I am always burnt out and disorganised when it comes to developing recipes for the festive season. December rolls around and I’m ready for a few weeks off and to seriously decrease my abysmal screen time stats. So! I’m getting WAY ahead this year, starting with this low FODMAP bread dipping oil (in January lol).

Low FODMAP bread dipping oil

Name: Low FODMAP bread dipping oil
Prep time: 10 min
Ingredients: 125 ml (½ cup)* good quality olive oil; 3-4 sprigs rosemary (optional); 1-2 teaspoons dried oregano; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 2-3 large cloves of pickled garlic (see FODMAP notes in body of post); 20 ml (1 tablespoon)* lemon juice; Lemon zest (to your tastes); 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (to your tastes); 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup (to your tastes); ½ teaspoon fine salt (to your tastes); Freshly cracked pepper (to your tastes)

Although not technically a festive recipe, bread dipping oil makes an easy and delicious starter. Pair it with some gluten free bread (might I suggest this gluten free focaccia or my gluten free sourdough) and you have a food intolerance friendly dream.

The oil uses a good quality olive oil to start. To the oil, we’re adding dried herbs, some fresh rosemary (optional) and fresh or dried chilli. To add the next layer of flavour, we’re using honey or maple syrup, lemon juice and zest and dijon mustard.

Our secret ingredient? Pickled garlic. Pickled garlic is a new-ish low FODMAP ingredient that adds a delightful base note to low FODMAP dishes. You can buy it in stores, but homemade is easy to make and infinitely better. Seasoning brings everything to life and rounds out the delicious oil.

I like to make my oil ahead of time to allow the rosemary to flavour the oil and the flavours to meld. It also ticks one thing off your list on the day of the entertaining.

Whatever you choose to do, we’re finishing the oil with some fresh and finely chopped flat leaf parsley right before serving. This gives our low FODMAP bread dipping oil colour, flavour and a bit of fresh texture. Too easy.

An aerial image of low FODMAP bread dipping oil in a small white bowl atop a speckled ceramic plate. The bowl is surrounded by toasted buckwheat bread and the plate sits atop a terracotta tile backdrop

FODMAP notes

These FODMAP thresholds are current as of January 2025. I will periodically update them to ensure they remain current in accordance with the Monash FODMAP app.

Olive oil is not a FODMAP and therefore FODMAP free. However, excess fat can affect gut motility and be a trigger for some people. This is something to keep in mind.

Pickled garlic is low FODMAP in 3g serves. In serves of 29g or more per person, it contains moderate amounts of fructose.

Regular honey is low FODMAP in 7g (1 teaspoon) serves per person. Servings of 1/2 tablespoon or more contain moderate fructose. This recipe uses 1 teaspoon total. If you’d prefer to use maple syrup, it is low FODMAP in 50g serves per person.

Dried thyme is low FODMAP in 2g (1 teaspoon) serves. It contains moderate fructans in serves exceeding 72g (3/4 cup) per person (not something we need to worry about lol).

An aerial image of a white ceramic bowl filled with low FODMAP bread dipping oil atop a white marble table. A wooden chopping board topped with a gluten free olive focaccia sits above the bowl of dipping oil.

Dietary notes

If you are catering to a coeliac or anyone with a severe allergy, I recommend making them their own bowl with suitable bread. Dipping different types of bread into the oil will contaminate it with gluten. Make sure your bread doesn’t contain milk for a dairy allergy or nuts for a nut allergy, etc.

To make this recipe vegan, use maple syrup in place of honey and omit the (optional) parmesan or use a plant based version.

Keep in mind that plant based cheeses can contain nuts, so this is something to consider if you are catering to a nut allergy.

If you need a gluten free bread to serve with the dipping oil, might I suggest:

An aerial image of a white ceramic bowl filled with low FODMAP bread dipping oil. In the centre of the bowl is a piece of gluten free buckwheat focaccia — The focaccia is the gluten free buckwheat focaccia from my Substack

Extra flavours you can add to your low FODMAP bread dipping oil

Parmesan is an optional addition. I actually prefer it without, but a lot of bread dipping oil recipes use it so I might be in a minority there.
I like to use lemon juice because it’s low FODMAP and doesn’t muddy the colour of the oil. You could experiment with using red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar, but I recommend adding them to taste.
You can also experiment with adding balsamic vinegar. Keep in mind, though, that it is a fructose containing ingredient. It is low FODMAP in 1 tablespoon serves, but moderate in fructose in 2 tablespoon serves. Coupled with the pickled garlic and whatever other fructose foods you might be serving later, this could prove too much. It is something you can try if you like balsamic and don’t have fructose issues, though.
A little bit of strong, good quality truffle oil adds a nice finishing flavour if you have some.
You can experiment with different fresh and dried herbs, if you like. I personally feel like dried oregano is non-negotiable, but everything else is a bit flexible.
You can experiment with adding some chopped pitted olives. Add the salt to taste after mixing in the olives if you go this route.
A few fennel seeds add a lovely fresh flavour. They can be strong, though, so don’t add too many.

An aerial image of a white ceramic bowl filled with low FODMAP bread dipping oil underneath a wooden chopping board with pieces of buckwheat focaccia

More low FODMAP appetizer recipes