Minimal effort, high reward
I love having a few "super impressive - but nearly zero effort went into this - dishes" in my back pocket to bring to gatherings. Mostly because I love delicious food, but also because I appreciate having my ego fluffed while doing the bare minimum (the person that replenishes the chip bowl will always be a hero in my eyes). This Olive Tapenade fits the "super impressive, minimal effort" description to a T. It's the kind of dish that you can spend less than 10 minutes on, but will always be met with "oohs" and "ahs" and "oh, you fancy!" comments from anyone who eats it at said gatherings.
This Olive Tapenade combines the briny umami of green and Kalamata olives with a punchy hit of citrus, garlic, and red pepper that seems to go well with just about everything it's paired with.
What to serve this Olive Tapenade with
While I love eating this Olive Tapenade with a simple baguette or flatbread, it's also a fantastic way to amplify and elevate so many other dishes.
I love to use this recipe in my Pasta with Olive Tapenade, a rich and hearty meatless dish that even the most carnivorous eaters will gladly go veg for the evening for. Another favorite way that I love to serve this dish is with thick and tangy labneh cheese and garlic roasted cauliflower (recipe coming soon!). If you find yourself making this Olive Tapenade on repeat and want to stuff it into everything (because it's just that good), I can vouch that it's really lovely packed into sandwiches (muffuletta anyone?), tossed in salads, as a topper for chicken breasts and pork roasts, and unreasonably good on eggs.
What tools do I need to make this recipe?
- A food processor
- A chefs knife (optional for pit safety check)
- Measuring cups and spoons
- A citrus zester/microplane
Are you looking to upgrade to your cooking tools or replenish your pantry? Check out my kitchen tools shop page and pantry staples shop page to find my must-have kitchen tools, pantry items, and other Whip & Wander favorites.
A note for special diets
This Olive Tapenade is grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and friendly for Paleo, Low-Fodmap, Whole30, and Keto diets. The net carb count for a generous ¼ cup serving is only 6 grams.
PrintOlive Tapenade
- Prep Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 8 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizers & Bites
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Olive Tapenade is a fancy, yet easy, appetizer that takes less than 10 minutes to prepare. This recipe fits Paleo, Whole30, Low-FODMAP, and Keto diets.
Ingredients
- 223 g (about 1 ½ cup) pimento-stuffed green olives (Manzanilla)
- 138 g (about 1 cup) pitted kalamata olives
- 34 g (2 tbsp) non-pareil capers
- 15g (about ¼ cup) flat-leaf Italian parsley
- zest of 1 large lemon
- 2 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil (may sub 2 tbsp olive oil + 2 minced garlic cloves)
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
Instructions
- I like to start by doing a quick safety check on the kalamata olives for remaining pits by slicing each one in half before adding to my food processor. Although I purchase olives that have been labeled pre-pitted, I almost always find one olive in the bunch that still has it's pit (no matter what olive bar I buy them from). Though this is an additional step, its totally worth the extra couple minutes because you definitely don't want a pit in your lovely tapenade.
- Add all ingredients to your food processor and pulse on your lowest setting until the mixture is chunky and resembles gravel. My machine has three settings low, high, and manual pulse. I like to use the latter so that I am literally just giving the mixture a series of quick pulses like flicking a light switch off and on until it's reached the desired consistency. If you prefer a smoother, spreadable tapenade you can pulse for longer, but I like mine to be quite gravelly.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ cup
- Calories: 122
- Sodium: 1145 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
Veena Azmanov says
This is totally unique to me. Sounds interesting and healthy too. Looks delicious . As I love Olives, need to try this recipe for sure.
Natalie says
I love olive tapenade! Looks so delicious!
Colleen says
I love tapenade, and this one looks so good. And yes, I too, have forgotten the blade a time or two. 🙂
Whip & Wander says
Glad to hear I'm not the only one! Welcome to the club, Colleen!
Ginny McMeans says
Love, love, love olive tapenade. These flavors of two such strong olives sound amazing.
Tracy says
OMG I do that ALL OF THE TIME. Ha! I thought I was the only one! I love olive tapenade - one of my favorite vegetarian appetizers!!
Whip & Wander says
Welcome to the club, Tracy! I am so glad there are others out there that make the same mistake I do. I love Olive Tapenade too - such flexibility and super rich flavors!
Renee | The Good Hearted Woman says
Definitely a member of the blade club here 😁 I'm not a big olive fan myself, but my husband Loves them, and tapenade is a favorite for him.
Hawnuh Lee says
Haa definitely in the forgot the blade club! Can't wait to try this. I LOVE OLIVES! Going to assume I'll love this tapenade.
Waz says
I love olives, but I've never made tapenade from scratch. What a great idea! This will be perfect with crusty bread and a glass of wine. Yum!
Erin @ Platings and Pairings says
I love tapenade and your version sounds perfect! What a great make ahead appetizer too!
Catherine @ To & Fro Fam says
Haha, the forgot the blade club is hilarious! This post made me think of a recent family Christmas gift: My mom gave my older sister money to buy olives for my dad in Greece. My sister bought them and flew home to NY. Then she flew to Vancouver, BC to meet up with me. I took them and flew home to Portland. Then I drove them to Eugene to finally give them to my dad. The olives need a frequent flyer card!
Whip & Wander says
Those olives certainly made their way around. I hope they were super delicious!
Jana says
I’ve never made tapenade from scratch. Pinning for later.
Alyssa says
This sounds SO GOOD! Olives are my favorite, especially while pregnant. I need to make this TODAY.
Swathi says
This olive tampenade looks delicious great with sourdough bread I make it every other day. I am going to give this one a try.
Natalie says
This sounds really light and super delicious. Love all Italian flavors you mixed here. This can be perfect for weekdays lunch. I'm saving the recipe to give it a try.
Ashley Marie Lecker says
I love tapenade .It is one of my favorites for sandwiches. One of my favorites is a thick spread on crusty bread baked with fresh mozzarella.
April says
Olives are everything. When I need something to entertain - I think of olives. When I need something else to add to my menu - I think of olives. When I just want to grab a quick snack - olives can work great, too. And that taste though! I can imagine how flavorful this tapenade is.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Olive tapenade has been something that I have wanted to make for a long time. It is such a simple recipe and looks so good. I am bookmarking this recipe to make soon.
Gene says
Olives, low carb, speaking my language. May have to bust this one out soon.
Megan Joy says
This sounds delicious! I was just diagnosed with gestational diabetes so now I’m being super carb conscious. Nice that this is only 6g of carbs!
Monica says
Wow, this looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it. It does look like an easy recipe for entertaining too. Thanks for sharing your secret.