Bread Dipping Oil & Spices {Copycat Carrabba’s}

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You never know what treasures you might find on a trip to the thrift store. Sometimes there’s nothing at all to grab your interest, but other times . . . well other times you may just stumble across the perfect find at a great price. And that’s what keeps lots of us second-hand shoppers checking in to our favorite spots regularly. Each trip is a new adventure!

Make your own bread dipping oil and spice mixture - this is what I make when I get a craving for my favorite restaurant version - Carrabba's!

One of my recent fun finds was a little set of bread dipping oil dishes. I always enjoy the bread with dipping oil and spices at my favorite restaurant, Carrabba’s. Only on special occasions do we go there but when we do, oh man is the food great! And I’ve always wanted to try a homemade copycat version of Carrabba’s dipping oil and spices for bread. My thrift store dishes for a couple bucks gave me the perfect opportunity to give it a try and make my own!

How To Make Your Own Dipping Spices For Bread

After some trial and error I settled on a method that works well for me. I use a combination of a couple fresh herbs with the dried spices. This gives the mixture some fresh flavors, but also lets me to use some of the more frugal spices in my cupboard too.

Make your own bread dipping oil and spice mixture - this is what I make when I get a craving for my favorite restaurant version - Carrabba's!

I also decided not to do a make-ahead spice blend mixture either. I found it just as easy to add a pinch of each spice to each dish when it was time to eat. If I ever change my mind on that, I’ll just use equal amounts of each spice in my blend.

For the fresh ingredient, I like to use either fresh basil or fresh parsley. The I add in just a pinch of some dried spices. I like to use Oregano, Rosemary, Garlic Powder (or sometimes Garlic Salt), Red Pepper Flakes, and some freshly ground black pepper.

Copycat Carrabba's Bread Dipping Oil and Spices - A tasty way to make your own restaurant-style appetizer.

Once the herbs and spices are in the dishes, simply drizzle in a little olive oil and your dipping spices are ready for the bread!

Even if you don’t have a set of dipping oil dishes (but keeping checking your local thrift store!) you can do this at home with any little saucer-type plate that you can sprinkle some herbs and spices onto and cover with a bit of olive oil.

Make your own bread dipping oil and spice mixture - this is what I make when I get a craving for my favorite restaurant version - Carrabba's!

There’s room for some creativity with this method too. Perhaps you have a nice variety of fresh herbs and you can use all fresh – that would be great! However if you’re like me, it’s more likely you’ll have times when you have no fresh herbs, and you can still get by using just dried herbs for this recipe. It can also be the variety of flavors (whether fresh or dried) that make this a delicious way to enjoy your bread.

Dipping Spices and Oil For Bread

Make your own bread dipping oil and spice mixture – this is what I make when I get a craving for my favorite restaurant version – Carrabba's!
Prep Time3 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Copycat, Dipping spices, Quick Bread
Author: Beverly

Ingredients:

  • Fresh Basil or Fresh Parsley
  • Dried Oregano
  • Dried Rosemary
  • Dried Red Pepper Flakes
  • Garlic Powder (or can use Garlic Salt too)
  • Black Pepper (I like freshly ground)
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions:

  • Very finely chop a few leaves of parsley and a few leaves of basil. Sprinkle the chopped parsley and basil into your dipping dishes.
  • Then into each of the dishes, add a pinch or a small sprinkling of each of the dried spices (the rosemary, oregano, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and black pepper).
  • Pour some of the extra virgin olive oil over the spices in each of the plates. Dip your bread and enjoy!

Notes:

You can substitute dried parsley and/or basil if you do not have fresh.

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