This marinated olives and cheese dish combines briny Castelvetrano olives with firm, buttery cheese marinated for a delicious and easy appetizer that works for a holiday party or any other time of the year.
These marinated olives and cheese are so delicious and full of flavor, you wont know what hit you!
I tend to think that people who say they don’t like olives just haven’t had the right kind of olive yet. Did you know that there are well over 100 different varieties of olives? So many more than just the black olives and green olives that you see in the store.
But for my money, the very best olive is the Castelvetrano olive. They’re meaty and have a salty-sweet, buttery flavor to them. I always urge people who say they don’t like olives to try Castelvetrano’s before deciding.
This dish marries the olives with firm and buttery parmesan cheese, but you could use any firm cheese – pecorino romano, grana Padano, or even block feta - they would all be delicious!
Recipe Notes
Flavor: this is a delicious, umami rich dish. Between the olives, cheese and olive oil, it’s very rich. I recommend eating it with bread to help soak up some of the richness.
Texture: the texture of the olives is very “meaty”. The parmesan is also very firm, so it’s best to cut it into pretty small pieces.
Ease: this is SUPER easy to make. Just cut the cheese (ha!), roughly chop the olives, and add the rest of the ingredients and you’re good to go!
Ingredient List
- Castelvetrano Olives
- Parmesan Cheese
- Olive Oil
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Lemon
- Garlic
- Dried Oregano
- Salt and Pepper
Tips and Tricks
- Use olives without pits for a much easier eating experience. You can find pitted Castelvetrano olives at most grocery stores.
- Once you mix everything together, make sure you refrigerate the olives and cheese for at least an hour before serving. You can serve the olives at room temperature, but you want to let it marinate in the fridge.
- This is a recipe with just a few ingredients so it’s important to use the highest quality ones you can afford. This is the kind of dish that you splurge for the good olive oil for. This is a great option that’s not too crazy expensive.
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Do marinated olives go bad?
hey do. Olives themselves have an incredibly long shelf life, but once you add in the other ingredients it starts to speed up the "going bad" process. You can keep the olives and cheese in the fridge for about 4-5 days.
Would this work in a charcuterie board?
Absolutely! This is great served on its own, or as part of a larger charcuterie board!
This would be great as part of a tapas night, too!
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Marinated Olives and Cheese
Ingredients
- ½ cup of Castelvetrano Olives roughly chopped
- 5 ounces of parmesan cheese or another firm cheese cut into small cubes.
- ¼ cup to ⅓ cup of olive oil
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- 1 clove of garlic crushed or minced very fine
- ¼ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper start small and add from there
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl stir together the chopped olives and cubed cheese. Add a ¼ cup of the olive oil, the lemon juice and zest, the crushed garlic, crushed red pepper, oregano, and salt and pepper.
- Stir to combine. If the mixture seems dry, add the rest of the olive oil.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to marinate for at least an hour, up to overnight.
- Serve with toasted bread or crackers.
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