This Eggplant Tapenade is a lovely twist on the classic French spread and dip, Tapenade. It's tangy, rich and perfect for serving on crunchy bread as an appetizer or canape. I love to smear it on toasties and have it as a dip for crunchy veggies as part of a picnic!
Tapenade is a traditional Provençal (French) dish made with capers- the word comes from the Provençal word for capers- tapenas. Usually made with olives and sometimes anchovies, it's used as a condiment and spread. This version adds roasted aubergines (eggplant) which softens the intensity and makes the spread more dippable.
There's sometimes a little confusion between tapenade and caponata. Whilst both are examples of delicious Mediterranean Cuisine, Caponata is an Italian dish from Sicily. It is also made with eggplant and olives, however it's more of a fried/stewed side dish that's tangy and rich with tomatoes (it's delicious- but not what we're making here today!)
If you like tapenade- you definitely should also try my mushroom tapenade recipe too. And if more dips are your thing (I'm a big fan of dippable veggies) you need to try my Air Fryer Eggplant Baba Ganoush and /or my Zucchini Baba Ganoush! .
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🍆Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need for this delicious Eggplant Tapenade.
- Eggplant- a fresh eggplant (or Aubergine if you're in the UK/France!) look for one that has a glossy skin, is firm to the touch and is heavy for it's size.
- Kalamata Olives : Choose pitted olives unless you fancy cutting out the pits yourself. I like the richness of kalamata olives, however you can choose green olives if you prefer.
- Capers: Capers are essential for this tapenade. As they are being whizzed up you don't need the fanciest mini capers, however these should be packed in brine and not the intense salted kind (too salty)
- Fresh Garlic Cloves- I like a single garlic clove to 1 large eggplant, but if you want this tapenade punchier, you do you!
- Thyme- fresh thyme is best, but you can use dried.
- Parsley- I like the freshness that a little fresh parsley brings, but it's optional.
- Olive Oil- Extra-virgin olive oil - this gets drizzled in to help the tapenade become a lovely dippable paste.
- A little flakey sea salt (taste first before adding. Those olives and capers are SALTY)
See recipe card for quantities.
👩🍳Instructions
Follow these easy recipe instructions for the perfect aubergine tapenade!
- Heat your air fryer (or oven) to 190C/375F, and poke holes in the skin of the eggplant with a knife.
2. Roast for 25 minutes (Air fryer) or 35-30 (oven) until the outer skin wrinkles and the inside of the egg plant is soft.
3. Scoop out the soft flesh of the eggplant.
4. Add all the ingredients except the salt into a food processor and blitz.
5. Add olive oil and blitz until you get a chunky but not too chunky paste.
6. Serve on crostini, as a dip, on toast, make a fancy canape...
Hint: The eggplant will be HOT when it gets out of the air fryer- be careful of your fingers when opening it to scoop out the inners.
🫒Substitutions & Variations
The key ingredients for making this Eggplant and Olive Tapenade are already vegan, dairy free and gluten free, making this a great dip to serve for most parties and get togethers. Here are some other ways you could switch it up:
- Substitute the black olives for green olives (choose good quality pitted olives in either case as their flavor is noticeable!)
- Add some semi dried tomato paste for a tangy extra flavor.
- To lighten the flavors up- or to finish off the tapenade before serving as a dip, add some lemon juice.
- Stir in some fresh herbs just before serving: Fresh, basil, parsley or chives would add a bright contrast.
🥪Ideas for how to serve tapenade
Tapenade tastes it's best when served at room temperature, rather than ice cold from the fridge.
- On a toasted sandwich with cheese, slices of plum tomatoes and maybe some thin slices of red onion.
- On crusty bread with some roasted tomatoes and basil, or maybe some roasted red bell peppers.
- Serve in a small bowl as a dip with crudites and crostini.
- It makes an elegant canape when spread on puff pastry, maybe with a little cheese- like this Puff Pastry Pinwheels with Tapenade
- Add a dollop to plain tomato marinara pasta sauce to bump up the flavors.
- Use instead of tomato sauce on a pizza.
🔪Equipment
Ideally to make this tapenade you will have a food processor. You could arguably crush or chop the ingredients very finely, however a food processor or the herb chopping attachment to a blender will help this eggplant tapenade recipe turn out perfectly.
🥫Storage
To preserve the great flavors of this eggplant tapenade, pop it in an airtight container (such as a jar) and drizzle over a little olive oil, which will help keep it fresh for up to 2 weeks in the fridge. If I make a large batch, I like to only add any soft fresh herbs to the tapenade at the point of serving to help preserve it longer.
❗Top tip
Taste test the tapenade before adding extra salt! It will likely be already quite intensely salty from the capers and olives. Balance the flavors to taste with a little cracked black pepper, lemon juice or red wine vinegar if desired.
❓FAQ
Tapenade refers to a French /Mediterranean dish made with capers and olives used as a condiment or dip. Caponata is an Italian dish made with fried eggplant, olives and capers in a tangy tomato sauce and is more of a side dish or appetizer.
Tapenade is delicious when spread on crusty bread or crackers. It has an affinity with cheese and is delicious when paired with tomatoes.
Some tapenades are vegan (such as this recipe!) however some varieties contain anchovies. It is best to check the label or with the waiter if it's being served in a restaurant.
Love Eggplant? Me too!
Why not try these other aubergine/eggplant recipes ?
More Dips
Here are some other dips you might want to try!
📖 Recipe
Easy Eggplant and Olive Tapenade (Roasted Aubergine Dip)
Equipment
- Oven or air fryer
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
- 250 g (3 ½ cups) Eggplant (1 whole medium eggplant)
- 145 g (1 cups) Kalamata Olives (without seeds)
- 50 g (⅓ cups) capers (in brine)
- 1 cloves garlic (or more! )
- 30 ml (2 tablespoon) extra virgin olive oil
- 10 g (1½ tablespoon) fresh parsley
- 10 g (1½ tablespoon) fresh thyme
- 30 ml (2 tablespoon) fresh lemon juice (optional- taste to see)
Instructions
- Poke holes in the eggplant.
- Roast the eggplant in an airfryer at 190C℃/375F℃ for 25 mins (or the oven for 35-40 mins)250 g Eggplant, 1 cloves garlic
- Once completely cooked the skin should be hard and quite wrinkled, - chop the eggplant in half and scoop out the flesh.
- Drain the olives and capers (if they came in brine) and add to a food processor. along with the eggplant insides and garlic. Pulse the food processor a few times.250 g Eggplant, 145 g Kalamata Olives, 50 g capers, 1 cloves garlic
- Add in the herbs and pulse until you have a thick paste. You can make it finer or rougher according to your personal preference.10 g fresh parsley, 10 g fresh thyme
- Add a little extra olive oil, taste to adjust seasonings.- add lemon juice or a little red wine vinegar to taste.30 ml extra virgin olive oil, 30 ml fresh lemon juice
- Serve immediatly, or put into a container and preserve with a little oil over the top. It will keep in the fridge for 2 -3 weeks.
Video
Notes
- Substitute the black olives for green olives (choose good quality pitted olives in either case as their flavor is noticeable!)
- Add some semi dried tomato paste for a tangy extra flavor.
- To lighten the flavors up- or to finish off the tapenade before serving as a dip, add some lemon juice.
- Stir in some fresh herbs just before serving: Fresh, basil, parsley or chives would add a bright contrast.
Choclette says
Sounds absolutley delicious. As soon as I get my hands on some olives - and aubergines for that matter - I shall give this a go.
Jenn says
YUM! I love eggplant and this appetizer is SO easy! Thanks for the recipe!