Is there a simpler and tastier appetizer than olives? Yes, Marinated Olives! Preparing a big batch of these marinated olives is the best way to always have an easy but delicious appetizer to offer to your guests. Also, they are such a great addition to your summer salads!
As a Spanish person myself, I grew up eating olives most weekends. My grandma would always have a homemade jar of marinated olives from her olive tree ready to fill a serving bowl that had "olives" written on it, just in case she missed it!
One of the things I remember is my dad shouting from the other side of the house, "Don't fill up on olives, or you won't eat your meal." I just couldn't stop, and even today, I find olives very addictive! Olives served as a tapa is part of the Spanish culture. You get olives served with your beer, your red wine, and before your meal at restaurants together with some bread and aioli.
To make our Marinated olives, we were inspired by my Grandma's recipe, which included orange and lemon peel. However, we gave the marinade our special touch by adding za'atar, dried and fresh herbs, and different types of olives.
Why I Think You'll Also Love These Olives
- Making marinated olives is very simple. All our friends who had tasted our olives asked if we could make a jar for them, and some have even been willing to pay for a cooking course to learn how to make them. The recipe is straightforward and uses just a handful of ingredients that you'll easily find.
- These Marinated Olives will bring a piece of the Mediterranean to your table. Spring and summer are the perfect time to enjoy some meals by the sun, and serving these as an appetizer together with some crusty bread is a winner move.
- You can use this marinade recipe to prepare your favorite type of olives. We like getting mixed olives from our farmers' market. Adding different olives makes the dish vibrant and adds different textures and flavors.
Ingredients
Mixes olives. Get different types of olives. We prefer pitted olives such as Kalamata Olives, but you can combine your favorite types.
Garlic. You can skip this ingredient if you prefer non-garlicky olives, but we love garlic, so we add crushed garlic to the marinade.
Olive oil. To marinate your olives, use extra virgin olive oil when possible.
Balsamic vinegar. You can use regular vinegar and add some date syrup or pomegranate molasses.
Orange and lemon peels. We use our own oranges and lemons from the garden. If you're buying the fruits, choose organic ones as you'll use the peel.
Dried herbs. For these Mediterranean olives, we use oregano. You can also add thyme or basil.
Za'atar. This is a lovely spice blend used in many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean recipes. You can buy it already prepared or make your own blend. Look at this Feasting At Home recipe to make your own Za'atar, or buy it already made.
Rosemary springs. We add fresh rosemary springs for extra flavor.
How to prepare Marinated OIives
Prepare the ingredients by peeling and crushing the garlic and shaving the lemon and orange to get 3-4 peels from each fruit.
Combine all the ingredients together using a mixing bowl.
Leave the olives to marinate for at least an hour before serving, but the longer you leave them, the more flavor you'll get from them.
Mediterranean Marinated Olives
Ingredients
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 2 cups mixed olives
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon zaatar
- 2 fresh rosemary springs
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients by peeling and crushing the garlic cloves and shaving the lemon and orange to get 3-4 peels from each fruit.2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 orange, 1 lemon
- Combine all the ingredients for the marinade together using a mixing bowl. Add the crushed garlic and orange and lemon peels.2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon zaatar, 2 fresh rosemary springs
- Transfer the olives and marinade to a sealed container. Leave marinating at least for about an hour.2 cups mixed olives
Notes
- You can store the olives for up to two weeks if you keep them in an airtight container.
Newsletter
Nutrition
FAQ
You want to leave them marinating for at least an hour when marinating olives. This is the minimum amount of time for the olives to soak in the flavors of your marinade. The longer you leave the olives marinating, the better. If you finish the olives and the marinade is still good (before two weeks), you can add more olives of your choice. Also, the marinade is perfect for your crusty bread!
This can happen depending on the temperature of your refrigerator. You can just bring the olives to room temperature again, and the olive oil will go back to its natural texture.
To avoid the olive oil from solidifying when left in the refrigerator, leave the olives by the refrigerator door, where the temperatures are not as cool as the back of the fridge.
Yes, marinated olives are usually keto-friendly. You can swap the balsamic vinegar for a low-sugar balsamic vinegar or leave this ingredient out.
Any olives work beautifully for this marinade! We tried olives stuffed with pimento, spicy olives, pitted olives, and larger types of olives, and they all work great! Use your favorite type of olives for this recipe.
Serving Suggestions
Marinated olives are a fantastic appetizer or a great snack to have with your evening drink.
We like serving olives while we finish cooking or when friends come over for a drink. Adding some crusty or garlic bread to the serving plate, or this buttery garlic confit, makes it a filling appetizer that people love. You can dip the bread into the marinade, it is so tasty!
You can also prepare this delicious olive salad using this marinated olives.
You can make this recipe all year round, but we normally make it during spring and summer. We have more gatherings, eat by the sun more often, and our lemons and oranges are in season.
Max says
I served these olives with some leftover stale bread I toasted and they were perfect! My husband was obsessed with olives and even my son liked them. Thanks so much!
Laura Arteaga says
Great to hear Max!
Sasha says
This was delicious! We served it as an appetizer and it was gone too quick! Even the kids enjoyed the olives!
Laura Arteaga says
Thank you Sasha! You can always add more olives to the marinade. We do that a couple of times !
Vien says
Made these for a get-together and before I knew it, they were gone. I’ve been asked for the recipe several times. This recipe is a keeper !!
Laura Arteaga says
Thank you Vien! 🙂
Beverly says
What a great appetizer! A girlfriend of mine came over to chat yesterday afternoon and I served these with some melba toast and cubed cheese and it made us feel so fancy! (We had cocktails too of course, lol.) Great recipe, thanks!
Laura Arteaga says
Cubed cheese is a lovely addition!
Lara says
Absolutely loved these! Made a big batch for a gathering and they disappeared in no time. Added to my salads too!
Laura Arteaga says
Thank you Lara, glad you enjoyed the recipe!