If you love olives, you will be making this olive salad all year round. Trust me, this 5-minute appetizer goes perfectly with crackers, sweet potato tortillas, high-protein flatbread, or homemade focaccia.

Olive salad in a large bowl, served with fresh parsley.

I am aware that olives are quite a divisive food. Some people can’t stand them, while others cannot get enough… And I belong to the second group!

If you love the deep, savory flavor of olives, this olive salad will be your holy grail. It combines green and black olives with pickled veggies, red onion, and two types of peppers, and I am OBSESSED.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • It takes barely any effort to make this olive salad! Just scoop your ingredients into the food processor and blitz them together. It doesn’t get easier than this!
  • Olive lovers unite! I could honestly eat this every day, especially in the summer. I also recommend my vegan Greek salad and lemon orzo salad recipes for fellow olive fans!
  • Aside from onion, garlic, and parsley, the rest of the ingredients are canned and pantry-friendly. This often means they are cheaper than fresh produce, too!
  • Don’t underestimate the power of canned and pickled foods. They can add tons of flavor to any dish, thanks to elements like salt, vinegar, and herbs.

Key Ingredients

Ingredients for the olive salad recipe laid out in small bowls on a light background.

While olives are the star of this dish, this vegan olive salad wouldn’t be the same without the rest of its ingredients. Delicious, dreamy ingredients!

  • Green and black olives are famous for their salty, tangy, and mildly bitter flavor profile.
  • Italian giardiniera is basically a pickled vegetable medley. It usually includes celery, bell pepper, pickles, cauliflower, and carrots, but feel free to use whatever version you can find in the store.
  • Canned roasted peppers and pickled banana peppers add great texture to this olive salad mixture.
  • Capers can add a note of lemony, citrus-like flavor. Plus, capers and olives are a match made in heaven!

Hack It!

  • If your local stores don’t stock giardiniera, you can use any of your favorite pickled vegetables.
  • If you prefer a finer texture similar to tapenade, add some olive oil into the mix and blitz your olive salad a little bit longer.
  • Out of parsley? Try this recipe with dill, basil or cilantro!
  • As you know, the PlantYou policy regarding garlic is to measure with your heart. Just bear in mind that raw garlic packs a punch!
  • This combination of ingredients is quite brine-heavy. If you want to tone it down a little, swap giardiniera for a mix of grilled veggies.

How to Make Olive Salad

Olive salad ingredients added to a food processor.

Step 1: Add all ingredients to a food processor.

Olive salad blitzed together in the food processor.

Step 2: Pulse the ingredients together until you have a thick mixture. If your appliance is too small, do it in batches.

Olive salad in a white ceramic bowl.

Step 3: Transfer the olive salad into a bowl or food container if meal prepping.

Olive salad in a white ceramic bowl with a tortilla chip dipped into it.

Step 4: Enjoy with crackers, chips or flatbread.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I don’t like olives?

My condolences! If you don’t like the flavor of olives, I would suggest making my fruit salsa or vegan tzatziki recipe.

How long does this olive salad last?

Since the majority of the ingredients have a long shelf life, this dip can be refrigerated for 5-7 days in an airtight container. However, it is so tasty, I doubt it will survive the night!

What are the best ways to serve it?

My favorite way to enjoy this olive salad is to use it as a dip with chips, flatbread, or crackers. However, you can also use it as a flavorful spread in a sandwich like Muffuletta.

More Plant-Based Dips

While you are waiting for your copy of Scrappy Cookbook, you will enjoy 140+ delicious vegan meals from my first cookbook! The PlantYou Cookbook was a labor of love, and a tribute to all the things I wish I had when I first transitioned to plant-based living. All of the recipes in this book are WFPB-compliant and beginner-friendly. Plus, I made sure that every recipe will have a helpful infographic detailing the ingredients.

Tortilla chip close up with some olive salad on it.
A hand holding a triangular tortilla chip dipped in olive salad.

The Recipe: Olive Salad

This recipe is a delicious savory mixture of the best Mediterranean cuisine has to offer!
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Servings: 6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup green olives
  • ¼ cup black olives
  • ¼ cup Italian giardiniera
  • ¼ cup pickled banana peppers
  • ¼ cup roasted red peppers, from the jar
  • 1 red onion, small, quartered
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 handful parsley, stems removed

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Add all ingredients to a food processor, and blitz until a thick olive salad is formed. Transfer to a bowl and enjoy with crackers or as a spread on sandwiches like Muffuletta, as desired. 

Notes

  • Too briny for you? Swap giardiniera for some roasted veggies.
  • Serve with crackers, flatbread, breadsticks, or as part of a sandwich.
  • If you prefer a creamier consistency, pulse the veggies longer until the texture is similar to tapenade.
Serving: 1g, Calories: 71.8kcal, Carbohydrates: 10.2g, Protein: 1.4g, Fat: 6.2g, Saturated Fat: 0.5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2.5g, Sodium: 704.7mg, Potassium: 64.2mg, Fiber: 1.4g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 194.7IU, Vitamin C: 10.4mg, Calcium: 21.4mg, Iron: 0.3mg
Cuisine: Greek, Italian, Spanish
Course: Appetizer, dip, Side Dish
Author: carleigh