Easy Green Olive Tapenade

🤍 Recipe Highlights

I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the green olive tapenade recipe in the points below:

• Simple ingredients: everything you need to make the olive spread recipe can be sought from most local grocery stores. They are year round available ingredients which will be easy to get your hands on.
• Fast recipe: if you need a quick dip recipe up your sleeve so that when friends or family drop in on a moment's notice you can feed them, this is the recipe you are looking for. Almost all of the ingredients have a long shelf life and can be kept to be whipped up at those times of need.
• Budget friendly: this is a cost effective dip recipe that won't break the bank. Yes, you can purchase store bought olive tapenades, but they won't taste as good as the one you can make yourself 😉👍.
• Versatile: this easy green olive tapenade recipe is versatile and lends itself to being served with a variety of pairings as well as at a number of events. Try it with potato chips, pita chips, crackers, or spread on toast points.
• Uses: serve the tapenade at parties, on game days, take it to a picnic, a night on the couch, pot luck or anything and everything you can think of!

🥗 Ingredients

The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the green tapenade recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.

As you can see the recipe calls for:

• Anchovies: these salty little fish will come in a tin or jar with oil. We can then use a few sheets of paper towel to blot them and absorb the oil.
• Lemon juice: either fresh lemon juice from a lemon or bottled lemon juice will work fine.
• Garlic: fresh garlic cloves that we peel ourselves are best for this recipe.
• Parsley: fresh parsley if you can as the texture works well in the tapenade. The type seen in the photos is flat leaf parsley. We trim the leaves from the stems and discard them (the stems).
• Capers: these will be in a tall thin jar with liquid. You need to drain the capers but don't rinse them (we want their salty delicious flavor as is 😉👍).
• Olive oil: the olive oil helps to bring the other ingredients in the tapenade together. Like the glue or binding agent.
• Stuffed green olives: we use 2 different types of green olives for the recipe. The 1st is stuffed green olives which have the little flecks of red pimento in them. You will be able to get them in jars or plastic tubs at the deli section.
• Pitted green olives: these are the 2nd type of green olives needed for the recipe. As above, you will be able to get them in the shopping aisle with the vinegars and pickles or at the deli. These ones are pitted (seed removed) and have a hole in the middle.

Tasty Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making the recipe. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients, or wanting alternatives, read this section (further below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which are coming next 😉👌.

🍳 Instructions

Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by adding the ingredients to the food processor.

• Add the pitted green olives to the food processor (Photo 1)
• Then add the stuffed green olives (Photo 2)
• Add the capers (Photo 3)
• Add the anchovies (Photo 4)

👩‍🍳 How to Make Green Olive Tapenade

To make the green olive tapenade start by adding the pitted green olives to the food processor bowl. Then add the stuffed green olives, capers and anchovies as you see in the photo above.

• Add the garlic (Photo 5)
• Add the parsley (Photo 6)
• Then add the lemon juice (Photo 7)
• Add the olive oil (Photo 8)

Next add the garlic, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil. Then give it all a blitz with the pulse button for around 5 seconds. Once done, use a spatula to scrape down the insides of the bowl and push the tapenade into the base of the bowl.

Then give it another quick 5 second blitz and it will look like the photo below.

Once done, you can use a spatula to transfer the tapenade to a small serving bowl.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

For homemade serving suggestions try the tapenade with the Pita Chips, Crostini, toast points or toasted baguette slices.

Or for a simple option, open a bag of potato chips and place them around the base of the bowl with the tapenade and you are sorted.

A chilled glass of wine such as a rose, pinot gris or pinot noir are also an excellent choice for this easy go-to appetizer. You might even find you skip dinner altogether.

The photo above shows you the tapenade paired with toast points. They are crunchy and delicious! Not to mention being super easy to make also. Give them a go by removing the 4 crusts from a couple of slices of bread, then cut each slice diagonally in ½ and spray them with cooking oil before baking for approx 5 mins in a moderate oven.

👍 How to Guide

How to Store

Store leftover tapenade in a bowl in the fridge for 2-3 days.

How to Freeze

Portion the tapenade into zip lock plastic bags, push to remove the air then seal. These can then be laid flat in the freezer for 3 months.

Remove and let thaw completely before serving.

😉 Substitutions and Variations

Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:

• You can omit the anchovy fillets from the tapenade if you wish too.
• If you want to use only pitted green olives or stuffed green olives you can.
• Or you use a combination of green olives and black olives or green olives and kalamata olives.
• You can add some chopped sun-dried tomatoes if you wish too. The flavor combination works well with this addition.
• If you are using a fresh lemon for the juice, you can also zest the skin and add some of this lemon zest for additional flavor within the tapenade.
• Another serving suggestion to the ones mentioned above is to serve the tapenade with some crusty bread. Fresh or toasted, both will work.

💡 Tasty Tips

Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:

• We want the tapenade to have a coarse paste texture and this means not over-blitzing it. So a quick 5 seconds, brush down then 5 more seconds will be enough. (Otherwise it becomes too mushy 😭).
• A spatula will help you brush down the contents of the food processor after the 1st 5 seconds, then also use it to transfer the combined tapenade to a bowl for serving.
• Some thin chips will break in the tapenade if simply dunked in. So provide a cheese knife in there so that it can be dolloped onto the chips or crackers or pita bread.
• If deliciously intense flavoured dips are your thing you might also like to try the Smoked Trout Dip 😁👌.
• If baked cheese appetizers are your thing try the Baked Brie With Red Pepper Jelly, Baked Brie with Honey, Baked Brie With Cranberry Sauce or the Baked Brie with Garlic.
• Or if dips in bread bowls are more your style try the Brie Bread Bowl, Spinach Cob Loaf Dip or the Bacon And Cheese Cob Loaf.

🤓 Frequently Asked Questions

What is olive tapenade made of?

Olive tapenade is made from a combination of olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and parsley.

What is a good substitute for olive tapenade?

An olive dip is a good substitute for olive tapenades as they have the same flavor combination with only a small variation across ingredients.

How long does olive tapenade last in the fridge?

Fresh homemade tapenade stored in an airtight container in the fridge is best consumed within 5 days. To store it for longer, after making it transfer it to the freezer.

😍 More Easy Appetizer Recipes

If the food that starts the party if your thing, then I have a wide variety of easy appetizers for you to try. From vegetable based recipes to chicken and prawn recipes, hopefully there is something here that appeals to everyone:

• Crumbed Mushrooms
• Chicken Ribs
• Mini Sausage Rolls
• Prawn Skewers
• Mini Croissant Sandwiches
• Coconut Prawns
• Mini Hot Dogs
• Cocktail Sausages
• Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs
• Mini Meatballs

It is time to get our tapenade on my friend! You can also find all of my appetizer recipes and dips and spreads in the one spot.

Adrianne

PIN and save this recipe for later! 

Hunger still got you? You can SUBSCRIBE to receive the latest recipes, follow me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.