Green Olive Salad Dressing is loaded with tangy flavor. This mouthwatering Mediterranean vegan sauce is easy to make in minutes with garlic, lemon, and parsley. If you love olives, it's sure to become a favorite for topping salads, veggies, bread, and more!
If you enjoy adding green olives to dishes like bell pepper and tomato salad and black eyed peas and corn dip, you will love this Green Olive Salad Dressing recipe.
The base is a simple vinaigrette made with olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic, and herbs. But the addition of zesty pimento stuffed green olives not only adds flavor, it makes the dressing thick and sauce-like, similar in texture to tapenade.
And this olive dressing is very versatile since it can be added not only to green salads, but also to cooked vegetables, proteins, and grains. Practically anything that goes with green olives will benefit from this incredible sauce.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- It's tangy and flavorful and only requires 5 ingredients (plus salt and pepper).
- You can make it in 5 minutes using a blender or food processor.
- You can enjoy it on salads, vegetables, grains, and more.
Ingredients
Green olives: Look for prepared Spanish or Greek olives stuffed with sweet pimento peppers.
Fresh parsley: Either flat-leaf Italian or curly parsley can be used.
Variations
- Make your olive dressing with milder black olives instead of green
- Use red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar in place of the lemon juice
- Try other fresh herbs like oregano
- Substitute shallot for the garlic
- Give it extra citrusy flavor by adding lemon zest as well as the juice
For the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Instructions
- Add the olives, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper to a blender.
- Blend, until a thick and chunky sauce is formed. It should not be completely smooth.
Amy's tip
If you don't have a blender, you can also make this dressing in a food processor. Or you can chop the olives, garlic, and parsley by hand and combine them with the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper in a bowl.
Serving suggestions
This olive vinaigrette isn't just for salads. While it is wonderful lettuce and bean and vegetable salads, you can also try it with other foods as a flavorful sauce.
Enjoy it like you would a tapenade on warm toasted baguette or crackers. Or add a dollop to sesame homemade hummus, golden olive oil mashed potatoes, or rice and chickpea pilaf.
It also pairs well with lemon and garlic baked tofu and grilled mushrooms, zucchini, and bell peppers. You can even use it as a topping on garbanzo bean burgers.
Storing
Leftover dressing may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Recipe FAQs
Black and green olives grow on the same trees. The difference in color has to do with when the olives are picked before they are cured, not their variety. The black ones are fully ripe while the green ones aren't.
If you're interested in learning more about olives, check out What's The Difference Between Black And Green Olives, Anyway?
Green olives with the pits removed are often stuffed with red pimento peppers. The sweetness of the peppers complements the bitterness of the olives.
While both the stems and leaves are edible, the stems tend to be very bitter. It's better to remove the leaves and discard the stems.
More vegan salad dressing recipes
And for even more recipes, join the Vegan Mediterranean Diet Recipes Facebook group for support, inspiration, and fun.
If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars! ★★★★★
📋 Recipe
Mediterranean Green Olive Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ cup pimento-stuffed green olives
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a blender.
- Blend until the olives and parsley are chopped but not completely smooth. The dressing should be thick and chunky. Taste and adjust the seasonings, as needed. Serve right away or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
While the ingredient quantities remain the same, this recipe has been updated to prepare it in a blender instead of chopping the ingredients by hand and combining them in a bowl. Also, the original post showed the dressing being served with an arugula, tomato, and chickpea salad, as shown below.
Cindy
I fell in love with this while visiting Turkey and finally found a recipe for it!!!
Amy Katz
I'm so glad, Cindy! It's one of our favorites.
Mandy
This was delicious! How can there ever be leftovers?? Haha
Amy Katz
Thank you, Mandy! I completely agree. 😉
Kirkpatrick
Delicious! Omg!!! Gave recipe to friends, we love all things olive! Thank You!!!
Amy Katz
Thank you so much! Olive lovers, unite! 🙂