This creamy Olive Dip with pimento stuffed green olives and cheddar cheese is a classic party appetizer that packs big flavor! This easy, make-ahead dip is delicious served with crackers, sliced baguette, and veggies.
Olive Dip is a great choice for a holiday gathering or a game day party.
If you have olive lovers in your life, this Olive Dip is for you!
It reminds me of an olive tapenade but with a creamy, cheesy base. It has BIG briny flavor and is dotted with color from diced pimento stuffed green olives and shredded cheddar cheese.
This easy dip takes minutes to put together and should be made in advance, making it a great choice for the busy holiday season.
If you’re entertaining this Christmas or New Year’s Eve., the flavor of Olive Dip pairs perfectly with a nice glass of wine or cocktails like my favorite, the Cosmopolitan.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Olives: A 5.75 ounce jar of pimento stuffed green olives. My stores here carry this size in both Lindsay and Pearls brands. Any brand will do but If your jar is larger, just use 1 cup diced olives.
- Creamy dip base: Softened cream cheese and mayonnaise.
- Cheese: Shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
- Seasoning: Garlic powder and freshly ground black pepper. There is so much flavor from the briny olives and cheese that only a small amount of seasoning is needed. I don’t recommend adding any additional salt.
- For serving: A variety of crackers, pretzels, sliced baguette, and veggies, like carrot and celery sticks. The flavor of this dip works really well with hearty, whole grain crackers but I always include Ritz crackers (or something similar).
How to Make Olive Dip
- In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, shredded cheese, garlic powder, and pepper until smooth.
- Add the diced olives to the cream cheese mixture and stir until combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Garnish the dip with a sliced green olive before serving.
Tips for the Best Olive Dip
Drain the olives well: To avoid an overly salty or thin dip, transfer the olives to a colander and drain them well. If you’re concerned they will be too briny, you can rinse them with cold water too.
Consistency: For a looser consistency, add as much additional mayonnaise as you’d like. This can be helpful if you’re serving the dip with pretzels or anything less substantial than crackers and veggies.
Chill before serving: You want to allow this dip to chill for a minimum of one hour or longer so the flavors can blend.
Variations
- Lighten it up: Swap out ⅓ less fat cream cheese for the full fat cream cheese or nonfat Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise for a lighter dip.
- Use a variety of olives: You can substitute all or part of the pimento stuffed green olives for another type of olive you love. Black olives, kalamata olives, or a mixture of gourmet olives would all work.
Storage Tips
Store Olive Dip in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The dip should stay fresh and tasty for up to 4 days if stored properly.
More Cold Dip Recipes You’ll Love
- Shrimp Dip
- Blender Salsa
- French Onion Dip from Scratch
- Smoked Salmon Dip
- Cowboy Caviar
- Check out my entire collection of delcious dip recipes!
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Olive Dip
Ingredients
- 5.75 ounce jar pimento stuffed green olives
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Crackers, sliced baguette, and veggies, for serving
Instructions
- Drain and dice the olives. You should have about 1 cup of diced olives.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, shredded cheese, garlic powder, and pepper until smooth. Add the diced olives and stir just until combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
- Serve with crackers, sliced baguette, and veggies.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
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