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Easy Green Olive Tapenade Recipe – A Savory Mediterranean Spread
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Tapenade is a garlicky and salty dip from Provence made from olives, garlic, anchovies, almonds and capers. This recipe is based on one from chef Anne Willan. I learned to make it while helping her put together the menu for her husband’s birthday party a few years ago. I’m not usually that partial to olives but I love this piquant spread that can be a perfect appetizer or sandwich spread. It can be made ahead of time and stored refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week. Serve on its own or with an antipasto platter.
Easy Green Olive Tapenade Recipe – A Savory Mediterranean Spread
Table of contents
What is Green Olive Tapenade?
Tapenade is a classic French dish with deep Mediterranean roots. Originating in Provence, it features olives, capers, anchovies, and olive oil—staples of Mediterranean cuisine. Variations of olive-based spreads have been enjoyed for centuries across Italy, Greece, and Spain. This flavorful dip can be made with black or green olives, but I love using Castelvetrano olives for their briny, slightly sweet taste in this recipe.
Tapenades come in all shapes and sizes – some tapenades are chunkier, traditionally ones made in a mortar and pestle so the mixture is finely diced with olive oil stirred in. Others are smoother – in this recipe I use a piece of white bread in the mixture to add thickness and texture to the tapenade. Since the anchovies and capers are already salty you won’t need to add any additional salt. If you find your recipe too far on the briny side add a touch of honey to balance the flavors.
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
White bread
The bread helps to bind the ingredients together as they’re blended for a denser tapenade. It’s best to use a fresh bread in this recipe rather than breadcrumbs since it blends into the dip smoothly rather. For a gluten-free version of this dip omit the bread.
Garlic
The fresh garlic is key in this recipe. It pairs well with the nutty flavor of the almonds and briny olives.
Green olives
While any variety of pitted green olive will add its own unique flavor to this dip, I personally like using Castelvetrano olives the best. They’re from Sicily in southern Italy with a firm texture, with a much milder olive flavor than other varieties enhanced with briny undertones. When I use a jar of green olives I always save the brine to make dirty martinis.
Anchovy
When you thought you couldn’t add any more umami flavor to this recipe, it also uses anchovies! I prefer using oil-packed anchovy fillets for this recipe though you can also use about 1 tablespoon of anchovy paste.
Almonds
I use whole raw almonds in this recipe. As they blend they give the dip more body and an earthy flavor. The almonds help to mellow out the briny elements in the recipe. Many black olive dips use walnuts or omit nuts altogether. If you like the flavor the almonds add, I’d recommend trying this red pepper dip, romesco.
Capers
Capers have a tangy, salty flavor. The edible part of the caper plant is the immature flower buds, which are typically served pickled and packed in oil or salt.
Parsley
Herbs add a fresh element that pairs well with the briny flavors. I have a preference of using flat-leaf parsley rather than curly/ Italian varieties.
Olive oil
The extra-virgin olive oil works to emulsify with the other ingredients to create a rich dip with a good texture.
Lemon juice
Freshly squeezed lemon juice works to brighten up the dip.
How to Make Green Olive Tapenade (Step-by-Step)
- Add ingredients to food processor. First, add the bread, garlic, olives, anchovies, almonds, capers and parsley to the bowl of a food processor.
- Blend. Next, pulse the food processor until the ingredients are coarsely chopped.
- Add the olive oil. With the food processor running, slowly add the olive oil, until the tapenade becomes smooth.
- Adjust the texture and flavor. Add the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve. Serve at room temperature with toasted baguettes or crackers.
Tips and Tricks for This Recipe
Swaps and Ingredient Substitutions
- The green olives can be swapped for a black olive variety like kalamata olives for a milder, more savory flavor.
- Try adding other herbs like fresh basil to the mix.
- Pine nuts or walnuts can be used in place of almonds.
- For a gluten-free version of this dip omit the bread.
How to Serve Green Olive Tapenade
- Spread on crackers or crostini
- The center of an antipasto platter
- Spread on a sandwich (I like adding it to a mortadella sandwich with slices of provolone cheese)
- Stir into a pasta salad
Storage Tips – How Long Does Green Olive Tapenade Last?
Homemade tapenade can be stored refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Other Recipes to Try
If you enjoy this green olive tapenade recipe, I recommend checking out more of these easy mediterranean appetizers:
The green olives can be swapped for a black olive variety like kalamata olives for a milder, more savory flavor.
Green Olive Tapenade
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Ingredients:
- 1 slice white bread, torn into chunks
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- ½ cup pitted green olives ( I use Castelvetrano olives)
- 2 oil-packed anchovy fillets
- ⅓ cup almonds
- 1 tablespoon oil packed capers, drained and rinsed
- 2 teaspoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
- Add the bread, garlic, olives, anchovies, almonds, capers and parsley to the bowl of a food processor.
- Pulse until the ingredients are coarsely chopped. Then, while the food processor is running, slowly add the olive oil, until the tapenade becomes smooth. Stir in the lemon juice and season with pepper.
- Serve at room temperature with toasted baguettes or crackers. Store in an airtight container topped with a thin layer or olive oil for up to a week.
Nutrition:
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Could I substitute 1 Tbsp Fish Sauce in lieu of the 2 anchovies?
Subbing fish sauce should work to add that umami flavor but I would only use a teaspoon because fish sauce has a much more concentrated flavor
What can I use instead of bread? I am paleo.
I’d recommend skipping the bread step entirely and then up the almonds to 1/2 cup! hope you enjoy the recipe!
Do you store it at room temperature or in fridge.
I store in the fridge! Hope you enjoy!
We have anchovy paste. How much do you think i would add instead of anchovy fillets?
I’d add about 2 teaspoons of anchovy paste! Hope you enjoy!
Would it be weird to add kalamata olives as well?
While I’ve never tried it, I don’t see why it would’t be good! Kalamata tapenade is quite common so I feel like the combo would work well! Let me know how it works out!
Kylie! This was absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed! Thank you for sharing Merav!
I am a big fan of tapenade , but had not had one made with green olives. I really liked the distinctive flavor of this recipe!
The buttery Castlevetrano olives in this tapenade made it 💯. It was so delicious on a piece of warm crusty bread and sliced heirloom tomatoes. I plan to use it on some grilled fish this weekend!
I’m so glad you loved it—and YES to using it on grilled fish, that sounds incredible! Castelvetrano olives really do make all the difference with their buttery texture. Love the idea of pairing it with heirloom tomatoes too—so summery and fresh. Thanks so much for sharing!
Easy to make and delicious to eat