everyone loved it. We were outside poolside. It was perfect. Raw garlic. I used McEvoy Basil olive oil and added a splash of thick balsamic vinegar around the plate. It was perfect. Didn’t add any salt. We loved, we are in Napa//Sonoma County
Amazing! That sounds fun! 🙂
Delicious, I wish I’d made more and will definitely be making again and again. It was a big hit with my entire family. Thanks for the recipe!
So good! Always a hit. Extra yummy with a glass of wine.
Love this recipe, made it in advance of so e friends coming for lunch but now can’t come. Will it freeze?
Hi Julia, I believe so (although, I have not done this myself).
Omg, made as listed. It soaked up the bread and burned my throat!!! Awful! Glad in a short time it went away!!!! Won’t ever make this again!!!
By far the BEST sauce! I won’t call it a dipping sauce as I also put it on top of grilled and broiled fish. But of course, it makes the bread exceptional as well!
If making this ahead of time with fresh herbs, just put it in a container it fills and pour a layer of olive oil on top to seal…viola, your fresh herbs won’t brown! Really good with minced sun dried tomatoes mixed in and cocktail onions on the side
Love it! So glad you enjoyed the dip 🙂
Can I sub the dry oregano for fresh oregano? If so, how much do you recommend?
Hi Sam, Use about 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh oregano.
YES! This is absolutely the best. I’m going to have to keep ingredients on hand at all times! Everyone loved it!
Such great news!
Made this for Thanksgiving to go with a cheesy garlic monkey bread. It was such a big hit. OMG, I kept hearing This is ridiculously good!.I’m the type of cook that throws everything in a recipe. I added roasted almond slivers, sesame seeds and few drops of sesame oil. This recipe is killer. Dip the bread? Heck no we were all adding a teaspoon on top of our bread. Thanks so much for sharing.
Forgot to give it 5 stars!
Can I use normal olive instead of the extra virgin olive oil?
You can. Extra virgin olive oil tastes more delicate, but use what you have.
Love, love, love this. I need more bread! Yum!
Hi! This looks delicious! I’m planning to bottle this as wedding favours but wanted to check if I can add in the olive oil the night before?
Hi Joyce, That is a cute idea but we are unsure of the food safety precautions for this.
this sounds amazing! found this while looking for a hummus recipe, which led me to your site, and it is being saved to my “to make” list. going to try this without the Parmesan cheese because i’m lactose intolerant. still think it will be delicious!!
So easy… So good! Great with a glass of wine.
I love your recipes
Wow what a fantastic find ??thank you for your sharing love it
OMG is this ever good! Made a small batch to check it out and could not stop the taste test until it was completely gone! I had never tried capers before. They are a perfect addition to oil dip. Would love to show a pic, but it’s ALL GONE.
i made this last night and forgot to put the Oregano in it but OMG! I couldn’t stop eating it! So delicious! Although we love garlic, i’ll put one clove instead of two.
This recipe was so good! I found that romano cheese also works well, and the dip tastes delicious on toast too! I’m definitely going to be making this often!
Only have dried herbs but still so good! Also help relieves my migraine so I start my morning with this 🙂
I made this at Thanksgiving. It turned out wonderful and I was asked several times to share the recipe-of course I did!
Simple, yet delicious! I made it on a whim and only had dried herbs… will definitely be making this on the regular! Thank you!
Just plain delish ! Thanks for the recipe my friends all loved it.
Can you freeze this? If so, what method would you use?
Hi Tonya, You can freeze the olive oil dip (although, I’d leave out the cheese). Adding it to freezer-safe baggies or ice cube trays are a good idea.
Would this be good with olive tapenade instead of capers (since I don’t have them)?
That would be a great sub 🙂
Superb! A new family favorite! Thank you!!
omg this looks amazing! I love dipping oils. I would definitely leave the salt out. I don’t like things super salty and, between the parm and the briny capers, the addition of salt seems like it would be too much.
This is an awesome recipe! The flavor is excellent and it went down really well with our crusty baguette. I doubled the recipe and it lasted very well in the fridge. I ate the last bit today, 3 days later, and it was still wonderful! Thank you for sharing!! I will be making this regularly.
THANKS
Yum yum yum! I keep this deliciousness in my fridge at all times! When i need “comfort food”, it’s my go to. I have a wonderful recipe for ciabatta that i make into a loose loaf- slice and freeze- pop one of those in the toaster and a plate of herby briney olive oil and all is right in the world! Thank you!
Loved this recipe! Adding some chopped sun dried tomatoes would also be delish.
Fantastic and easy!
I’m not a fan of dried herbs & avoid them whenever possible, which is pretty much always. Why would you use dried oregano when the others are fresh? Thanks! This sounds great & I’ll definitely be adding that anchovy.??
Hi Kathy, If you have fresh oregano, you can absolutely use it.
Olive oil is good for you. Cannot wait to try this!
Exceptional recipe! We make many similar dips ourselves as well, so we know we’re gonna love this one too:) Greetings from Greece! Mirella and Panos
This is a superb bread dip!