The Best Olives You Can Buy
Updated: Mar. 12, 2024
Whether you're making martinis or a Greek salad, you want the very best olives. Our testers tried 11 brands to find some top-notch picks.
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Who makes the best olives?
Olives are one of those polarizing ingredients. But there’s no doubt about how essential they are to the folks who love them when it comes to recipes like olive tapenade, a muffuletta or even the perfect martini.
So with these olive fanatics in mind, our pros put a handful of olive brands to the test. In the end, our expert snackers sampled 11 brands—including black, green and kalamata options—to find the best olives.
How We Sampled Olives
We cast a wide net for this taste test. Our tasters sampled three types of olives: black olives, pimiento-stuffed green olives and pitted kalamatas. In total, we sampled 11 brands. Every option was judged according to these three categories:
- Appearance: Like many fruits, olives of all kinds should look plump. Our pros kept a close eye out for wrinkled or smooshed olives.
- Texture: Olives can vary a bit in texture, but should never ever be mushy.
- Flavor: Our testers looked for olives that were perfectly salty and savory with just a hint of acidity.
Here are our Test Kitchen-Preferred picks. Read on for the full review!
- Best Black Olives: Pearls
- Best Green Olives: Mario
- Best Kalamata Olives: Divina
- Best Olives for Snacking: Free Style Snacks
Best Black Olives
Pearls Large Ripe Olives
For many families, a celebration isn’t complete without a relish tray. On that tray, you’ll always find a heap of black olives—and our top pick is Pearls Large Ripe Olives.
These olives are large and uniform. Testers found them to be plump and firm with just the right amount of briny saltiness. “I would eat 75% of these off the relish plate,” says editor Caroline Stanko.
But snacking (and popping them on fingertips) isn’t the only use for these black olives. Our team also suggests slicing them up to top taco dip or fill tortilla pinwheel appetizers.
Best Green Olives
Mario Pimiento Stuffed Olives
We learned in this olive taste test that bigger isn’t always better. Out of the handful of green olive brands we tried, these teeny pimiento-stuffed olives from Mario were our pros’ favorite.
So how tiny are these green olives? Think peanut M&M’s candy-sized. But the puny package doesn’t detract from the flavor at all. These pimiento-stuffed gems are wonderfully salty with a hint of verdant, green flavor. These are just the olives you want adorning your martini—though they’d also be great in this olive focaccia bread.
Best Kalamata Olives
Divina Pitted Kalamata Olives
If kalamata olives are your go-to for Mediterranean-style recipes, you’ll definitely want to pick up a jar of Divina Pitted Kalamata Olives.
These pitted olives are stored in a vivid red wine vinegar brine. The result is an olive with a vibrant jewel color and a wonderful balance of flavors. Divina’s kalamata olives are fruity, salty and a touch acidic—just the right blend for including in a Greek salad, Mediterranean chicken dinner or a marinated olive appetizer.
“I’d snack on these all day,” says content director Ellie Martin Cliffe. “They might be my favorite of the bunch!”
Best Olives for Snacking
Free Style Snacks Kalamata Olives
Putting together an antipasto platter or charcuterie board? Our pros recommend Free Style Snacks Kalamata Olives.
These pitted olives are unique because they’re sold brine-free in an envelope-style package rather than in a jar or can. This means you get the perfect portion for your snack spread and the setup is mess-free (no fishing in the jar required!).
These olives got high marks in our testing first and foremost for their lovely deep plum hue. These pitted kalamatas also have a perfectly salted flavor with a firm texture that’s right for snacking.
And if you want to expand your horizons, Free Style Snacks has a few other flavors as well, including hot and spicy green olives.
Check Out More Test Kitchen-Preferred Products
Our Test Kitchen is constantly testing food, kitchen gadgets and cleaning gear looking for brands that deserve the right to be called Test Kitchen-Preferred.
If you want to fill your pantry and fridge with the best products, check out these tests:
Originally Published: November 28, 2023
