Move over, cheese, there’s a new snack in town! These marinated olives are so easy to make, flavorful, and will become your new favorite addition to charcuterie boards, cheese plates, and serving to guests as a pre-dinner bite. Gently heat olive oil and vinegar on a stove top with fresh garlic, rosemary, bay leaves, and lemon, then pour on top of mixed olives (we’re using Kalamata and Castelvetrano, but any variety works!). Not only will your kitchen smell amazing, but the olives will absorb all these amazing flavors!
Here’s why we love them so much:
- Quick! They take just minutes to make!
- Easily adaptable to the herbs and citrus you love most! We’re highlighting garlic, lemon, and rosemary!
- They’re the perfect first bite for holiday parties, cocktail parties, and date night in!
- Flavorful, impressive, and simple hostess or holiday gifts! Place a label on mason jars, then fill and gift to everyone!
Ingredients For Marinated Olives
- 2 cups mixed olives, such as Kalamata or Castelvetrano (but of course any olives will work!)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Citrus: either lemon peel or orange peel
- Vinegar: we recommend either Champagne, red wine, apple cider, tarragon, or fig!
- Garlic cloves
- Fresh rosemary
- Dried bay leaves
Clean, simple flavors that pair so well with briny olives! We recommend using a high quality extra virgin olive oil to give the olives a real boost of flavor! Whole Foods has a great line up of reasonably priced olive oils that we love too!
How To Marinate Olives
- Make the marinade. Place ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 Tbsp vinegar, 3 cloves smashed garlic, 2 tsp finely chopped rosemary, 2 bay leaves, and lemon or orange zest in a small sauce pan. Place over medium heat and warm through until fragrant, but not boiling, about 3-5 minutes.
- Marinate olives. Place olives in a serving bowl, the pour the flavored olive oil on top. Marinate for at least 1 hour. Longer is better! Best served at room temperature.
Note: if you store leftover marinated olives in a refrigerator, the olive oil will harden and solidify as it cools. Allow marinated olives to sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving so that olive oil will become liquid again.
Variations To Try
- Add cheese! Cubes of feta, soft goat cheese, or mozzarella — or even little bocconcini balls! — would be a great addition. Perfect for soaking up excess olive oil and marinade.
- Try other herbs! Instead of fresh rosemary, use fresh thyme, tarragon, or oregano. Both are soft, fragrant, and pair beautifully with olives.
- Make it spicy! Add ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes when heating the oil for a little heat throughout!
- Switch out the citrus! Instead of lemon peel, use orange peel to flavor the marinade.
- Love pimento? Try throwing in some stuffed olives to the mix!
- Include your favorite small bites! Pearl onions, small mushrooms, and dill pickles all taste great in the marinade!
No matter which variation you try, marinated olives make a great addition to any cheese or charcuterie board, are an easy, flavorful first bite for a date night in or holiday party / cocktail party, and are a healthy, easy-to-make snack!
Tips For The Best Marinated Olives!
- Don’t underestimate the power of fresh herbs. Fresh rosemary has so much more flavor than dried!
- Unless you’re okay with people spitting out olive pits (and maybe you’re totally down with this!), stick to olives that have had the pits removed.
- You can serve the olives immediately, but they’re so much better after at least 1 hour. The longer you let them hang out at room temp, the better!
- Serve with a slotted spoon so guests don’t leave a trail of oil from the bowl to their plate!
- Use mixed olives! Not only does it add a textural and flavor contrast, but it makes for a beautiful presentation!
FAQs
- Can I use jarred olives? Absolutely you can! As with most simple recipes featuring only a few ingredients, the flavors will shine more if you use high quality products. Buy something that already has great flavor!
- I stuck my leftovers in the refrigerator and now the olive oil is solid. Now what? Olive oil solidifies when it gets cold. Leave the olives out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving and the olive oil should turn back into liquid.
- How long will marinated olives keep? When stored properly in an airtight container in a refrigerator, for up to 2 weeks!
Between these and our spiced nuts recipe, your date night or holiday party snacking needs are met! We love how easily these come together, and your guests will love how easy they are to eat!
Looking for more olive recipes? We’ve got you covered! We always have these flavorful recipes on repeat: chicken provencal, green olive tapenade, antipasto skewers, dinner party chicken, chicken puttanesca, salmon escabeche!
If you make these Marinated Olives, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below! And be sure to shout out your favorite way to flavor them!! You will love adding these to any and all charcuterie and cheese boards, promise!
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More easy snacks to try!
- Cucumber Slices with Salmon
- Creamy Whipped Feta Dip
- Sardine Rillettes
- Prosciutto and Melon
- Fried Goat Cheese Balls
Marinated Olives Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups mixed olives such as Kalamata and Castelvetrano
- 1 lemon or orange, 2-3 strips of peel
- ½ cup high quality extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp vinegar such as tarragon, apple cider, Champagne, or red wine vinegar
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cloves smashed garlic
- 2 tsp finely chopped rosemary
Instructions
- Make the marinade. Place ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 Tbsp vinegar, 3 cloves smashed garlic, 2 tsp finely chopped rosemary, 2 bay leaves, and lemon or orange zest in a small sauce pan. Place over medium heat and warm through until fragrant, but not boiling, about 3-5 minutes.
- Marinate olives. Place olives in a serving bowl, the pour the flavored olive oil on top. Marinate for at least 1 hour. Longer is better! Best served at room temperature.
Let us know your thoughts!