Like beets, mushrooms, and pickles, olives admittedly do have a bit of a bad reputation—people either LOVE them or HATE them. If you’re in the latter camp, we’re on a mission to get you more enthusiastic about these little fruits (yep, they’re technically a fruit!). We get it, they’ve got wildly strong flavor, but lovers know that’s why they’re so great—they’re great at adding richness and umami to everything from condiments to chicken, taking your sandwiches and weeknight dinners to new heights. Whether you’ve been on the olive train for a while or are just stepping aboard, once you’ve tried these 32 olive recipes, we know you’ll be inspired to grab a jar and start adding them to everything.
If you’re new to the olive game, we’ve gotta tell you—there are SO many more types of olives than just the sliced black ones in the jar. There’s honestly too many to count, so to make things easier, here are some of our favorite varieties: green Castelvetranos (buttery and mild), purple Kalamata (rich and fruity), black Thassos (wrinkly and fruity), green Manzanilla (bitter and almondy), and green Picholine (lemony). These are a great place to start, but really, the best move is to grab an olive plate at your favorite local restaurant so you can taste multiple types at once and figure out which you like best. Alternatively, you could throw caution to the wind and pick up a jar for one of the many recipes here.
Olives are wonderful in salads of all varieties, from green to bean, so we’ve included a number of them, like our Niçoise salad, our grapefruit & goat cheese fennel salad, our fried halloumi salad, and our Mediterranean chickpea salad. Speaking of the Mediterranean, olives play a major role in the cuisines found alongside it, which we’ve represented with all our “Greek” recipes here. Our Greek salad, our one-pan Greek chicken drumsticks, our Greek salmon, and our Greek chicken potato salad all use kalamatas, but feel free to swap 'em out. In fact, feel free to mix and match ingredients, as long as you keep the some type of olives!
Looking for something a little more substantial than a salad? Try one of our dinners featuring olives, like our pasta puttanesca, our lemony chicken & potatoes with feta, our striped bass with herb-olive salsa, our muffuletta, or our dirty martini pasta. If the olive-brine-and-gin-spiked spaghetti in that last one won’t sway you, we don’t know what will.
Greek Salad
When you’re looking for simple, refreshing, and reliable, you’d be hard pressed to find a dish better than classic Greek salad. Filled with fresh veggies, tangy feta, and a simple dressing made of ingredients you might already have in your fridge, this bright salad also only takes 15 minutes to prepare.
Get the Greek Salad recipe.
Dirty Martini Pasta
This recipe takes inspiration from a classic pasta al limone by using heavy cream as the base for the luscious and decadent sauce. And, just like a dirty martini, we supplement the dish with olives and brine (and booze, of course). The best part? It comes together in under 30 minutes.
Get the Dirty Martini Pasta recipe.
Lemony Chicken & Potatoes With Feta
Freshen up a classic dish, lemon chicken & potatoes, by spooning a wildly flavorful olive, almond, and parsley sauce over top. The best part? This entire recipe is made in just one dish (including the sauce!), making dinner (and cleanup) easier than ever.
Classic Macaroni Salad
Macaroni salad is one of our favorite things to pair with pulled pork or ribs, which is why it's such a disappointment when it's too dry or soggy. Not to fear—this recipe guarantees perfection ever time.
Get the Classic Macaroni Salad recipe.
Vegetarian Italian Sub
One of our favorite sandwiches is the Italian hero, a sandwich filled to the brim with all manner of cured meat, cheese, and refreshingly crisp vegetables. We set out to make a vegetarian versus just as good as the original, with planks of zucchini and eggplant instead of meat. (Hint: We succeeded—this sandwich is delicious.)
Get the Vegetarian Italian Sub recipe.
Greek Chickpea Salad
We’re no strangers to a great chickpea salad, so coming up with a Greek-inspired one was a no-brainer. It’s got all the flavors you love from Greek salad, turned into something more substantial and filling that pairs well with almost anything.
Get the Greek Chickpea Salad recipe.
Classic Caponata
Five cups of this classic Sicilian dish may seem like a LOT, but when you realize it's the perfect condiment, toast-topper, pasta mix-in, and chicken and seafood accompaniment (among many other things), you'll be wishing you made double of this irresistible antipasti.
Get the Classic Caponata recipe.
Striped Bass With Herb-Olive Salsa
Antipasto Bites
Fresh tortellini make these the hearty bite-size appetizer of our dreams. Feel free to swap in and out your favorite ingredients (or have guests build their own from a topping bar!).
Get the Antipasto Bites recipe.
Chicken Marbella
A nostalgic classic for many, chicken Marbella is briny, piquant, and incredibly flavorful. The chicken is tenderized (and flavored by) a marinade dotted with prunes, olives, capers, and herbs. No matter what you serve it with, this classic dish is sure to impress.
Get the Chicken Marbella recipe.
One-Pan Tuna Pasta
Using canned tuna in pasta is a cheap and delicious way to add some protein to a meal. Italians do it with pasta al tonno, and Americans do it (in our own way) with tuna noodle casserole. This recipe is a bit of a riff on pasta puttanesca, using familiar ingredients such as capers, anchovies, and olives.
Get the One-Pan Tuna Pasta recipe.
Instant Pot Pork Puttanesca
For this dish, we were inspired by classic Italian puttanesca, a tomato-based dish with anchovies, capers, and olives that's traditionally served over pasta. Pork makes it extra-hearty, but thanks to our Instant Pot this dish still comes together in just 30 minutes (!!!). Serve it over creamy polenta, but feel free to sub in whatever you like.
Get the Instant Pot Pork Puttanesca recipe.
Arroz Con Gandules
Arroz con gandules is a traditional Puerto Rican dish that consists of rice, pork, tomato paste, achiote, gandules (pigeon peas), and sofrito. Perfect served alongside pernil and yuca fries (and followed up by a glass of coquito), arroz con gandules is perfect for holiday gatherings or weeknight dinners.
Get the Arroz Con Gandules recipe.
Pasta Puttanesca
Bursting with flavor and so easy to prepare, you'll be craving this pasta every week. The super-fragrant sauce is made with a lot of garlic and anchovies that will have you coming back for more, and the capers and olives add a briny saltiness to the dish. Yum!
Get the Pasta Puttanesca recipe.
One-Pan Greek Chicken Drumsticks
For this one-pan, Greek-inspired chicken meal, a creamy, lemon-y orzo finishes off in the oven with the drumsticks, then gets topped with a tasty sprinkle of tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and dill to give the whole dish a fresh finish—think main and salad all in one!
Olive & Fig Tapenade
This one skips the fish and instead combines olives with figs and balsamic vinegar for a fabulous combination of sweet, salty, and tangy notes that will keep you coming back, bite after bite.
Get the Olive & Fig Tapenade recipe.
Fried Halloumi Salad
This salad is one of our favorite ways to enjoy halloumi. It has crunchy fennel, juicy orange segments, creamy avocado, crispy fried pita, and a simple herb-packed dressing that ties it all together. It's is a full-blown MEAL, perfect for those days when you just can't bring yourself to turn the oven on.
Get the Fried Halloumi Salad recipe.
Antipasto Chickpea Salad
This versatile chickpea salad is a great side dish (hello, summer potlucks!) but can easily be a full meal on its own. Adding a spoonful of Dijon mustard to your red wine vinaigrette makes it creamier in both taste and body—consider it your secret weapon in making a classic dressing just that much better.
Get the Antipasto Chickpea Salad recipe.
Niçoise Salad
A classic French dish, Niçoise salad is a composed salad—similar to the American Cobb—that we can’t help but reach for in the summer months. It’s got everything: briny flavors, hits of umami, jammy eggs, hearty potatoes, and fresh veggies.
Get the Niçoise Salad recipe.
Muffuletta
The muffuletta was first served at Central Grocery, an Italian deli in Louisiana founded by Sicilian immigrant Salvatore Lupo in 1906. Sicilian farmers would stop by Lupo’s deli in between shifts at the French Market and juggle plates of olives, salumi, and cheese for lunch. To make it easier to eat, Lupo decided to slap all the ingredients between two pieces of bread, and the muffuletta was born. TMYK!
Get the Muffuletta recipe.
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