Olive Tapenade is easy to make with pantry staples like olives, capers and lots of garlic. This olive spread comes together fast and is ready in just 5 minutes. Delicious plain, but you can serve it with crusty bread, vegetables or anything you like.
I can tell you I love olives so much, but fun fact is as a kid I truly didn’t care for them.
Thought they were just too salty, acid and just not something I adore.
But as an adult olives have become one of my favorites and I could eat them any day like in a Couscous Salad, Chickpea Salad, Zucchini Bake, homemade Cacciatore, Pizza Spaghetti or Puttanesca Sauce.
Reasons to love this Olive Tapenade
Easy to make, yet it has wonderful briny and aromatic flavors that you are going to love.
You can make everything ahead for around 1 week. Make a double batch and you have everything ready whenever you want and need.
The flavors are complex, but you only mix all the ingredients into a tapenade.
A great party dip that will impress everyone and you will get questions about the recipe all the time.
What to serve with Olive Tapenade
If you ask me in my gusto there are some things that taste amazing with this Olive Tapenade recipe:
- Greek Lemon Potatoes
- Avocado Salad
- together with other dips, like Muhammara or Tirokafteri to make a Mezze platter.
What you need for this Olive Tapenade recipe
Olives: I use kalamata olives which are rich in flavor, salty and just amazing. You can absolutely use any olives that you like, but the result might be a little different.
Olive oil and lemon juice add savory flavor and just the right tang.
Capers bring acidity and highlight the briny, savory flavors of all the other ingredients.
5 cloves of garlic is what I use here, because I really do want a lot of flavors. This amount of garlic looks like a lot, but after testing in and out it was just right in the final result, so good.
The combination of parsley and oregano is what makes everything really amazing.
Finally, a dash of crushed pepper makes the final result so aromatic, bold and of course even better.
How to make Olive Tapenade
Mix ingredients into a food processor
To the bowl of a food processor add olives, capers, lemon juice, oregano, crushed pepper, garlic and a pinch salt and pepper. Pulse a couple of times until ingredients are mixed and formed into a paste.
Stream olive oil (this is great for the texture)
With the food processor running, stream in olive oil (add the oil slowly to the dip) which is great to control the texture of your tapenade.
Finally add in fresh parsley and chop a few times until incorporated. Serve immediately or store for later use.
Tips and tricks
Leftovers are great in the fridge for 1 week.
Out of crushed pepper? Try hot sauce!
Crusty bread: You can see in my step by step pictures that I like to serve my olive tapenade with crusty bread. Let me tell you how I make it so you can make it easily at home:
Slice up your baguette into finger thick slices. Add bread evenly to a prepared baking sheet. Smear a olive oil on your bread on top and bake everything in a preheated oven at 400F for 10 minutes.
Other Mediterranean recipes to try
For remakes this Olive Tapenade, leave a tag on Instagram or Facebook.
Enjoy, Florian.
Olive Tapenade
Olive Tapenade is easy to make with pantry staples like olives, capers and lots of garlic. This olive spread comes together fast and is ready in just 5 minutes. Delicious plain, but you can serve it with crusty bread, vegetables or anything you like.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Kalamata Olives, pitted
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup parsley
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 Lemon, juiced
- 2 Tbs capers
- 1/2 tsp crushed pepper
- salt, pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix and prepare ingredients:
Into the bowl of a food processor add olives, capers, lemon juice, oregano, crushed pepper, garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. - Pulse a couple of times until ingredients are mixed and formed into a paste.
- Stream olive oil (great to control your texture of the tapenade):
While your machine is mixing, stream in olive oil (add the oil slowly to the dip). - Finally add in fresh parsley and chop a few times until combined.
Notes
- Leftovers are amazing for 1 week, properly stored in the fridge.
- Instead of crushed pepper, you can use hot sauce or leave it entirely out.
- Quick tip: crusty bread and this is so simple, yet so delicious:
Slice up your baguette finger thick. Add bread evenly to a prepared baking sheet. Give a bit of olive oil on your bread on top and bake everything in a preheated oven at 400 F for 10 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 4 TbsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 91Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 222mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g