BHA & BHT Free Pomegranate & Mint Olive Tapenade
Briny, bright, and just a little unexpected, this tapenade brings together two kinds of olives, juicy pomegranate arils, and a handful of fresh mint for a spread that feels genuinely special. The pomegranate adds little bursts of sweetness that cut right through the saltiness of the Kalamata and green olives, while the cumin and lemon zest give the whole thing a subtle warmth and lift. Because every ingredient here is whole and fresh — no jarred seasoning blends, no preserved shortcuts with questionable additives — you can feel confident about exactly what's going into the bowl. Store-bought tapenades and spreads are a surprisingly common source of synthetic preservatives like BHA and BHT, which sneak in through processed oils and shelf-stable flavor enhancers, so making your own is genuinely the cleaner move. The technique matters here too: the pomegranate arils and herbs are folded in by hand after processing, so they stay whole and vivid rather than getting pulverized into the mix. A short rest in the fridge lets everything meld into something that tastes far more complex than the prep time would suggest. Serve it with crusty bread, crackers, or alongside roasted vegetables and watch it disappear fast.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 1 ½ cups pitted kalamata olives
- ½ cup pitted green olives
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the Kalamata olives, green olives, capers, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, black pepper, and cumin in a food processor. Pulse 8–10 times until the mixture is coarsely chopped and no whole olives remain, but the texture is still chunky — not a smooth paste.
- 2
Add the extra virgin olive oil and pulse 3–4 more times until the oil is incorporated and the tapenade holds together loosely.
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