Olive Dip Is The Crowd-Pleasing Appetizer You Can Put Together In Minutes

When it comes to savory flavors, nothing beats the mouthwatering contrast of chips and veggie dip. Salty, sharp ingredients like onion soup mix cut through the richness of mayo, yogurt, or some other soft, creamy base to create a velvety, balanced bite that (understandably) keeps you going back for more. Plus, it's a combination that's endlessly variable — tangy, three-ingredient pickle dip blends America's favorite burger topping with softened cream cheese and dried beef, but you can easily swap out the pickles for olives, and the beef for shredded mozzarella, creating an even more flavorful and sophisticated olive dip. 

Olives are fairly divisive as brined veggies go, but even certified olive-haters should give this heavenly dip a chance. The cream cheese tames any bitterness in the olives, while simultaneously enhancing their briny brightness. Seasonings like garlic and onion powder, smoked paprika, and Italian seasoning help bridge the flavor gap between the two main ingredients, adding complexity to the flavor, with red wine vinegar preventing the sharp olive flavor from getting lost in everything else.

The best part about this olive dip is how simple it is to make. Drained olives and softened cream cheese go into a food processor with the shredded mozzarella cheese and other seasonings to blend until everything is fully combined. It's literally that simple — there's no chopping or stirring necessary, unless, of course, you don't have a food processor. In that case, simply mince the olives and use a mixing spoon to whip everything together by hand.

The greatest advantage to having a recipe this simple up your sleeve is you can make it a little differently every time, creating an endless array of variations to keep your palate from getting bored. Green, pimento-stuffed olives are traditional, but feel free to replace them with black olives to add a dark butteriness, or something special like Castelveltrano olives for a bright, lemony, summer dish. Castelveltranos are also milder than other olive varieties, so they may be a good choice for a wide variety of palates.

You might also copy the flavors of your favorite cocktail, but using the same blue cheese-stuffed olives you'd put in your martini. The funk from the blue cheese adds depth of flavor and could be a playful appetizer at a dinner party featuring gin and vodka-based drinks. Olives are also a popular pizza topping, so it might be fun to lean into that flavor profile to give this recipe a kick. Think chopped sun-dried tomatoes, dried oregano, fresh basil, and even a little minced turkey pepperoni if you're feeling especially adventurous. 

Since this recipe calls for drained olives, you might be looking for clever ways to use up surplus olive brine once your dip comes together. Luckily, this deliciously salty byproduct is the perfect seasoning for an array of foods, from chicken or fish dishes that need some extra oomph to splashing some olive brine into your deviled eggs to give them a boost.