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Olive Oil Bread Dip [Video!]

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Less than 20 minutes to make (and most of that time is just heating olive oil and garlic!). In this easy appetizer, olive oil and balsamic vinegar pair with herbs and garlic for the easiest and most delicious bread dipping oil combo you’ve ever had! Best enjoyed with crusty French bread and a big glass of red wine!

Overhead shot of a plate filled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip with Parmesan cheese and herbs

Easy Appetizer

  • It’s simple and easy to throw together. If you need a last minute appetizer that you can make in just minutes – this is it! If you’re like me you’ll probably have most of these ingredients in your kitchen already which means you have this made in no time!
  • Your friends are going to devour it! If you’re having a ladies night and you want to serve something along side those bottles of Merlot, this easy appetizer needs to be on the table! Chances are good your friends will have had something similar to this at a restaurant, but they will be completely blown away by the fresh flavors of THIS dip! It puts all restaurant olive oil bread dips to shame 🙂
  • It looks super fancy (but it’s not). Fake it ’til you make it, right?! This dip makes it LOOK like you probably spent a lot of time in the kitchen but in reality you heated a bit of minced garlic with olive oil and then poured it into a serving dish with dried herbs and balsamic vinegar. Accept the compliments graciously when your friends rave about this appetizer – you “worked hard” 😉 and you deserve it!

Instructions

If you don’t like to cook, you’re going to love this recipe! Even if you do like to cook it’s nice to get a little break once in a while and just enjoy a quality snack that takes only minutes to prepare!

Add olive oil to a small sauce pan over medium low heat.

Hand pouring olive oil into a small sauce pan

Add fresh minced garlic. Heat for about 12 minutes.

Hand adding minced garlic to the sauce pan of olive oil

Add dried spices.

Hand adding dried herbs to a small saucepan of olive oil

Stir to combine.

Hand stirring olive oil herbs and garlic in a small saucepan

Pour the herbaceous olive oil into a serving dish.

Olive oil and herbs being poured onto a white plate

And add balsamic vinegar.

Balsamic vinegar being poured onto a plate of olive oil and herbs

Finish this dish with freshly shredded Parmesan.

Parmesan cheese being sprinkled on a plate of balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Serve with sliced French baguette. Pair this dip alongside my favorite One Pot Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese for a hearty dinner your family and friends will love!

Overhead shot of a plate filled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip with Parmesan cheese and herbs

Olive Oil

  • For an appetizer like this where the ingredient list is short, make sure you use a good olive oil.
  • But you don’t need to spend $50 on a bottle. I like to look for olive oil that is cold pressed and organic. This will narrow down the selection giving you the most pure and flavorful olive oil.  
  • It might take a few tries to find your favorite flavor of olive oil. There is a surprisingly wide range of flavors that olive oil can have depending on where the olives were grown including: peppery, floral, nutty or even spicy! This is my personal fave!
Overhead shot of a plate filled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip with Parmesan cheese and herbs

Tips

  • Use fresh garlic. Don’t use a jar of minced garlic. Grab some fresh cloves and mince them yourself. Fresh garlic is usually cheaper and honestly,  you have no idea how long those jars of garlic have been sitting on the shelf before you buy them. 
  • Use quality olive oil. You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to get good olive oil. Look for something cold pressed, organic and most importantly in your price range!
  • Shred your own Parmesan cheese. Pre-shredded cheeses are coated in cellulose so the shreds don’t stick together. Skip the additives and opt for a wedge of Parmesan. There is nothing more delicious than freshly grated cheese!
Overhead shot of a plate filled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip with Parmesan cheese and herbs

Family Favorites

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Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Bread Dip

★★★★★

4.8 from 18 reviews

Olive oil and balsamic vinegar combine with herbs and garlic for the easiest and most delicious appetizer you’ve ever had! Best enjoyed with crusty French bread and a big glass of red wine!

  • Author: Kylie Lato
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes
  • Total Time: 17 minutes
  • Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Method: Stove Top
  • Cuisine: American
Scale

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a small saucepan combine olive oil and garlic over medium low heat. Heat for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Remove from heat, stir in oregano, thyme and a moderate pinch of salt and pepper.
  3. Pour oil mixture into a wide shallow serving dish.
  4. Pour in balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with shredded Parmesan.
  5. Serve with sliced French baguette for dipping and enjoy!

Notes

Use fresh garlic. Don’t use a jar of minced garlic. Grab some fresh cloves and mince them yourself. Fresh garlic is usually cheaper and honestly,  you have no idea how long those jars of garlic have been sitting on the shelf before you buy them. 

Use quality olive oil. You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to get good olive oil. Look for something cold pressed, organic and most importantly in your price range!

Shred your own Parmesan cheese. Pre-shredded cheeses are coated in cellulose so the shreds don’t stick together. Skip the additives and opt for a wedge of Parmesan. There is nothing more delicious than freshly grated cheese!

Keywords: bread dip, olive oil dip, balsamic dip, oil and vinegar dip, restaurant dip

Did you make this recipe?

This post was originally published in September of 2018. It was updated in Feburary 2019 to include process shots and tips for making the perfect olive oil & balsamic bread dip!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  5. Sherri

    We love the olive oil and herb dips served at restaurants so this is a great idea to make one at home! The addition of the balsamic vinegar is fantastic! Definitely a must try…especially with the big glass of red wine! 😉

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  6. Jacquelyn Hastert

    This is one of my most favorite dips to order at restaurants. I can’t wait to serve it with a big dish of pasta next week.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  7. Rachel

    That garlic flavor is AMAZING! That combined with the other flavors + crusty bread + red wine = pure food love! My husband is obsessed with this recipe. He’s had it the past two nights and I feel like he’s going to make it again tonight! ?

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  8. Jenni LeBaron

    Yum! I used to work in the banquet department of a hotel in the summers between college and the hotel made something very similar that we used to lap up with warm rolls when we were on shift. I can’t wait to eat some of this!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  9. Colleen

    We usually just swirl the balsamic and olive oil on a plate together, but I have to try it with garlic, herbs, and Parmesan now. Thanks for sharing.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  10. Claire | The Simple, Sweet Life

    Every month or so the book club I’m in meets and this month its my turn to host. And how perfect to stumble across this recipe since I’m planning on serving a simple Italian themed dinner! I’ll definitely have to make this for one of the appetizers!

    Reply

  11. Deseree

    This is such a simple appetizer that packs so much flavor. Everyone will love this and it steps up your dinner game.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  13. Daniela

    What a great dip to serve as an appetizer! Def has crowd pleasing written all over it! Thanks so much for sharing :).

    Reply

  14. Alisha Rodrigues

    oh man !! This is easy and so tempting. I’ve got all the ingredients to make it besides the french bread. Picking it up on my way right away. Simple recipes are always a treat

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      Good question…because of the fresh garlic I would think you’d need to refrigerate the olive oil (as opposed to leaving it out on the counter) and when you refrigerate olive oil it solidifies. One option would be to make it ahead, refrigerate the olive oil mixture and then let that sit out on the counter for 1-2 hours before serving so it becomes liquid again. If you do try this – I’d love to know how it goes!

      Reply

  16. Supriya Kutty

    amazing picture representation which helps to get how to do exactly and the recipe is simple and sweet
    thanks you so much for sharing and keep posting we love you and your recipes

    Reply

  17. Sara

    Hi! I am wondering if this could be put in a jar! I am wanting to give it as a gift with a loaf of homemade French bread. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      What a perfect gift idea Sarah! My rule of thumb is usually that if my dip/dressing has fresh garlic or herbs, it needs to be refrigerated (or it could possibly go rancid). Because of the olive oil, this dip would not do well refrigerated (the oil will turn solid). However, you could use GARLIC POWDER and DRIED herbs and THEN I think it would do just fine in a jar at room temperature! Great question!!

      Reply

  18. Staci Schroeder

    Looking forward to trying this! Quick question: you mention French bread, but would homemade sour dough bread work with the flavor combination? Thanks

    Reply

  20. Lynn

    This was so simple and so amazing! I will absolutely make again, for any occasion. Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  22. luke

    Sorry not for us. I put this recipe together exactly after battling minutes of pop up add gibberish to get to recipe. Way too strong. Way, way too much basalmic and herbs. Totally extinguished the bread (ciabatta) and olive oil flavor. Sorry but quite strong tasting. Even too strong for a salad dressing. Tasted like a sponge dipped in some far out exotic wine or something. All I taste is overwhelming vinegar and herbs. Even overwhelmed the garlic and parmesan cheese. Ok I tried your jazzed up recipe but will stick to the simple recipes from now on. Exnay the basalmic and too much herbs.

    ★★

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      I really appreciate your honest opinion Luke – thank you! Do you enjoy balsamic vinegar in other dishes or dips? This bread dip is definitely not meant to be a salad dressing, and if your bread tasted like a sponge, I’d recommend trying a different kind of bread! This recipe has a prominent balsamic vinegar flavor and if you don’t like balsamic vinegar, I would not recommend this recipe for you.

      Reply

  24. Ann B

    Just made it and we ate it on soft french bread, yummy. Added basil. The crunchy garlic bits in there were a treat. I ground up the dried herbs a bit for better flavor. I like a bit more balsamic, hubby a bit less, and so I served separate portions on a long plate. We cleaned it up. Made a can of split pea soup into a real meal.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      I love when you can customize appetizers based on everyone’s taste! I like to have a separate plate from my husband too 😉 Thanks so much for leaving a review, Ann. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!!

      Reply

  25. Mila

    Once in a while you run across a recipe that has you sharing the links with your friends after just a bite or two and this is it! Now, I will admit I used jar minced garlic AND balsamic glaze and as we are devouring the dip, I mentioned the tweaks for next time (fresh garlic & adding the glaze to the plate BEFORE the oil) and the universal opinion was NO, it’s perfect as is! (But I will anyway! The consistency of the glaze covered the herbs) This dish will be made at every gathering from here on out!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Kylie Lato

      Nothing wrong with switching things up to use what you’ve got on hand! I am OBSESSED with balsamic glaze right now and I think that would work perfectly in this recipe! I’m so glad that everyone loved this one! I make this all the time at home because it’s just that good and so quick and easy! Thank you for leaving a review, Mila. I really appreciate it 🙂

      Reply

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