Fried olives are an irresistibly tasty recipe. Olives, by themselves, are worse than cherries — you can’t stop at one — and I assure you that prepared this way they’re even more so! I thought of them for the aperitif or as an appetizer for Easter and/or Easter Monday. They take just a few minutes and only a few simple ingredients, and I guarantee they’ll vanish in a blink — they’re heavenly! Golden, crispy and super tasty, fried olives will literally be snapped up. For an already lighter version you can also bake them in the oven or air fryer, but fried is fried 😀
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking time: 3 Minutes
- Portions: 150Pieces
- Cooking methods: Frying, Air frying, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1.1 lb pitted olives (drained weight)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 2/3 cup cornmeal
- 5/8 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- to taste salt
- as needed vegetable oil (for frying)
Steps
Fried olives are super easy and very quick to prepare. First, drain the olives thoroughly and coat them evenly in the flour.
Add the beaten eggs and mix so everything is well combined, then coat the olives — a few at a time — in the breadcrumbs mixed with the cornmeal. I recommend doing this final coating in 2–3 batches so the coating won’t get too messy. Don’t worry if the olives aren’t perfectly smooth — the more “rustic” they are, the tastier and crunchier they’ll be.
Once breaded, fry the olives in batches in hot vegetable oil over medium-high heat until golden; it will take about 3–4 minutes of cooking.
Drain the fried olives on paper towels, add a pinch of salt and serve.
Tips:
Fried olives can be kept at room temperature for a few hours or in the refrigerator for a couple of days. You can also make them in advance the day before. They can be frozen either raw or cooked. If you freeze them raw, fry them directly from frozen; if you freeze them already cooked, thaw them and then reheat in the oven or air fryer to bring them back to freshly made condition. You can also bake them in a preheated oven at 392°F for 15 minutes, or in an air fryer at 374°F for 10–12 minutes, always drizzling a little oil on top before baking.
More olive recipes HERE
