Walnut Free Garlic Basil Herb Oil
There is something deeply satisfying about making your own herb oil from scratch, and this version is as fragrant and vibrant as anything you'd find at a fancy olive bar. Garlic slowly blooms in good extra-virgin olive oil until it turns pale golden and sweet, while thyme and rosemary release their woodsy, aromatic depth into every drop. Fresh basil goes in off the heat, steeping just long enough to turn the oil a gorgeous green-tinged color without losing its brightness. The whole thing gets strained clean, so what you're left with is a silky, deeply flavored oil that tastes like it took far more effort than it actually did. Store-bought flavored oils can be a minefield of mystery ingredients and shared production lines, so having a batch you made yourself — with nothing but herbs, garlic, olive oil, and a pinch of sea salt — is genuinely reassuring. Drizzle it over crusty bread, toss it with pasta, spoon it onto roasted vegetables, or use it as a finishing oil for soups and grains. It keeps in the fridge for up to five days, though it rarely lasts that long.
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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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