Olive Tapenade

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For a 10-minute appetizer dip, sandwich spread, or pizza “sauce,” try this easy homemade Olive Tapenade. Customize this Mediterranean spread with any variety of briny olives.

Homemade olive tapenade in a bowl surrounded by toasted bread.


 

If you love olives, you’ll love the salty, briny flavor of this tapenade spread. I love to eat it on fresh bread or toasted baguette slices, something with a neutral flavor profile that doesn’t compete with tapenade.

It’s delicious on a Mezze platter too (an appetizer board of Mediterranean fare). Pile fresh vegetables, olives, nuts, and pita chips, then add bowls of hummus or roasted eggplant dip to complete your Med Feast.

Recipe ingredients

Labeled ingredients for olive tapenade.

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.

Ingredient notes

  • Olives: Seek out mild olives that have been cured in brine.  I love Kalamata and Lucques olives but picholines, Castelvetrano olives, Niçoise olives from France, black olives, and green olives are also great choices. Use one kind or a combination of a few of your favorites.
  • Anchovies: These add a fantastic savory, umami flavor to dishes. However, if you don’t want to buy and handle anchovies, you can use anchovy paste. Enjoy the flavor and get used to the mental aspect of them without having to touch them. (Just like tomato paste in a tube, it keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator.)
  • Capers: Buy them brine-packed or salt-packed. The salt-packed ones have a more mild (and I think preferable) flavor although I like both. If you forget to rinse them, however, the flavor can be overpowering at times.
  • Garlic: Roasting garlic is optional. To roast the garlic, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the top off a bulb of garlic so the cloves are exposed. Set the bulb on a piece of foil large enough to wrap the bulb. Top the exposed cloves with olive oil and wrap the bulb tightly in foil. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a knife slides easily into the middle of the bulb.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. In a food processor, combine olives, anchovies, capers, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Pulse 2 to 3 times until coarsely chopped.
Olive tapenade being processed in a food processor.
  1. Drizzle in olive oil and pulse a few more times until a chunky paste forms, scraping down the sides as needed.
Olive tapenade being processed in a food processor.
  1. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve at room temperature.
Homemade olive tapenade in a bowl surrounded by toasted bread.

Recipe tips and variations

  • Yield: This recipe makes about 3 cups tapenade total, enough for 6 (1/2-cup servings).
  • Storage: Store leftovers in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
  • Freezer: Olive tapenade is freezer friendly! Transfer to glass jars, leave ½ inch head space, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
  • More flavors: Switch up your fresh herbs to include fresh basil, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, Herbs de Provence, or sun-dried tomatoes.
  • Serving suggestion: Serve tapenade with pita chips, crostini, crackers, or chunks of sturdy bread. This olive spread is also delicious on top of deviled eggs; just add small dollops and watch them disappear. It’s also perfect served with goat cheese.
  • Kalamata aioli: In a food processor, add 1 cup pitted and drained Kalamata olives, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, 5 large basil leaves (or 10 small), and 1 cup mayonnaise. Process until well combined.  Serve with bread chunks. Yields about 2 cups.
Dukkah, eggplant dip, hummus, artichokes, and olives in bowls
The Ultimate Mezze Platter featuring Olive Tapenade, Homemade Hummus, Bread Dipping Oil, Roasted Eggplant Dip, Marinated Feta, Dukkah, Pita Bread, and Homemade Pita Chips.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a traditional tapenade made of?

Tapenade is made with olives and capers, then flavored with other herbs and spices. The dish is finished with plenty of olive oil to give it the desired consistency.

What does tapenade taste like?

Olive tapenade has a briny, salty flavor from the olives. This version also contains anchovies which lend a strong umami (meaty/savory) flavor.

What do you eat with tapenade?

To put this homemade Olive Tapenade to terrific use, spread it on toasted baguette, enjoy with fresh vegetables, toss with pasta, stuff it inside roasted mushrooms, use it instead of your usual pizza sauce, share as part of a charcuterie board, add a scoop to a buddha bowl or salad, or slather it on a sandwich.

More homemade spreads

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Homemade olive tapenade in a bowl surrounded by toasted bread.

Olive Tapenade

For a 10-minute appetizer dip, sandwich spread, or pizza "sauce," try this easy homemade Olive Tapenade. Customize this Mediterranean spread with any variety of briny olives.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 12 servings (¼ cup each)
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Mediterranean
Calories 68
4.98 from 230 votes

Equipment

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • In a food processor, combine olives, anchovies, capers, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Pulse 2 to 3 times until coarsely chopped.
  • Drizzle in olive oil and pulse a few more times until a chunky paste forms, scraping down the sides as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve at room temperature.

Recipe Video

Notes

  1. Olives: Seek out mild olives that have been cured in brine.  I love Kalamata and Lucques olives but picholines and Niçoise olives are also great choices. Use one kind or a combination of a few of your favorites.
  2. Anchovies: These add a fantastic savory, umami flavor to dishes. However, if you don’t want to buy and handle anchovies, you can use anchovy paste. Enjoy the flavor and get used to the mental aspect of them without having to touch them.
  3. Capers: Buy them brine-packed or salt-packed. The salt-packed ones have a more mild (and I think preferable) flavor although I like both. If you forget to rinse them, however, the flavor can be overpowering at times.
  4. Garlic: Roasting garlic is optional. To roast the garlic, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the top off a bulb of garlic so the cloves are exposed. Set the bulb on a piece of foil large enough to wrap the bulb. Top the exposed cloves with olive oil and wrap the bulb tightly in foil. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a knife slides easily in to the middle of the bulb.
  5. Yield: This recipe makes about 3 cups tapenade total, enough for 6 (1/2-cup servings).
  6. Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving (½ cup)Calories: 68kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 0.4gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 0.4mgSodium: 338mgPotassium: 20mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.2gVitamin A: 112IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 13mgIron: 0.2mg
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.

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Comments

  1. I have made black olive tapenade with anchovies and it was so good. I would like to make some more but without the anchovies, as a family member has developed a seafood allergy. Could you suggest an alternative for the anchovies?

    1. Hi Daniel, I think it’s completely fine to just leave out the anchovies and you’ll get plenty of savory flavor from the olives and capers; you honestly won’t even miss the anchovies. You could potentially add another soft ingredient such as red bell peppers (the jarred kind, drained), but that will change the flavor slightly and it’s honestly not necessary. Just omit the anchovies. You’re a good family members! Thanks Daniel. -Meggan

  2. Very excited to try your recipe Meggan. I so love olives and the problem is my husband doesn’t. However, have only tried Tapenade once and that was just this past summer at an exclusive winery in Ontario. It was delicious, so delicious I couldn’t get it out of my head. Honest, I could not even remember what it was called so decided to search it up. After going through some recipes I decided on yours to try sometime, hopefully soon.
    Now that I am retired I seem to have more time in the kitch.
    keep your recipes coming!

    1. I hope you love it, Jodi! If you have any questions about it, please write! I’m happy to help. – Meggan

  3. I made following the recipe and reviewers’ advice on cutting way back on lemon juice. It tasted really good – but needed just a little something for my taste. I added about 1/4 cup pimento stuff green olives and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. That did it – perfect!5 stars

  4. So disappointed. I had to throw this out. Way, way, way too much lemon juice. I tried adding additional olives but to no avail.1 star

    1. Hi Pam, sorry you didn’t care for this tapenade. For your next batch, I would add the lemon juice after the olive oil, starting with a teaspoon or two and adding more to taste. If it’s too lemony still, add more olive oil rather than olives to help counteract the flavor. Sorry again! – Meggan

  5. I don’t know what I did wrong. Mine doesn’t look dark like yours does in the picture, it’s sort of white like the mayonnaise. You didn’t tell how much capers or how much anchovies to put in so I sort of guessed I’m still not happy with what I got and I wish I knew what I did wrong. Yours looks wonderful.

    1. Hi Mary, I’m so sorry for the confusion. I think you might have missed the recipe itself in the post. You can see the amounts by clicking the “Jump to Recipe” button near the top of the page, clicking “Olive Tapenade Recipe” in the Table of Contents, clicking the link below the photo of the ingredients, or scrolling down the page until you reach the recipe above the box some where you were able to leave your comment. Sorry again and I hope you try this recipe again. Please write if you have anymore questions! – Meggan

  6. Tastes so much better than store bought tapenade which is getting a little difficult to find where I live in Aus. In fact this will be my new go-to recipe as the whole family loved it. Thank you Meggan.5 stars

    1. Hi Jay, you’re so welcome! I’m so happy to be able to help, and that you and your family love it! Please write again. Take care! – Meggan

  7. Wonderful! followed recipe to the tee! guests raved about it and asked for the recipe. One of the guest is diabetic and was perfect due to low carbs…which you should tout!

    1. Thank you so much for the lovely comment, Elyse! I’m so glad it was a hit! – Meggan

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