Pasta with Olive Tapenade: A meatless dish for even the most carnivorous
We’ve gotten into an unfortunate habit in my house of planning meals around what type of meat will be served. I could blame my meat-and-potatoes-loving midwest fella if I wanted to be particularly unfair, but I’m totally guilty of daydreaming my way through menu-planning around rich and hearty beef roasts, herb-rubbed chicken, and oil drizzled fish all on my own. You could say we really lean into a meaty winter menu.
While both of us are decidedly carnivorous, I feel like its nice to break up the week with a few meatless dishes that command their own spotlight. This Pasta with Olive Tapenade is one of my favorite ways to include a meatless dish on the dinner menu without sacrificing the heartiness that comes along with a traditional meat-centric dish. The meaty umami of the olive tapenade is the clear star of the show in this dish. When paired with a simple pasta, a good salty cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil it forms a simple but satisfying powerhouse.
What type of pasta is best?
I generally like to make this with a gluten-free spaghetti (you can use regular if you’re not gluten-free). My favorite options are the Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta, which I’ve easily found at several grocery stores (look for the purple bag), and Trader Joes Brown Rice Spaghetti Pasta. A thin pasta, like spaghetti, allows the olive tapenade to disperse more evenly than a wider noodle, but you can feel free to use your favorite shape. I also think this would be wonderful tossed in with a fusilli pasta because the olive tapenade would cling well to the spirals.
If you’re trying to stay away from grain and want to lighten the carb count of this dish up, zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash are the way to go. The latter being my preference because I feel that it holds up to cooking and reheating better than zucchini noodles.
A note for special diets
If you make this Pasta with Olive Tapenade with a brown rice spaghetti, as instructed below, this recipe fits gluten-free and low-fodmap diets. For those abstaining from grain altogether, or would like to lower their carb count, this dish can easily accommodate a Keto diet by subbing the pasta with a low-carb alternative such as zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
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PinIngredients
- 16oz gluten free brown rice pasta (may sub regular pasta)
- 1 1/2 cups my quick recipe for Olive Tapenade
- 1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese, shredded and divided
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Fresh chopped parsley to top (optional)
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions until it reaches al dente (firm when bitten) tenderness. For the brown rice pasta I use, I bring 4.5 quarts of water to a boil then add the pasta noodles. I don’t bother salting my water because the olive tapenade is plenty salty for the dish. Boil for 12-14 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. Gluten-free rice pasta has a tendency to stick together when cooking, so giving it a quick stir every couple of minutes helps prevent this without resorting to oiling the water (which every Italian grandmother will likely slap you for doing).
- Drain the pasta into a colander. I also like to give the pasta a quick rinse under fresh warm water because it can help remove some of the excess starchiness that gluten-free rice noodles often have.
- Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive tapenade and stir, cooking for about 2 minutes to allow it to get a bit of direct heat before adding the pasta.
- Lower the heat to medium and add the pasta and stir to combine.
- Sprinkle in 1 cup of the shredded parmesan cheese and stir to combine, then turn heat off.
- Serve warm with a sprinkle of the remaining parmesan cheese and parsley on top.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of the pasta
- Calories: 522
- Sodium: 1165 mg
- Fat: 25 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 63 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 13 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
I love quick and simple recipes that taste good) Yours look very comforting and delicious) it will be a great meal for a busy week or for a lazy day)
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Sounds good–a nice, quick, light dish. Pasta=FAVORITE totally need this in my life right now! YUMMM pinned!
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I love this dish we make is often but with 3 kinds of olives and lots of wine! I love olives and pasta yours is making my mouth water!
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I’m in love with this simple pasta! It looks so uncomplicated, yet very tasty! This is the type of dish that keeps people like me – the main cook in our home – sane most weekday nights. 🙂 I love how you’re hunkering down with a bowl of pasta and a side of bread. You know how to live! 🙂
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I totally hear you about being the main cook. This is one of our favorite ways to get dinner on the table in a simple way.
I love olive tapenade. It is one of my favorite things for sandwiches and breads, but I new tried it on pasta! My mouth is watering, and I can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
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I looooove anything pasta! I’m so glad to see more options for GF, especially ones with a taste and texture that appeals to more people. Great recipe!
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Adding this to our diner rotation because it is so easy and delicious! Thanks for sharing!
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Always looking for new ways to enjoy pasta. This definitely fits the bill. Love olive tapenade!
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Nice quick dinner like these are simply the best. They are not just convenient to make on busy nights, but it’s also appreciation of simple yet delicious flavors! This looks sooo good!
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i love a good meatless meal that is substantial enough for my red meat devouring husband! Thx for the recipe!
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I eat close to no meat, and it’s so nice when someone cooks me a meal where no one else is missing the meat. Good food can be, and often is, vegetarian!
I totally agree, Catherine! It’s sometimes a struggle with my meat-loving fella but this is one of the few dishes where I hear no complaints about it being vegetarian.
What a great idea to add tapenade to pasta! My husband is going to love this!
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I like to serve a meatless dinner at least once a week. We too are mainly meat lovers so finding one my husband will like is hard. This spaghetti dish sounds like the perfect compromise. Love that I can use spaghetti squash with it and still have a delicious meal.
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Same here! The first time I made this he asked for me to make a side of meat just in case he needed some more substance. Then once a bowl of this was put in front of him he decided that wasn’t necessary after all. So silly.
This was surprisingly so simple to throw together. My family asked for seconds (which never happens)
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This pasta looks so good! My husband loves olives so I know this would be right up his alley! Thanks for the recipe!
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SO easy and delicious! This is a dish I could eat on repeat!
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My family is crazy about pasta and so I’m always searching for easy, quick pasta recipes. This one looks delicious and easy. Definitely a recipe I’m going to try out
This looks super delicious !! I like it that you’ve used gluten free pasta and kept the recipe so easy with basic flavors. Thanks for sharing !!
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This dish is so beautiful! I know my family would love this olive tapenade…definitely need to try this for them!
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I love how simple and easy this pasta dish is but it packed so much flavors. I can’t wait to add this to meal plan this week!! Perfect dinner!!
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Simple is sometimes the best! So much flavor in so few ingredients.
I love tapenade and cant believe I hadn’t thought of using it over pasta! This was amazing! definitely going to keep this one in my rotation!
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I’m glad you liked it, Michelle! It’s one of our favorites as well!
What a lovely dish. I absolutely adore all things olives and love all of special diet variations. Your photographs are so beautiful and inviting.
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Thank you! I am also a huge fan of olives. I find a reason to tuck them into most dishes some way or other!
I never thought that you could make pasta with olive tapenade but it sounds so delicious! I need to try this
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Wow – this sounds so good! I’ve had olive tapenade on bread, but never on pasta – love the idea!
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Looks and sounds so delicious! I love how easy it is to make.
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This recipe is so simple and delicious. I too use Tinkyada pasta (and love it). It’s perfect for this easy recipe.
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I love making tapenade at home! So easy and a quick way to add a punch of flavour to a lot of different dishes. I like adding it to my tomato sauces to add some rich, salty goodness! Just makes everything seem to pop!
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It really does make everything pop! I added a bit to some pasta sauce I had leftover from the other night and it just took it to a whole new level!
I love olive tapenade and I don’t see it used much in dishes in the west. Thanks for sharing this… Would love some fish on the side!
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This is my kind of pasta dish! Simple but lots of flavor. I love tapenade… it makes me think of Provence 🙂 I can’t wait to try this!
I totally agree! Sometimes the simplest recipes are the most satisfying.
there is nothing like a quick and simple pasta dish! Pasta is one of my favorite things to eat! This looks delish!
Craving all the carbs in this weather!!! Thanks so much for sharing! Def eating lots of yummy pasta these days :).
Same here! Sometimes you just need a warm bowl of carbs in the winter!
I’m always in search of new ways to enjoy pasta and this olive tapenade pasta looks absolutely delicious. So simply, but packed with so many wonderful flavors. Yum
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can you believe i actually used not hate olives? i was crazy back then. olive tapenade is such an amazing dish – i love how you used it in this pasta!
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This pasta looks so delicious and sounds so simple to make. And, your presentation and photography skills are out of this world! Absolute perfection!
I’ve never had tapenade with pasta before – but I have yet to meet anything with tapenade that I don’t just love so I will have to give this a try!
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This is simple yet flavorful pasta. I like the use of olive tapenade in pasta. I never thought I can add it to pasta.
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I just printed out this recipe and the recipe for your tapende. Can’t wait to try it.
I hope you love them both. The combo is one of my favorite dinners!
I’ve made this a couple of times now. Love it!
I love the sound of this recipe. Combining olives and pasta is so delicious. I know my hubby would love this for dinner. All we need is a nice glass of wine, some garlic bread, and dinner is served.
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We love to lather a spoon full of olive tapenade on slices of sourdough bread, but never thought how delicious it would be on pasta! This is a keeper. Perfectly satisfying and tasty way to break away from a meaty meal.
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This recipe sounds so flavorful and tasty. What an easy bunch of ingredients and I would love to try this one out. Olives are a favorite in our house, so I know this would be very popular. Thanks for the inspiration!
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We do that too, plan around the meat. I am always up for a vegetarian dinner, I don’t think dinner always have to have meat. I was first introduced to olive tapenade on a backpacking trip and fell in love. Thanks for this recipe, definitely going to try this!
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This recipe sounds just like the dish my Hubby would devour in a minute. He is an olive nut and he has to have them every single day. Making an olive tapenade and using it with pasta, which we love, would make one successful evening meal.
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Good on you for switching it up and trying something like this – I too often find myself stuck thinking about recipes focused around a meat, and it’s a habit I’m trying to break. Fortunately I think that pasta’s always a good route to go when you’re looking to try something different. I like that you went with a different pasta here – not only for the dietary restriction crowd, but because the nutty brown rice flavour works well with the olives and parmesan. Cheers!
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As a major meat lover/planner of meals around meat, I’d totally go for this pasta! I need to try the pasta as I think I’d love the nutty flavour of brown rice pasta. I’ll have to check for it the next time I’m at the store!
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I’m a huge sucker for olives on or with anything! I’ve only ever had olive tapenade smeared over crackers or breads. Tossed with pasta sounds amazing, and perfect for summer. I can’t wait to try this! Perfect patio dinner 🙂
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Thanks, I am a huge fan of olives in everything too. They can really elevate simple dishes in such a fantastic way!
These are my flavors……anything olive is just YUM. I don’t know why I haven’t had it on pasta though. A perfect match!
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Oh man this is PERFECTION! We go meatless almost every night in our house and I can’t believe I’ve never thought to use tapenade as a pasta sauce. I’m going to make this and toss some breadcrumbs in. Mmmm….
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This is by far my favorite way to make pasta. The olives are so hearty and flavorful!