Sun-Dried Tomato Olive Tapenade ‘Pesto’

I blogged a recipe for grilled eggplant paninis that included a homemade sun-dried tomato olive tapenade “pesto”, and this panini was a HIT on my site! So I decided to bring the tapenade back solo this time because there’s way more uses for it than just on a panini.

In the summertime, I like to keep this homemade tapenade in my fridge, so I can bring it to picnics and serve on a charcuterie board with crackers or crostini, I can toss it into warm, chilled or room temp pasta for a quick summer pasta salad, or on sammies stacked with turkey, grilled chicken, salami – or vegetarian style on grilled cheese or my eggplant panini! Versatility is the name of the game!

My STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO below will help guide you through the recipe. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for recipe videos every week!

Makes: roughly 1 cup (enough for a pound of pasta or 4-6 people on a charcuterie board)

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

The Ingredients

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained and roughly chopped

½ cup pitted green olives (I like frescatrano or castelvetrano olives)

½ cup pitted Kalamata olives

½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (or parmesan cheese)

½ cup basil, packed

½ lemon, juiced

¼ cup pine nuts

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 anchovy fillet

The Steps

Toast pine nuts in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Add all tapenade ingredients to a food processor, starting with half the olive oil. Blend to desired smoothness. Add rest of olive oil if needed. I like my tapenade almost smooth with a slight bite to it!

Serving suggestions: mix into spaghetti or fettuccine (serving warm, chilled or room temp), serve on a charcuterie board with crackers or crostini, “bruschetta” style, or on a sandwich or panini!

Stores well in fridge for up to a week.

The Steps With Video

My STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO below will help guide you through the recipe. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for recipe videos every week!