Green Olive Tapenade & Easy Tapas Recipe
This Green Olive Tapenade is nothing short of amazing! This delicious spread showcases Italian Castelvetrano olives, fresh garlic, vibrant citrus and herbs, and rich olive oil over sliced bruschetta finished with pistachio and roasted red pepper. If you’re looking for a green olive tapenade without anchovies, this one is the best! Make a sophisticated appetizer in minutes!
This green olive tapenade is the perfect addition to any antipasto platter! Bright and briny Italian Castelvetrano olives are blended with garlic, lemon, basil, and parsley to make an elegant condiment and dip for your olive-loving guests.
You can serve this green olive spread over grilled or toasted bread, sliced crusty bread, crackers, or fresh veggies to dip! It’s also the best salty finishing touch for grilled meats, seafood, and more!
The best part? Making this green olive spread is as simple as pushing the pulse button on your food processor! You’ll make an olive-forward, rustic tapenade for entertaining and incorporating into various dishes. Enjoy!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Instant fancy appetizer. Make the perfect dinner party starter in 5 minutes or less.
- Amazing flavor enhancer. It adds a pleasant pop of salt and tang to seafood, veggies, and more.
- Gluten-free appetizer. Serve with gluten-free crostini, crackers, and crudité!
- Vegan. It’s made without anchovies.
- Great for gifting! When stored properly, this spread has a good shelf-life.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Olives – I used Italian Castelvetrano, a Sicilian olive known for its bright green hue, sweet and buttery taste, and crisp-juicy texture. Brands like Partanna, Mezzetta, and Sannitti are common in grocery stores and readily available online. If you can’t find Castelvetrano olives, you can use any green olive (Cerignola, Liguria, Picholine, Gordal, or Manzanilla) or a medley of green and black. What’s most important is that the olives are pitted and delicious.
- Garlic – Fresh cloves are key. Feel free to toss in an extra clove or two to intensify the garlicky goodness.
- Lemon Juice & Lemon Zest – The citrus wakes up every delicious flavor.
- Capers – Improve the briny olive taste with a pop of tang and floral tart.
- Fresh Basil & Parsley – For fresh, aromatic flavor. Feel free to use additional fresh herbs like Greek or Italian oregano, tarragon, thyme, and chive.
- Olive Oil – Helps creates a thick, spreadable consistency. Use your best olive oil here.
- To make olive bruschetta (optional) – To serve, I love spreading the olive mixture over toasted or grilled slices of thick, crusty bread and topping with pistachios and roasted red pepper. See below for more ways to serve.
A quick note about black garlic: I’ve also made this olive spread with black garlic. It enhances the rich, savory tastes and brings subtle umami notes, but it’s unfortunately pricey and difficult to source. That said, feel free to use black garlic instead of white garlic. Using white garlic in the spread and a small amount of black garlic for garnish is also an option.
How To Make Green Olive Tapenade
Step 1: Add ingredients to a food processor bowl. Add the olives, garlic cloves, lemon juice & zest, capers, fresh basil & parsley to a food processor.
Step 2. Pulse a few times to chop.
Add the olive oil and pulse a few more times until everything is finely minced and thoroughly combined—taste before adding salt and pepper.
Step 3: Assemble, garnish, and serve. Spread tapenade over top of fresh toasted or grilled bruschetta slices topped with pistachios and a roasted red pepper garnish. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- You can use bottled lemon juice in a pinch, but I highly recommend that you use the zest and juice from a fresh lemon.
- If the mixture is too thick for your liking, very slowly add a tad more olive oil to the food processor and pulse once or twice to combine.
- You don’t want to puree the olives. The goal is pulsing just until everything is minced and combined.
- Olives are SALTY (in a good way), so be sure to taste the mixture before adding salt.
Variations & How To Use
See below for delicious modifications.
- Anchovies – This vegan-friendly olive tapenade is made without anchovies, but go for it if you’re brave enough to add them! 1-2 rinsed and blotted anchovies should be plenty.
- Cheese – Pulse asiago, parmesan, or feta with the remaining ingredients.
- Nuts – For some crunch, blend the mixture with pistachios, pine nuts, almonds, or walnuts.
Instead of making olive tapenade bruschetta, make an antipasto platter with crostini, thinly sliced fresh veggies, crackers, pita, etc. Use this olive spread to flavor simple proteins and sides.
- Seafood – Finish pieces of juicy cooked fish like sous vide seared salmon, baked halibut, or prawns with green olive tapenade.
- Beef – Or try with grilled sirloin or flat iron steaks.
- Vegetables – Toss with blanched green beans, roasted broccoli, or any simple veggie side dish.
Storing & Freezing
Storing: Keep tapenade in an airtight jar or glass container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Freezing: Keep frozen for up to 2 months, and let thaw in the fridge before bringing to room temperature.
Recipe FAQ
Green olives, so make sure you use an olive variety you enjoy. The olives are amplified with lemon, garlic, and herbs, but the immediate taste on your tongue is salty olives.
It’s best served at room temperature but perfectly fine to enjoy cold if you’re in a hurry. Pulling it from the fridge 30 minutes before serving helps loosen the solidified oils, so the mixture returns to a spreadable consistency.
Traditional recipes are made with green olives, but feel free to use pitted black olives like kalamata or Gordal.
More Sauces & Condiments You’ll Love
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Green Olive Tapenade
Ingredients
- 2 cups green olives pitted and drained (castelvetrano olives recommended)
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest I use the zest of one whole lemon
- 1 tbsp capers drained
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup pistachios shelled (this is an optional garnish, but amazing!)
- *optional: sliced roasted red peppers and toasted bruschetta slices for serving.
Instructions
- Add the olives, garlic cloves, lemon juice & zest, capers, fresh basil & parsley, to a food processor.
- Pulse a few times to chop.
- Add the olive oil and pulse a few more times until everything is finely minced and thoroughly combined—taste before adding salt and pepper.
- Spread tapenade over top of fresh toasted or grilled bruschetta slices topped with pistachios and a roasted red pepper garnish. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use bottled lemon juice in a pinch, but I highly recommend that you use the zest and juice from a fresh lemon.
- If the mixture is too thick, very slowly add a tad more olive oil to the food processor and pulse once or twice to combine.
- You don’t want to puree the olives. The goal is pulsing just until everything is minced and combined.
- Olives are SALTY (in a good way), so be sure to taste the mixture before adding salt.
Nutrition
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This tapenade looks awesome- super flavorful!! When I was in culinary school I competed in a mystery basket cook off and one of the secret ingredients was black garlic. It was first time I had tasted it…I loved it and have been a big fan since!
What did you cook with it, Sonali? I love it!! It’s definitely a favorite new ingredient for me!
I’m obviously not part of the cool kids club as I’ve never heard of black garlic haha. But now I’m intrigued and that tapenade is making me drool. Thanks for introducing me to something new!
Ha ha, I’m really not either Jenny, just trying to keep up! 😉 Thank you, it’s so yummy!
Black garlic is one of my favorite “secrets”! It’s so rich and balsamic like, not over powering, I just love it!
Right?! I love it! So good!!