5-ingredient Marinated Olives

I’m currently working on a series of recipes entitled “Easy Extras“. This collection is full of simple, handy recipes that take a few store bought items and transform them into the star of your graze board!

I never met an olive I didn’t love.
emily, FFAy

I love olives – all types : green, black, purple – brined or packed in oil – pitted or with pits. I love them. I love them so much that I wanted to make them the star of my graze board rather than an accessory quietly tucked into a corner.

5-minute recipe!

This recipe comes together in under 5 minutes and can be modified to fit your tastebuds and your pantry. Because this recipe is so adaptable, I’ve included 2 versions of marinated olives in the recipe below, one using Castelvetrano olives and the other using Kalamata olives.

Castelvetrano Olives

If you’ve yet to try Castelvetrano olives, you should put that task on your ‘must-do’ list. These olives are so mild and buttery and are the most beautiful color of bright greenish-blue (a coveted color for any charcuterie board!).

The bonus for this olive variety is that ((because they’re so mild in flavor)) they absorb the marinade flavors so well. So — the orange zest and juice and spicy heat from crushed red pepper flakes really shine!

making it your own

The key to marinated olives is having a balance of acid, sweet, oil and spice. For these versions, I got my sweet and acid from the vinegar and citrus juice. You could modify the amounts – or swap for a different variety of vinegar, citrus or even a splash of maple sirup.

Heat and spice can come from fresh herbs, dried spices and fresh hot peppers. I used fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, crushed red pepper and some finely diced freshly picked hot peppers. Use your favorites to create your very own signature marinated olive recipe!