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!

If you’d rather skip my (very helpful, I think) tips and tricks, essential cooking info, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to this delicious recipe – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.

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 Party 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 off her relish tray before any of the guests have arrived.

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Marinated Olives Ingredients

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

Best types of olive 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

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

STEP TWO: 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.

STEP THREE: 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.

How long do marinated olives last?

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

Do marinated olives 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!

Take Two Tapas Tips

• 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.

Marinated Olives are 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!

Other olive recipes to try

• olive salad
• olive cheese bread

Marinated Olives Recipe

This recipe adapted from A Dish of Daily Life.

@TakeTwoTapas.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

Fiesta Friday December Recipes

• Easy Crab Dip Recipe made by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
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• Crab Imperial made by Life Currents
• Southwestern Bean Dip made from Aunt Bee’s Recipes

I’m linking up and partying at Fiesta Friday

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