Herb roasted olives with burrata are packed with Mediterranean flavors and make a perfect appetizer! Chopped and whole olives get marinated in olive oil with onions, garlic, lemon, and herbs and baked until warm and blistered. That all gets topped with fresh burrata cheese and served with toasty bread.
This baked olive tapenade is really versatile. Bake or grill it and serve it with focaccia bread to sop up all of the delicious flavored oil. You could also serve the roasted olives on an olive tray for a light snack or serve with hummus or roasted cauliflower, chicken or fish.
This olive dip is so packed with flavor, so it is great to eat on its own, as a focaccia appetizer, or add to any main dish to add some zing! We love to serve it alongside grilled artichokes, burrata caprese salad, fried goat cheese balls, and chimichurri shrimp for a light and flavorful summer spread!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Olives - The beauty of roasted olives is that they start out salty, earthy, and briny, but they get softer and more mild with cooking. I like using an assortment of kalamata and green olives here, but you can use any variety or combination you like.
Burrata - If you've never had burrata, it's like fresh mozzarella that is filled with a creamy filling that oozes out when cut open. The cheese melts into the flavored oil and makes the most decadent dip.
Flavor - Baked olives are delicious, and this olive oil soaks up all of the aromatic flavors of the thyme, rosemary, lemon, garlic, onion, and chili flakes for an amazing olive oil dipping sauce.
Ingredients
- Olives. Use an olive medley for shape, color, and flavor variety! I love to swing by the olive bar at the grocery store to get these. Be sure they're pitted.
- Extra virgin olive oil. Use good quality olive oil (look for cold pressed) so you can dip the bread into it after the olives are gone. I love California Olive Ranch brand!
- Burrata. Two to three balls of burrata will be plenty. Remove them from the fridge so they can come to room temperature!
- Herbs. Rosemary and thyme are baked into the olives, and basil and dill are added after they come out of the oven.
- Bakery bread. Focaccia, ciabatta, or a baguette can get sliced and grilled or broiled until crispy. Any of these make for the perfect vessel to load up the burrata and olives!
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Use jarred olives or a medley from the olive bar at your grocery store.
- Instead of medley, substitute your favorite olives like kalamata, black, and green.
- Serve the baked olives with whipped feta or goat cheese or small mozzarella balls.
- Add more or less red pepper flakes to suit your taste.
- Add tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and mushrooms for more variety.
- Substitute orange peels in place of lemon.
How to Make This Recipe
One: Peel the lemon, smash the garlic, and thinly slice the onion.
Two: Roughly chop half of the olives.
Three: Add the olives, onions, garlic, lemon peels, and herbs to a baking dish.
Four: Sprinkle on the red pepper flakes then cover with olive oil.
Five: Stir everything together to coat.
Six: Bake until hot and bubbly, then nestle in balls of burrata cheese.
Serve with grilled or broiled toast slices. We love to use our easy homemade focaccia bread!
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Expert Tips
- Ditch the brine or oil that your olives come in and add your own quality olive oil for the best flavor.
- Use a combination of roughly chopped, halved, and whole olives to have a variety of textures.
- Stir the olives halfway through baking.
- Use enough olive oil to go at least halfway up the olives.
Recipe FAQs
This recipes uses an olive medley for variety, but you can use any type or combination of olives.
Canned, jarred, or olives from the olive bar will all work! Just make sure to drain any juice or brine before baking, and make sure your olives are pitted!
Storage
Store the olives tightly covered in the fridge for one week. Reheat in a 450℉ oven until hot and bubbly.
If possible, remove the burrata before storing. After reheating, add the cheese back into the hot oil.
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What to Know When Cooking with The Cozy Plum
- All recipes are created with Diamond Crystal kosher salt, the least salty variety of kosher salt. If using Morton's, you'll need to cut the amount of salt in half as it's 2x as salty. This will be the same for sea salt. Please do not use table salt.
- Switch between Cups vs Metric using the toggle on the recipe card. Baking by weight using a digital scale will always produce the most accurate results.
- Scale the recipe using the '1X' '2X' '3X' buttons on the recipe card. Note that this does not make an adjustment for baking times, only quantities.
- If you'd like to make the recipe in a different pan, use the pan size converter.
📖Recipe
Herb Roasted Olives with Burrata
Equipment
- oven safe baking dish ~1.5-2qt
Ingredients
- 2 cups mixed olives pitted
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 1 small yellow onion peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 medium lemon peels only
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 balls burrata cheese room temperature
- Fresh dill and basil for garnish
- 1 loaf bakery bread focaccia, ciabatta, or baguette (sliced and toasted)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450℉ and remove the burrata from the liquid and place onto a paper towel to dry.2-3 balls burrata cheese
- Drain the olives from any oil or brine.2 cups mixed olives
- Slice or chunk up half of the olives, leaving the other half whole for a variety of shapes and sizes.
- Add the olives, garlic, onion, rosemary, thyme, lemon peels, and red pepper flakes to an oven safe dish then pour the olive oil over top.4 cloves garlic, 1 small yellow onion, 1 sprig fresh rosemary, 3 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 medium lemon, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Bake for 30 minutes until very fragrant, the oil is sizzling, and the garlic is golden. Stir the olives at the 15 minute mark.
- Nestle the burrata into the olives, then gently break it open to expose the center (careful not to get your fingers in the hot oil).
- Top with pieces of fresh dill and basil. Serve with a spoon and toasted slices of focaccia bread, ciabatta, or a baguette.Fresh dill and basil, 1 loaf bakery bread
Video
Notes
-Check the olives to be sure there are no pits left in any of them.
-Use enough olive oil to go at least halfway up the olives. This may need to be more than the recipe calls for depending on the baking dish used.
-I love to lightly grill the bread so it gets charred and toasty.
-The olives can also be cooked on the grill in a fire-safe dish (like a cast iron skillet).
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Pam
Made as our vacation meal appetizer. It was devoured in no time. So easy & quick - all i had to do was chop some olives and assemble. This will be my go to appetizer in future.