Easy Keto Olive Spread - Plant-Based, Whole30 and Paleo (2024)

Salty with a hint of sweetness, this Keto Olive Spread is a breeze to make. Use it as a topping for chicken or fish, or as a dip for crackers, this tapenade is delicious whichever way you use it! For a 10-minute appetizer dip, sandwich spread, or pizza “sauce,” try this easy homemade Olive Tapenade.

Homemade Olive Tapenade

If you love olives, you’ll love the salty, briny flavour of this tapenade spread. I love to eat it onfresh breadortoasted Nordic Bread slices, something with a neutral flavour profile that doesn’t compete with this keto olive spread.

It’s delicious on a Mezze platter too (an appetizer board of Mediterranean fare). Pile fresh vegetables, olives, nuts, prosciutto and Keto Crackers, then add bread sticks and Easy 4-Ingredient Chorizo Dip to complete your charcuterie board.

This Homemade Olive Tapenade would also be a delicious addition to soups and chilis like my Keto Creamy Tomato Soup with Garlic Pork Rind Croutons or this Easy Whole30 Brisket BBQ Chili.

Interesting Facts about "Tapenades"

Although loved by Southern France, the word "tapenade" is actually not French in origin. In the general sense, a tapenade is a sauce or mix spread over bread or pizza, made as an appetizer to be enjoyed with an apéritif or co*cktail.

Technically speaking, a tapenade is an olive-based spread. Just like pesto is a basil-based spread, a tapenade without olives is just not a "tapenade".

With that in mind, the word "tapenade" actually comes from the Provençal word for capers (‘tapenos’). Capersare salty, pea-looking buds that come from a shrub found in Mediterranean climates. They have to be harvested by hand before they flower (so are very labour-intensive) and are traditionally used in most tapenades, with olives as the base component.

So what everyone thinks of as an olive dish is actually a caper one. In ancient times, after they’d been picked, capers were apparently kept in olive oil and came out mushy with the taste of olives– and so the Provençal tapenade was born.

Originally from Italy, Southern France fell in love with the spread and use it not only on bread but also on vegetables, fish and a variety of other dishes.

Once I had finished my research, I set out to create my own homemade version of Keto Olive Spread that would make the most delicious healthy plant-based appetizer!

Low Carb Olive Recipe Ingredients

Olives:Seek out mild olives that have been cured in brine. I love Kalamata and Lucques olives but picholines and Niçoise olives are also great choices. Use one kind or a combination of a few of your favourites.

Anchovies:These add a fantastic savoury, umami flavour to dishes. However, if you don’t want to buy and handle anchovies, you can useanchovy paste.Enjoy the flavour and get used to the mental aspect of them without having to touch them. (Just like tomato paste in a tube, it keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator.)

Capers:Buy them brine-packed or salt-packed. The salt-packed ones have a milder (and I think preferable) flavour although I like both. If you forget to rinse them, however, the flavour can be overpowering at times.

Garlic:If you like the punch flavour of raw garlic, go for it! I love the mellow, slightly sweet element that roasted garlic offers to this olive tapenade. To roast the garlic,preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the top off a bulb of garlic so the cloves are exposed. Set the bulb on a piece of foil large enough to wrap the bulb. Top the exposed cloves with olive oil and wrap the bulb tightly in foil. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a knife slides easily into the middle of the bulb. You could also use some Garlic Confit instead.

Healthy Plant-based Appetizer Instructions

Step 1: Drain and rinse your capers

Whether they're brined or salt-packed, all capers should be rinsed before using to wash off any excess salt and let their delicate flavour shine through. Soak the capers for 5 minutes and then gently rinse them in a sieve. With salt-packed capers, you should repeat this rinsing and soaking 3 or 4 more times.

Step 2: Combine the ingredients

Place all the ingredients in a food processor.

and pulse 5-10 times or until ingredients are combined. Do not over pulse otherwise you will end up with more of a puree than a chunky tapenade.

Next stir in your olive oil until the taste and desired consistency is met. If your mixture is too salty, add a little more olive oil to help mellow out the salt.

Simple and elegant, this tapenade is a nice addition to any dish.

Easy Keto Appetizer Tips

• stir in the olive oil as opposed to adding it to the food processor - if you process olive oil too much, it takes on a somewhat unpleasant taste
• use extra-virgin light olive oil if you do not love the taste of olive oil - you can also add as much or as little to suit your taste
• feel free to omit the anchiovy paste - I sometimes omit it and the keto olive spread still tastes amazing.

Storage

The homemade olive tapenade should be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. I have not tried freezing it but if you intend on incorporating it into a sauce or dip, it should work.

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