BHA & BHT Free Vegan Crispy Olive Tapenade with Smoked Paprika
Briny, smoky, and deeply savory, this olive tapenade is the kind of appetizer that disappears from the table before you've even finished setting it out. Two varieties of olives are blended with capers, garlic, fresh lemon, and a generous hit of smoked paprika, creating a spread that's bold and complex without a single complicated step. The real showstopper is the crispy olive topping — sliced Kalamata rounds roasted at high heat until their edges shrivel and firm up, adding a satisfying crunch that plays beautifully against the silky, spreadable base. For anyone navigating preservative-free eating, this recipe is a natural fit: every ingredient is whole and straightforward, with no processed shortcuts that might sneak in unwanted additives. Packaged tapenades and olive spreads from the store are notoriously tricky to vet, so making your own from scratch puts you fully in control of what goes into the bowl. Pile it onto crackers or a sliced baguette, finish with a drizzle of good olive oil and a scatter of fresh parsley, and you have something that looks and tastes genuinely impressive with minimal effort.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
For the tapenade
- 1 cup pitted kalamata olives, drained and patted dry
- ½ cup pitted green olives, drained and patted dry
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- ¼ tsp black pepper
For the crispy topping
- ⅓ cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced into rounds
- 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
For serving
- 1 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (optional)
- crackers or sliced baguette, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 2
Toss the sliced Kalamata olives for the crispy topping with 1 tsp olive oil and 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, then spread them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Roast for 18–22 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the edges are shriveled and the slices feel dry and slightly firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan — they will crisp further as they cool.
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