Easy Marinated Olives

Homemade Marinated Olives are fragrant and juicy and super easy to make. Flavored with garlic, lemon, and rosemary, these olives are a great addition to a cheese board, antipasto platter, and even make a beautiful edible gift!

Marinated Olives

Olives seem to be playing a big part of my diet lately. It’s not a bad thing since olives are very healthy. Full of vitamin E, which is good for your skin and mine since I am getting wrinkles at a rapid pace, and good fats.

I care about all the nutritional information associated with olives but I am really excited about the taste. Popping them in my mouth and getting that burst of salt and the tang of the brine and biting into the chewy flesh is just a good.

I don’t even mind if the olive still has a pit in it because I can nibble on that while doing other things.

Other than using them on my Meze Hummus Platter, my Summer Antipasto Tapas Cheese Board, and my Winter Holiday Cheese Tray. I could just open a jar and start eating.

My favorite olives to snack on have always been basic black olives. The ones you bust out of the can and pop on the end of your fingers. I always put one olive on each finger before I started eating them.

It used to drive my mom crazy that I would eat all the olives before the guests came. But I couldn’t help it. They are on of my favorite relish tray ingredients.

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Ingredients Needed

• Castelvetrano olives
• Kalamata olives
• olive oil
• rosemary
• lemon zest
• garlic
• spices
• balsamic vinegar

Best Types of Olives to Use

Castelvetranos: A green olive from a region in Southwest Sicily. Bright green with a crisp bite but with a slight buttery flavor.

Kalamata: A dark purple olive from Greece that is usually brined in a wine vinegar to leave only a slightly bitter taste at the finish.

Cerignola: These large green olives from Italy and plump and meaty!

Spanish Queen: From Spain like the Manzanilla, it’s plump and perfect for martinis.

Black: Popped right out of the can, these are great for marinating.

Manzanilla: A big green olive from Spain, they are light green and meaty. Usually stuffed with a pimento and used in cocktails.

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How to make Marinated Olives

First: Remove olives from jar and discard brine. Don not rinse the olives. Layer the olives in a jar.

Second: Add olive oil and garlic to a small saucepan and cook until the garlic starts to turn brown. Add the rosemary, lemon, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes.

Third: Remove from the heat. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir to combine. Pour over the olives and let sit for at least 10 minutes. Store until ready to use.

For the full recipe and detailed instructions, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

How long do they last?

If kept in the refrigerator, these olives will mast up to 3 months if they don’t get eaten first.

Do they need to be refrigerated?

Yes, they do. Unless you do a traditional hot water canning technique, these olives will need to be stored in the fridge. There are other ingredients that haVe been added, like the fresh rosemary, that can spoil.

How to serve marinated olives

These Marinated Olives are perfect for snacking, tossing in your lunch box, adding to your salad, or standing on their own on your cheese board! And they are gluten free!

Tapas Tips & Tricks

• use quality olives to make the best marinated ones.
• bring the olives to room temperature before serving.
• use fresh herbs and garlic for the best flavor.
• add some lemon zest to the jars before adding the olive oil.
• feel free to use thyme, rosemary is just my favorite herb.

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This Marinated Olives recipe is the perfect snack for day or night. Full of healthy fats and Vitamin E, these olives marinated in olive oil and balsamic vinegar are the perfect food to satisfy that salty snack craving!

More Easy Tapas Recipes

• marinated goat cheese balls
• grapefruit rosemary punch
• savory pie crust crackers
• cheesy olive bread
• greek dipping oil

This recipe adapted from A Dish of Daily Life.

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• Seafood Bisque made by An Affair from the Heart
• Refried Beans made by Lisa’s Dinnertime Dish
• Lemon Herb Chicken with Roasted Potatoes made by Hostess At Heart
• Red Quinoa & Butternut Squash salad made by My Life Cookbook
• Italian Panini made by Full Belly Sisters
• Thai Chicken Noodle Soup made by Love Bakes Good Cakes
• Pink Vodka Sauce made by Lady Behind The Curtain
• Crab Imperial made by Life Currents
• Southwestern Bean Dip made from Aunt Bee’s Recipes

{originally posted 12/13/16 – photos and recipe updated 02/16/21}

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