This 3-ingredient garlic olive butter adds a rustic, Mediterranean-inspired punch of flavor to savory dishes. It's light and creamy, with the perfect amount of briny flavor from kalamata olives.
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My Go-To Compound Butter for Leveling Up Any Meal
Growing up in Germany, we often visited Italy just a few hours away, and this homemade olive spread reminds me of those rustic cafés, where they serve a little dish of something bold and savory with crunchy breadsticks before the main meal.
And while I have a lot of compound butters on the site, I created this flavorful olive butter with just 3 simple ingredients. But honestly, feel free to add in a tiny bit of lemon zest and fresh chopped herbs, like my easy rosemary butter. Or if you don't feel like chopping anything, just swap in jarred olive tapenade and garlic paste that comes in a tube. Easy-peasy!
I'm telling you, I slather it onto literally everything, from crusty artisan potato bread to grilled fish or mashed potatoes. Heck, now I want to try spreading it on warm pita bread with hummus and tabouleh for a mezze platter… who's with me?!
Let's Gather Our Ingredients!
- Butter: In testing, I found that unsalted butter works best. Kalamata olives add plenty of salty flavor on their own, and you can always sprinkle in more salt if needed.
- Olives: I've also tested this savory compound butter with green olives and black olives, which both tasted great. But I personally love the perfect blend of tangy + salty from kalamata olives.
- Garlic: If you aren't a big fan of garlic, you can swap in garlic powder for a milder flavor.
Let's Make Olive Butter in 2 Easy Steps!
For the full step-by-step directions and ingredient quantities, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. Combine all the ingredients.
2. Mix until it's smooth & creamy.
Carissa's Butter Tip
Be sure to leave your butter at room temperature so it can soften and mix easily. If you forget, watch my YouTube video on how you can quickly soften butter in 10 minutes.
5-Minute Garlic Kalamata Olive Butter
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup kalamata olives, drained and finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
Instructions
- Mix: In a bowl, mix the softened butter with chopped olives and minced garlic until it's well-combined.
- Store: To store, spread the mixed butter in an airtight container. Or scrape the butter onto parchment paper and shape it into a log, then wrap it in the parchment paper. Store in the fridge.
Notes
- Butter: I like using unsalted butter, since the briny Kalamata olives add plenty of salty flavor. And if you have the option, splurging on a high-fat European butter will enhance your olive butter's rich flavor & creamy texture.
- Olives: Chop them as small as you can to avoid large chunks in one bite and hardly and olives in another bite.
- Garlic: In recipe testing, I found that chopped or minced garlic just wasn't small enough to distribute its flavor. I recommend grating your garlic, or using store bought garlic paste.
- Drain Your Olives: Be careful not to add the olive brine to your butter. I learned the hard way that adding too much moisture can cause compound butter to split. I use a fork to pick out the olives and gently tap them on the side of the jar to remove excess brine.
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