Hazelnut Free Pomegranate & Mint Olive Tapenade
This tapenade is a showstopper — briny, bright, and just a little unexpected thanks to the burst of pomegranate arils folded in at the end. Two kinds of olives give it real depth, while capers, lemon zest, and a whisper of cumin keep every bite interesting. The trick of pulsing the base in a food processor and then stirring in the pomegranate and mint by hand means you get chunky, rustic texture with jewel-like pops of fruit throughout — nothing turns to mush. Fresh mint lifts the whole thing and makes it taste genuinely vibrant rather than just salty. Many store-bought tapenades and flavored spreads sneak in nut-based oils or are processed on shared lines, so making your own from scratch with a clean ingredient list is a real win. After a quick chill in the fridge, the flavors meld into something that tastes like it took far more effort than it actually did. Serve it with crusty bread, crackers, or alongside grilled vegetables and watch it disappear.
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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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