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Home » Recipes » French

January 3, 2021 · Leave a Comment

Olive Tapenade

Appetizer Recipes· French

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Olive Tapenade made with a variety of black and green olives like Kalamata, Pimento, Garlic and Sicilian make a tasty appetizer.
Olive Rosemary Tapenade collage

Olive Tapenade made with a variety of olives like Kalamata, Pimento, Garlic and Sicilian on toasted bread rounds make a tasty, last minute appetizer. 

Olive Tapenade on a crostini

This recipe for Olive Tapenade was never shared on the blog; however, it is in my cookbook. It's an appetizer that we all love; yet I haven't made it in quite some time. 

As I was flipping through the book to make an "oldie, but goodie" recipe, I knew this appetizer needed to be resurrected (and rephotographed!).

This Christmas was pretty quiet compared to years past. As I'm sure it was for a lot of you. Usually, we host Christmas Eve with my side of the family; which is usually over 20 people. 

Then we would also host Christmas day with my husbands side of the family; which was usually around 10 people. However, since my father in laws passing; that has even dwindled down to just five of us. 

A close up of food, with Olives

Thanks to "Rona", large gatherings weren't even an option. Low key was just what we needed; especially since I've been dealing with some personal medical issues. 

Also, our oldest daughter had a bad case of the virus back in late November and was still feeling winded and out of breath a month later. So on Christmas Eve and Day it was just my husband and I, our two girls and my mother in law.

On Christmas Eve, we opted for a few easy apps and ordered takeout from a local Italian restaurant for Christmas Eve. The food was amazing and I'll definitely be catering from there in the future. It was so much easier than cooking a full meal for 20 people!

Which brings me back to this Olive Tapenade. It's such an easy recipe; especially if your grocery store carries a salad bar. It makes it easy to mix and match whatever olives you like. Or you can also purchase individual jars of your favorite olives; though you'll have some leftover.

A close up of food on a plate, with Olives

How do you make Olive Tapenade?

For this recipe you'll need a variety of olives, lemon zest, fresh rosemary, crushed red pepper flakes, balsamic vinegar, EVOO, Kosher salt and a loaf of Italian bread. 

I used a variety of Kalamata, Pimento stuffed, garlic stuffed and Sicilian black olives, but you're welcome to use any variety you prefer. I try to get as many as I can that are pitted since it's hard to remove pits from olives when they need to be chopped.

Slice the bread into ½-inch rounds and place them on a baking sheet. Lightly spray cooking spray on top of bread and bake at 350 degrees  F for 10 minutes or until bread rounds are lightly toasted; then remove from oven and cool.

A close up of a plate of food with Olives on bread

Chop the olives and add them to a small bowl along with the remaining ingredients. Mix well and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

You can add the tapenade to the toasted bread and put on a platter or you can place in a serving bowl and have the bread surround it for people to help themselves. 

My family loved this Olive Tapenade and I was so glad we made it again. Plus it only takes about 15-20 minutes to make so it's great for last minute entertaining.

We had some leftover; which also tasted great when I added it to a tossed salad. ~Enjoy!

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A close up of a plate of food with Olives on bread

Olive Rosemary Tapenade

Carrie's Experimental Kitchen
Olive Tapenade made with a variety of olives like Kalamata, Pimento, Garlic and Sicilian on toasted bread rounds make a tasty, last minute appetizer. 
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound assorted pitted black and green olives
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 loaf italian bread
  • cooking spray

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Slice the bread into ½-inch rounds and place them on a baking sheet. Lightly spray cooking spray on top of bread and bake for 10 minutes or until bread rounds are lightly toasted; then remove from oven and cool.
  • Chop the olives and add them to a small bowl along with the remaining ingredients.  Mix well and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

Notes

*You can add the tapenade to the toasted bread and put on a platter or you can place in a serving bowl and have the bread surround it for people to help themselves. 
Keyword olives
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Olive Rosemary Tapenade collage

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