Mustard Free Olive Tapenade
Rich, briny, and bursting with Mediterranean flavor, this olive tapenade is the kind of spread that makes a simple cracker or slice of crusty bread feel like something special. Two varieties of olives — Kalamata and green — team up with capers, fresh herbs, and a bright hit of lemon zest to create a deeply savory paste with real complexity. Many store-bought tapenades and condiment blends sneak in mustard as an emulsifier or flavor booster, so making your own from scratch is genuinely the smartest move if you're avoiding it. Every ingredient here is straightforward and easy to verify, giving you total control over what goes into the bowl. A few pulses in the food processor is all it takes to bring everything together into a rough, textured spread that still has satisfying bite. It works beautifully as a dip, a topping for grilled proteins, or stirred into pasta for an instant weeknight upgrade. Once you see how easy it is to make at home, the jarred version will be hard to justify.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
- ½ cup pitted green olives
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the Kalamata olives, green olives, capers, garlic, parsley, thyme, lemon zest, lemon juice, and black pepper in the bowl of a food processor.
- 2
Pulse 8–10 times until the mixture is coarsely chopped and no large olive pieces remain, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula as needed.
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