Simple Black and Green Olive Tapenade
This simple black and green olive tapenade recipe is an easy, savory spread you can make in about five minutes! Serve with crostini or use as a sandwich topping!
Tapenade. It’s a funny word to say, apparently. My sister couldn’t stop giggling when I mentioned that I was writing a post on black and green olive tapenade, or that I had made tapenade the day before, or that the tapenade was really good on tea sandwiches. She’d just say “tapenade” back at me and giggle and do a little dance with her shoulders.
While it may be fun to say, I’d argue it’s even more fun to eat! And way more versatile than you might think. It adds a salty punch of flavor to whatever you add it to.
Okay, so what are some uses for black and green olive tapenade?
Off the top of my head, here are a few of the ways you can enjoy this black and green olive tapenade:
- Spread on crostini or crackers
- In olive tapenade and cream cheese tea sandwiches
- As an addition to a cheese and charcuterie board
- On a muffuletta or salami sandwich
- In little patches on a homemade pizza
- Tossed into some potato or pasta salad
- Mixed into or on top of chicken burgers with feta or goat cheese
- With some grilled chicken and melted mozzarella
How to make black and green olive tapenade
Making olive tapenade couldn’t be easier. You just throw some ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it’s a texture you like.
If you’re looking for a black and green olive tapenade recipe without anchovies, this one doesn’t include any. So if you don’t like or can’t find those salty little fish, no worries here! Everything in this recipe is easily kept in your pantry or fridge for making this tapenade on a whim.
You can definitely use fancier olives to make this black and green olive tapenade, but this one uses very easy-to-find ingredients — a can of black olives and a jar of green pimento-stuffed Spanish manzanilla olives. Add some dried oregano, a clove of fresh garlic, and a tablespoon of capers, along with a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
On the olive-fanciness front, I do recommend using Lindsay Naturals if you can, especially for these black olives. They’re so much more tender and buttery than other brands I’ve had. It’s hard for me to go back to other olives now that I’ve gotten accustomed to these higher-quality ones!
You can leave it course or blend it until it’s smooth. I like mine somewhere in between, very finely chopped and easily spreadable, but not quite a paste. That way, it still has a little color and a nice texture to it.
You can add a little extra olive oil if you’d like, a tablespoon at a time, which helps it bind together a little more into a spread. I only add one or two tablespoons.
After that, you’re done! Now you have a powerful little jar of pure flavor to add to all kinds of sandwiches, pizzas, and pasta salads, or to use as a spread!
Menu suggestions
Try serving this olive tapenade on a cheese and charcuterie board or serve with these turkey burgers!
Like this? Try these other decadent spreads!
- Fig and Olive Tapenade Crostini with Walnuts
- Savory Blueberry and Caramelized Red Onion Jam
- Lemon Chive Cream Cheese Spread
- Southern Pimento Cheese
- Easy Lemon Curd
- Garlic Herb Butter
Simple Black and Green Olive Tapenade
Ingredients
- 1 6-oz can black olives
- 1 5.5-oz jar green olives with pimentos
- 1 clove garlic sliced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Add black olives, green olives, garlic, oregano, and capers to a food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped.
- Add 1 tbsp olive oil and pulse again until it has the texture you want, scraping down the sides when necessary. I like it pretty finely chopped, but not a paste. Add an additional 1 tbsp olive oil if desired.
- Enjoy on sandwiches, turkey and chicken burgers, on crackers or crostini, or any other way you can think of!
