One of my fave places to go on date night is Carrabba’s.
My hubby and I love their atmosphere and food! In fact, for Mother’s Day, my dear husband got take-out from Carrabba’s and we ate it at home. It was perfect! We put our little girl down for a nap when she got cranky and were able to enjoy a nice meal together – in our own home and away from the noisy Mother’s Day crowd. 🙂 I highly recommend carry out for your next Mother’s Day meal.
Now, this is really not an advertisement for Carrabba’s. 😉 No, this is more like a hack into one of my favorite things about them.
You see, when you first sit down, one of the first things the waiter brings you is a basket with hot bread and a plate of spices. He then pours olive oil onto the spices plate and you proceed to dip your bread into the oil & spices.
It is one of the most marvelous taste sensations ever. Seriously.
So much so, that I wanted to recreate it. One thing: the spices are chopped so fine, we thought they were certainly dried, but our waiter told us they are always fresh herbs. So…I found a couple copycat recipes:
One from Food.com
And 1 from Macaroni & Cheesecake
If you are a basil lover, I would go with the food.com recipe, which I’ll share below. Stephanie from Macaroni & Cheesecake (have you seen her blog? you really should go check out her homemade strawberry poptarts!) mentioned that basil isn’t readily available where she is, so she subbed some of it out for more parsley. I, however, am a basil lover and I have a tiny little basil plant currently growing on my front porch, so…more basil for me, please! 🙂
Carrabba’s Bread Dipping Spices
via food.com
- 1 tablespoon minced basil
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley (Italian is best)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Combine all ingredients (except olive oil & lemon juice) in food chopper or processor. Chop until herbs are very fine. Mix in oil & lemon juice.
When ready to serve, place 1 1/2 tsp spice mixture to a small plate. Add 3-4 tbsp olive oil.
Dip bread slices in mixture and enjoy the amazing taste that is about to hit your taste-buds. 🙂
This recipe comes with my HIGHEST praise. So, if you’re an herb and olive oil lovah, go try it with a couple slices of crusty french bread. You know, crusty-ish on the outside and soft on the inside? Yeahhh…now we’re talkin’.
Now, I will say this…I served this to 2 of my brothers-in-law one time for dinner and the thought of dipping their bread in olive oil and spices kinda grossed them out. My husband loves it. So I know it’s not just a guy-thing. But, if you have a guy who might be squeamish about this sorta thing…this probably wouldn’t be the recipe to pull out for date night. Or birthday night. Or…any night really. just a hint.
(And if you’re looking for a dessert, these s’mores-in-a-pan are totally delicious with only 3 ingredients!)
Comments
19 responses to “Carrabba’s Bread Dipping Spices”
Yum. Looks delish, and don’t you like copying restaurant food and getting the delish without the dollars?! Thanks for sharing!
Yes!!! That’s the BEST!
I don’t think I’ve ever been to Carrabba’s…now I can have an excuse to go…to make sure this tastes like your recipe. 🙂
Ha! Daniel did the exact same thing for me Mother’s Day last year! We have yet to go out to eat on Mother’s Day, but I’ve enjoyed the food he’s made our brought.
I love basil, too! So does HK-she likes to go back to the garden and just eat it. 🙂
And…don’t worry, those same 2 brother-in-laws were grossed out by avocado on their salads. How can you hate avocado? 🙂
bahaha…and we heard about that. 😉 sooo funny! yep, I love avocado in my salad. and soup. and on top of mexican dishes.
yum:)
Ooooh this looks amazing. And I’m pretty sure John would love this because we’ve had bread like this before (can’t remember where… hmmm.) And I am a HUGE fan of avocado!! Especially in salads and sandwiches. Yum. I am currently on a hunt for a recipe for this really incredible soup that I had last week (although it didn’t have avocado in it). 🙂 Oh wow. If I find it, I will try it and let you know. It was soo good! Like one-of-the-best-soups-I’ve-ever-had good. I love finding good recipes! 😛
oh yum. where did you eat it? maybe you can find a copycat recipe online? I love looking for copycat recipes 🙂
This was also yummy with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar instead of the lemon juice 🙂
[…] Side: Easy French Bread Carrabas Bread Dipping Sauce […]
Tonight I grabbed my dipping oil out of the cabinet and thought it was a bit questionable. So, I googled dipping bread oil. Found your site and tried this. My husband and I both liked it and I have shared it on FB with my friends. Thank you so much.
Your actually wrong. I’m not allowed to give out the recipe but there are a few things that aren’t in there and you are missing some stuff but your close.
This looks great, I’m going to make this on the weekend. 🙂 I’m not particularly good in the kitchen, but this is really easy, even for me.
Could you use dried spices?
yes, you could use dried spices! the flavor is always better with fresh herbs, but I’ve used dried with yummy results!
I love their dipping sauce! What kind of olive oil do you use?
currently the extra virgin olive oil via sam’s club 🙂
Pretty much dead on! Carrabba’s also has it posted to their blog 🙂
http://blog.carrabbas.com/2014/12/herb-olive-oil-dip-recipe/#.VnL6kqRb8dI
so yummy! thanks, Amy!
You stated the waiter said the spices were all fresh, yet your recipe uses part fresh, & part dried. Reason?
I usually use all dried spices when I make it. Easier. 🙂 Fresh would most definitely taste better, though!