Marinated Olives Recipe

Briny, juicy, and packed with Mediterranean flavors, this easy recipe for Marinated Olives will bring the Italian restaurant vibes right to your doorstep.

Using a blend of olives and just 5 ingredients, you can prep a gorgeous jar of olives in under 5 minutes. Marinated olives make a great pre-dinner snack, or keep a jar in the fridge for whenever you have a salty craving!

Table of Contents

Why We Love This Recipe
Ingredients for Marinated Olives
How To Make Marinated Olives
FAQs
How To Serve
Variations
Storage
Expert Tips
More Tangy Bites
Marinated Olives Recipe

Why We Love This Recipe

With a blog name like Easy Appetizers, you know I’m all about low-lift recipes that deliver big flavor. Well, friends? I think I might’ve outdone myself this time. Honestly, this recipe for marinated olives might just be my easiest creation yet. Don’t believe me? Here’s the proof – this recipe:

Requires just 5 ingredients other than your choice of olives. Fresh herbs, garlic, lemon, and olive oil are all you need to make olive magic.
Takes just 3 minutes of active time. I’m not even exaggerating. These olives take just 3 minutes to prepare before stashing them in the fridge. The hardest part is waiting two days for them to marinate.
Is super budget-friendly. No more spending $10 on a tiny, 4-ounce container from Whole Foods’ olive bar. These marinated olives will blow the competition out of the water flavor-wise, and cost just a fraction of what you’d pay at the store.
Is a crowd-pleaser. These marinated olives are gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, vegan, and are totally acceptable for Keto, Whole30, and Mediterranean diets.

Ingredients for Marinated Olives

As promised, you only need a mix of olives and 5 simple ingredients to make this recipe. Here’s your list:

Manzanilla Olives, Kalamata Olives, & Queen Olives – I like this combination because it has a variety of shapes and colors. Feel free to use your own favorite mix.
Garlic – If you do not have fresh garlic, you can use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
Olive Oil – If you have it, now’s the time to get out your bottle of fancy, cold-pressed olive oil.
Fresh Rosemary & Fresh Dill – If you’re relying on your spice cabinet here, remember to cut back to just ⅓ the amount called for.
Lemon Juice – Definitely use fresh citrus here for the brightest flavor. Feel free to add the zest to the olive oil for an added punch of sunshiny goodness.

Ingredients needed for marinated olives.

How To Make Marinated Olives

Be sure to check the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions.

I almost feel silly writing the instructions for how to make these spiced olives because they’re so dang easy! Here’s how you do it:

Combine & Shake. Combine all the ingredients in a glass jar, secure the lid, and give it a quick shake.
Let it Rest. Place the jar in the fridge for two days to allow the olives time to marinate.
Drain the Olives. Be sure to save the oil in case you have any leftovers.
Serve and Enjoy! Told you it was easy. 😉

Overhead image of a small jar filled with olives, olive oil, garlic and herbs.

FAQs

How do you make store-bought olives taste better?

Why, by marinating them, of course! Drain your olives from the brine they came in and plop them into my simple, 5-ingredient marinade. After a few days, they’ll taste as good as the ones you’d find in a fancy restaurant.

How long will marinated olives last?

Since the olive oil does a great job at protecting the olives from external influences, these bad boys will last for up to 3 months in the fridge. That said, I can never get mine to last much past 3 weeks in our house; they’re simply too delicious to resist!

Are marinated olives healthy?

While olives themselves are rich in antioxidants like vitamin E (which is what makes olive oil so heart-healthy), most olives you can get at the store have a LOT of sodium. While I’m no nutritionist, I suggest limiting your intake of these tasty bites to no more than 5 per person.

How To Serve

Make sure you have a pit-discard dish if you don’t pit them first. I always pit my olives because I have a strong fear of dentistry, but you don’t technically need to pit them if you don’t want. Just make sure you put out a dish for your guests to dispose of the pits that you left in.
Consider serving them warm. I know most people think of olives as a cold dish, but warm food is more flavorful than cold. Don’t believe me? It’s science.
They’re also delicious cold. That said, they’re still quite delightful served chilled or at room temperature.
Perfect for picnics, on cheese boards, and charcuterie platters. Olives are pretty stable, so they’re great for making snack packs. They’re also a natural pair for fatty cheese and meats because their brininess helps to cut through the richness.
Great for serving as a cocktail hour snack before sitting down to dinner. Whenever I host a dinner party, I like to put out a few bowls of these olives for guests to nibble on as I finish my preparations and the remaining guests show up. They have a ton of flavor but aren’t very filling, so guests will have plenty of room for the remaining courses.

Variations

Marinated olives are a delicacy in their own right, but there’s always room for customization. Here are a few of my favorite variations:

Use them to make a tapenade. Remove the olives from the marinade follow the directions in my Olive Tapenade recipe. Serve over fish, swipe onto sandwiches, dollop it into hummus, serve as a dip with crackers… the options are nearly endless.
Add hard cheese (like feta) to marinate with the olives. I love olives, and I also love cheese. Try adding small, bite-sized cubes of feta to the mix and marvel at how well it takes on the olive-y flavors!
Add the zest of half of a lemon for a brighter flavor. I’m a big fan of fresh citrus of any kind, so I typically like to add a little extra zing to my olives. Feel free to peel it in long ribbons for a prettier presentation.

Storage

These olives are best stored in the fridge, but can be left out on the counter for a few hours and they will be just fine.
Store any leftovers packed in the marinating olive oil in an airtight container in the fridge. The olives should keep for up to 3 months if stored properly.

Expert Tips

Two days is the bare minimum to let these olives marinate, but you can let them marinate for up to 4 days. After this, the flavor does not change much, but the oil does help to preserve them.
It is not necessary to shake the jar any more than the initial shake after securing the lid.
If you buy olives that aren’t already pitted, do yourself a favor and invest in an olive-pitter. While I don’t typically advocate for uni-taskers in the kitchen, there’s simply no other good way to get the pits out without mangling the olive in the process. I have this one and we use it for cherries, too!

More Tangy Bites

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