Seed Oil Free Garlic Basil Herb Oil
There is something deeply satisfying about making your own infused oil from scratch, and this garlic and herb version is the kind of thing that makes everything it touches taste better. Extra-virgin olive oil is the only fat here — a clean, single-ingredient base that sidesteps the refined and industrially processed oils that can be so hard to avoid in store-bought condiments and dressings. The technique is gentle by design: low heat coaxes the garlic to a soft, pale gold while thyme and rosemary slowly release their aromatic oils into the warm bath, then fresh basil steeps off the heat to keep its bright, grassy character intact. The result is a vivid, fragrant oil that smells like a summer herb garden and tastes like something from a very good restaurant. Drizzle it over roasted vegetables, swipe it across a piece of crusty bread, or use it as a finishing touch on pasta or grilled proteins — it elevates almost anything. Keeping a jar in the fridge means you always have a flavorful, wholesome fat on hand without scanning labels for canola, soybean, or sunflower oil hiding in the fine print.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, lightly smashed and peeled
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- 1
Combine the olive oil, smashed garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, and rosemary sprigs in a small saucepan. Set over the lowest heat your burner allows and warm until the oil reaches a gentle, lazy sizzle around the garlic — small bubbles forming slowly at the edges of the cloves, about 8–10 minutes. The garlic should turn pale golden and fragrant but not brown; if it begins to color quickly, lift the pan off the heat for 30 seconds.
- 2
Remove the pan from the heat and add the fresh basil leaves, pressing them gently into the warm oil with a spoon. Let the basil steep in the residual heat for 5 minutes, until the leaves are wilted and the oil is bright green-tinged and fragrant.
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