Beef Free Herb-Marinated Olives
Briny, fragrant, and impossibly easy to pull together, these herb-marinated olives are the kind of appetizer that looks like you spent hours on it when the whole process takes under fifteen minutes of active cooking. A mix of plump Castelvetrano, Kalamata, and Cerignola olives gets warmed in extra-virgin olive oil with sliced garlic, rosemary, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, and a hit of bright lemon zest — the result is a deeply savory, aromatic bowl that tastes like something from a good Mediterranean restaurant. The trick is gently coaxing the garlic until it just turns golden at the edges, which blooms all those herbs and spices into the oil before the olives ever hit the pan. After a 30-minute rest, the flavors meld into something truly special, and the infused oil itself is worth saving to drizzle over bread or vegetables. This is a completely plant-based, meat-free snack by nature — every ingredient here is straightforward and easy to source without any label-reading stress. Make a jar ahead of time and keep it on hand for entertaining, because these disappear fast.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 2 cups mixed olives (such as castelvetrano, kalamata, and cerignola), drained
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tsp fresh oregano leaves
- 1 tsp lemon zest (from about ½ lemon)
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
Instructions
- 1
Combine the olive oil, garlic, rosemary sprigs, thyme sprigs, oregano, red pepper flakes, and black pepper in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Warm until the garlic is fragrant and just beginning to turn golden at the edges, about 4–5 minutes. Watch closely — the garlic can brown quickly at this stage.
- 2
Add the drained olives and lemon zest to the saucepan. Stir to coat and continue warming over medium-low heat until the olives are heated through and the oil is bubbling gently around them, about 3–4 minutes.
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