This Olive Salad is the perfect base for a muffaletta sandwich. It’s full of garlicky, salty, briny flavor and there are so many ways to use it.
There’s tons of great flavor in this Olive Salad. I use a combination of black kalamata olives and green olives. I also like lots of roasted red peppers in my olive salad. For further flavor, there’s red onion, garlic, giardiniera, red wine vinegar, basil, parsley, and oregano.
There are many ways to use Olive Salad besides using it for a muffaletta salad:
- Use it in an Italian Salad.
- As a spread for fresh bread or crackers.
- As a pizza topping.
- As a topping for grilled chicken or fish.
- As a topping for a turkey burger.
Tips for making Olive Salad:
It’s best to make Olive Salad 24 hours in advance to allow all the flavors to mingle.
Be sure to use a good quality olive oil for the best taste.
You can chop all your ingredients up really small or leave them coarsely chopped.
More New Orleans Recipes:
Olive Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped black and green olives
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers
- 1/4 cup chopped Giardiniera
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 2 garlic cloves,, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using. Flavor will get better with time.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Way better than jar kind. So good.
Delicious. I made this to serve with falafal. Everyone raved about it!!
The same source offered this recipe for making your own Muffuletta Bread:
“Muffuletta Bread
Odds are, if you live outside of the city of New Orleans, you’re not going to find an authentic Muffuletta Bread, with the exception of mail order. That’s a dilemma, because without the right bread, it’s just not a Muffuletta. It needs to be a round Italian style loaf that is about 10″ across and has sesame seeds on the top. Good luck finding it! So do what I do, make your own! I based this recipe on the one from Terry Thompson’s wonderful book, Cajun-Creole Cooking with a few changes. This is actually a very easy bread recipe. The object is a nice crisp crust and a light center, you don’t want a real chewy, hearty bread for this sandwich. Well, you might, but I don’t; who am I to speak for you. Anyway, here is my version:
Muffuletta Bread Recipe
• 1 Cup Warm Water (110 degrees F)
• 1 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
• 1 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
• 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup Bread Flour
• 1½ tsp Iodized Salt
• 2 Tbsp Lard or Vegetable Shortening
• Sesame Seeds
• 3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
For the Egg Wash:
• 1 Egg
• 2 Tbsp Cold Water
Combine the water, yeast and sugar in the work bowl of a stand mixer, stir well and let stand for 5-10 minutes or until good and foamy. Meanwhile, combine the flours, salt, and lard in a bowl and work in the fat with your hands until broken up into very small pieces. When the yeast is foamy, fit the mixer with a dough hook attachment and gradually add the flour on low speed until its all incorporated. Scrape the sides down between additions. When the dough comes together, turn it onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 5-10 minutes, adding more flour if necessary.. Alternatively, you can let the machine do the work, but for me, bread is a touch thing. Coat a large bowl with the Olive Oil, then put the dough in, turning once to coat both sides. Cover loosely with a clean dry towel, or plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1½ hours. Punch the dough down and shape into a flat round about 9 inches across (it will expand to about 10″.) Place the dough on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds, about 2-3 Tbsp should do it, then press them lightly into the dough. Loosely cover the loaf and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. When the dough has risen, remove the cover, gently brush with the egg wash then gently place into a preheated 425°F oven for 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to 375°F for an additional 25 minutes or until it’s golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. “
I hit upon the origins of the muffuletta sandwich about 14 years ago and got this recipe from someone online in NOLA;
“Back to the recipe, I would make this at a few days ahead, it improves with age. Use good quality olives, Hey, good quality everything, right! I’m fortunate enough to have a great Italian market, about a mile from my home called Ventimiglia’s. I also make my own Pimientos, I find the jarred variety mushy, plus they’re super easy to make; recipe follows. This Olive Salad Recipe makes enough for one Muffuletta and a few Bruschetta:
Muffuletta Olive Salad Recipe
• 1½ c. Green Olives, Pitted
• ½ c. Kalamata Olives (or Black) Pitted
• 1 c. Giardiniera (Pickled Cauliflower, Carrots, Celery, and Pepperoncini)
• 1 tbsp. Capers
• 3 ea. Fresh Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ⅛ c. Celery, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp. Italian Parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. Fresh Oregano (When I have it in my garden) or 2 tsp. dried
• 1 tsp. Crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar
• ¼ c. Roasted red peppers
• 1 tbsp. Green Onions, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt & Freshly Ground Pepper to taste (salt may not be necessary)
Crush each olive on a cutting board with your hand. Combine all ingredients. Cover with:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil about 1 – 1½ Cups
Put into a bowl or jar, cover and allow for the marriage of flavors for about one week.”
Do you refrigerate this? Asking because my olive oil always gets thick in the refrigerator. I thought I heard you were never supposed to refrigerate olive oil. Does leaving this olive salad hold up ok for a week, not being refrigerated? Just wondering before I make it. We love olive salad so much. Would use it for so many things, even in scramble eggs.
Yes, it definitely needs to be refrigerated. You can let it sit at room temperature for an hour before using if you don’t like the consistency of the oil.