This spicy olive tapenade recipe is sure to become your next favorite appetizer! It’s salty, spicy, intensely flavorful, and takes only 10 minutes to make. Perfect for dressing up a charcuterie board or adding new life to routine dishes.

This recipe is adapted from and shared with permission by Emily Little, owner of Buena Luz Bakery in Port Angeles, WA.

Growing up, there were a few foods that I would clear a wide path around, and olives were among them. While my buddies were making finger puppets by studding each of their digits with black olives, I was painstakingly picking them off my pizza. A few years have gone by since then and olives and I have gotten to know each other better. In fact, this chopped olive spread, called tapenade, is one of my favorite ways to enjoy them now, especially slathered on a fresh slice of focaccia. Who knows? This spicy olive tapenade recipe might make your shortlist too!

What is olive tapenade?

Tapenade is a spread or dip made from olives and is especially popular in southern France. The word ‘tapenade’ actually comes from the word for capers (‘tapenos’) which taste similar to green olives. Its salty, briny, and bold flavor is irresistible on bread, crackers, and sweet vegetables like cucumbers and bell peppers.

Tapenade Ingredients

Olives-
Yup, olives are the main ingredient! In France, tapenade is often made entirely with black olives. I like the balance of combining mild green olives like Manzanilla with briny black olives like Kalamata. The result is rich, buttery, and salty with a hint of brine. Most well-stocked American grocery stores carry pitted varieties of both green and black olives. Unless you really love to pit olives, I highly recommend buying pitted!
Traditional tapenade is made with anchovies. To keep this recipe vegan, we skip the anchovies and let the intensely flavorful olives, capers, and peppers shine.
Mama Lil’s Peppers-
Although peppers, especially spicy ones, are not a traditional tapenade ingredient, they balance the briny flavor of the capers and olives. There are a variety of Mama Lil’s Peppers to choose from. I use pickled mildly spiced peppers in garlic oil for this recipe.
If you’re feeding spice-sensitive eaters, start with half the Mama Lil’s Peppers (¼ cup), give it a taste, and then see if you’d like to add more heat.
Capers-
are tiny edible flower buds which come brine-packed or salt-packed. They’re little flavor bombs, so you’ll only need 1½ tablespoons for the whole batch.
Parsley-
adds fresh herby balance to all the salty, briny ingredients.
Olive Oil-
helps bind everything together into a cohesive spread and adds extra richness.
Lemon Juice-
for a bright zing!
Roasted Garlic-
Mellow, sweet, and nutty roasted garlic creates umami without the bite of raw garlic.

If we were going old school, you’d mash up all your ingredients with a mortise and pestle, but I use a food processor for simplicity. Just tumble all your ingredients into a food processor and blitz until spreadable, around 20 seconds. From start to finish this vegan olive tapenade only takes about 10 minutes to make!

Olive Tapenade Uses

Tapenade is great as a make-ahead appetizer but quick enough to throw together if you need an impressive last-minute dish. I’ve become addicted to slathering it on bakery-fresh slices of focaccia. It’s also a wonderful addition to any charcuterie board.

Serving Suggestions

Sandwiches: Perk up a sandwich with tapenade spread and creamy avocado.

Burgers: Slather it on your favorite vegan burger or tuck a spoonful into Vegan Carrot Dogs.

Bread: Serve it alongside bakery-style bread like focaccia or ciabatta.

Snack platter: Use as a dip with crisp veggies and crackers. Add a dish of White Bean Sorrel Hummus for a pop of color to round out the platter.

Scrambles: Plop a spoonful on Classic Tofu Scramble for a spicy kick!

I’ll even toss it with grains like rice and quinoa or mix it into a simple tomato and cucumber salad.

I’m so happy that olives and I are good friends now, this tapenade recipe has made sure of that! It’s:

Simple to make
Intensely flavorful
Made with pantry staples
Vegan & Gluten-free
Great for gatherings

Keep scrolling for step-by-step instructions and photos!

Ingredients

Makes 1¾ cups (385 g)

1 cup (156 g) green Manzanilla olives (with or without pimentos and drained)
½ cup (79 g) Kalamata olives (pitted and drained)
½ cup (4 oz / 110 g) Mama Lil’s Peppers (including oil)
1½ tablespoons (17 g) capers (drained)
½ cup (10 g) flat-leaf parsley (lightly packed)
2 tablespoons (1 oz) of olive oil
1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, roasted (or 2 cloves raw and minced)

Notes

There are a variety of Mama Lil’s Peppers to choose from. I use pickled mildly spiced peppers in garlic oil for this recipe.

If you simply can’t fuss with roasting your own garlic or find it in the grocery store, go ahead and use raw garlic instead. Just be sure to cut the number of cloves in half as raw garlic has a spicy bite that lingers in the mouth.

Step 1

Step 2

How to Make Olive Tapenade

1. Tumble all the ingredients in a food processor (not a blender) and blitz for around 20 seconds, stopping halfway through to scrape down the sides and to check the texture. You’re looking for a minced sloppy salsa, not pate.

2. Scoop into glass jars and store in the fridge for 2 or more weeks.

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Yield: 7 (¼ cup) servings

Author: Carol Clayton