Cream Cheese Olive Dip

olive dip in bowl next to potato chips, spoon, and red napkin

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5 from 51 votes

This olive dip is easy to make and perfect for a party appetizer. Packed with olives and sundried tomatoes!

Prep Time5

Additional Time30

Total Time35

Servings:

Calories: 279kcal

Author: Chef Molly Pisula

Ingredients

1 shallot
2 garlic cloves
¼ cup sundried tomatoes drained (2 ounces)
1 cup green olives with pimentos (5.5 ounces), plus more for garnish
8 ounces cream cheese softened
4 ounces crème fraîche
1 tablespoon olive brine
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Peel shallot and garlic cloves.
Cut shallot into a few big chunks, then add to a food processor along with the garlic cloves. Pulse until finely chopped.
Pat dry sundried tomatoes and cut into chunks.
Add tomatoes and olives to the food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.
Scrape olive mixture into a medium bowl.
Add cream cheese to food processor and blend until smooth.
Add crème fraîche and olive brine, then blend again until smooth.
Scrape cheese mixture into bowl and stir together until well combined.
Put olive dip into refrigerator for 30 minutes so that flavors have a chance to meld.
Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve with potato chips, pita chips, or crudité.

Notes

Make-Ahead: Because this dip needs to chill before serving, it is perfect for making ahead of time. Keep it covered tightly with plastic wrap or in an airtight container, and it will last for 3-5 days in the refrigerator.

Expert Tips: Blending the ingredients in stages ensures that each component is chopped or blended to the right consistency before you stir them together. If you throw everything into the food processor at once, you will find that by the time the shallots, garlic, and tomatoes are in small enough pieces, the olives have basically dissolved into the dip. You can also hand chop the ingredients if you don't have a food processor.

Don't skimp on the 30 minutes of refrigerator time. During that time, the flavors will meld together, and the garlic and onion flavors will mellow a bit. You’ll find it’s even more delicious than when you first made it.

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