These quick marinated olives make a lovely addition to an antipasto platter or a simple, elegant appetizer. Flavoured with basic herbs and spices, they’re ready in five minutes and require almost no effort.
An antipasto spread is an effortless way to impress guests. These marinated olives pair beautifully with cheeses, cured meats, fresh fruit and vegetables. Buy your favourite olives from a deli or supermarket and dress them up with a few pantry staples for an instant gourmet snack.
I first tasted these marinated olives one summer while visiting my boyfriend’s family. His sister mixed them up as a little nibble to accompany drinks, and they were absolutely delicious.
In Italy olives are a common aperitivo and you’ll often find many varieties already marinated behind deli counters. While those ready-made options are tasty, they can be expensive when you’re also buying cheeses and prosciutto for a spread.
The great news is homemade marinated olives are incredibly easy and take only five minutes. You can customise the flavours by adding your favourite fresh or dried herbs, spices or citrus zest to create your own signature mix.
Serve them on their own with drinks or include them as part of a larger antipasto platter with cheeses, cured meats and marinated vegetables for a fuss-free yet impressive offering.
How To Make Marinated Olives – Step By Step
Place lemon zest, fennel seeds, chilli flakes (red pepper flakes), garlic, dried oregano and a pinch of pepper in a mixing bowl. This is the stage to experiment — swap or add chopped fresh herbs or different spices to suit your taste.
Finely chop the parsley and add it to the bowl along with the olive oil. Mix the ingredients together to build the marinade.
Drain the jarred olives (I prefer unpitted olives because they have more flavour) and add them to the marinade. Toss until the olives are fully coated, then transfer to a serving bowl or individual ramekins and serve.
Tip: Jarred olives are often already quite salty, so taste them after draining before adding any extra salt.
Enjoy! Wishing you a happy New Year wherever you are.
More Easy Appetizers To Try;
- Bagna Cauda recipe (Anchovy, Garlic & Butter Dip)
- Cecina Toscana – Tuscan Chickpea Flatbread
- Taleggio White Bean Dip
- Artichoke Dip – Parmesan, Lemon, Garlic
- Pea Bites with Prosciutto and Mascarpone
If you try this recipe, please rate it and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out — I love hearing from readers!
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Marinated Olives
By Emily
Ingredients
- 11.6 oz (330g) unpitted jarred olives
- 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 small bunch fresh parsley
- 1 tsp chilli flakes (red pepper flakes)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 clove garlic, minced or grated
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1/4 cup (3 tbsp) olive oil
Instructions
- Put the lemon zest, fennel seeds, chilli flakes, garlic, dried oregano and pepper in a mixing bowl.
- Finely chop the parsley and add it to the bowl with the olive oil, then mix to combine.
- Drain the olives, add them to the marinade and toss until thoroughly coated. Transfer to a serving bowl or ramekins and serve.
Notes
- Use unpitted olives for extra flavour.
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I use extra virgin olive oil in my recipes unless stated otherwise.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless noted.
- Recipes are developed using a fan (convection) oven where relevant.
- Nutrition data is automatically calculated and should be treated as an approximation.
Nutrition
Calories:
177
kcal
Nutrition information is an estimate.
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