Martini Marinated Blue Cheese Olives

Name: Martini Marinated Blue Cheese Olives
Prep time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 cup green olives (pitted and drained); 1 tbsp gin; 1 small blue cheese wedge; Zest of an orange; Zest of a lemon; 1 tsp chili flakes; 2 garlic cloves (minced); Olive oil

These easy martini-marinated olives are stuffed with blue cheese and drenched in citrus and savory flavors. Use them for garnish in an actual martini, as part of your charcuterie boards, in salads, or as a simple bite-sized appetizer.

Made in less than 10 minutes and with even fewer ingredients, you’ll soon be convinced to skip the store-bought stuff to make your own delicious stuffed olives!

a small clear bowl full of marinated stuffed olives

Why You’ll Love These Martini Marinated Olives

As a martini (and general cocktail) lover, I can’t escape olives. I can’t say I find myself regularly snacking on them, but I do enjoy a good gin-soaked olive as I finish the last dregs of my martini. It got me thinking about how much more I enjoy olives with a good smooth gin, so after mulling it over a bit, I found a way to incorporate gin right into the recipe.

These olives aren’t just your standard stuffed olives, they’re filled with a gin-infused blue cheese mixture and then marinated in citrus zest, freshly minced garlic, and a sprinkle of chili flakes for heat. Finally, they’re soaked in rich olive oil, giving them a buttery, juicy, flavorful burst with each bite.

You can easily mix up this gourmet-level treat in under 10 minutes to serve in drinks, on your charcuterie board, or as a snack. Enjoy!

If you’re interested in more olive recipes, try my fried blue cheese stuffed olives too!

a martini glass garnished with blue cheese stuffed olives

Ingredients

blue cheese, lemons, olives, garlic, chili flakes, gin, olive oil

Olives, gin, cheese, and a whole lot of flavor! Here’s everything you need to make these delicious marinated olives for your martinis or hors d’oeuvres!

Green olives – pitted and drained
Gin
Blue cheese
Orange zest
Lemon zest
Chili flakes
Garlic cloves – minced
Olive oil

How to Make Marinated Blue Cheese Olives

pour the gin on the blue cheese and then smash it with a fork to make a paste

Step 1: Cheese Mixture

Add the blue cheese wedge to a small bowl and drizzle in the gin. Smash the blue cheese and gin together until it becomes a creamy paste, and then transfer it to a ziplock bag. Snip a small tip of a corner off.

Pipe the blue cheese into the olives and then add the olives to a larger bowl

Step 2: Stuff the Olives

Squeeze a small amount of the blue cheese mixture into each olive hole via your makeshift piping bag (the ziplock).

add the zest and chili flakes to the olives

Step 3: Marinate

In a small bowl, add the stuffed green olives covered with the orange zest, lemon zest, chili flakes, garlic, and enough olive oil to lightly coat them. Toss everything together until the ingredients are well mixed and the olives are well coated.

How to Serve Stuffed Olives

How do I serve thee? Let me count the ways….

Skewer your stuffed olives and serve them in a dirty martini!
Some other drinks that would pair well with this recipe: martini spritz, big batch bloody mary, gin basil smash, and spritz bianco.
Serve them as a (crucial) part of your charcuterie board. They’ll pair well with crackers, bread, cheese, and veggies.
Serving a variety of apps? Pop these olives in a bowl and let people add them to things like hot honey whipped ricotta dip or olive oil and balsamic bread dip.
This recipe is a great way to spice up your salad. You add cheesiness, saltiness, and more to your leafy greens.
If you enjoy making homemade pizzas and flatbreads as much as I do, add these to your next masterpieces!
Just snack on them! Since they’re full of so much flavor, they’re incredibly satisfying.

a bowl of blue cheese stuffed olives marinated in olive oil and seasonings

FAQs

What is the best way to stuff olives?

In this recipe I used a makeshift piping bag because the cheese and gin mixture was creamy, but you can always use your finger, a tooth pick, a knife, etc. You don’t need to be precious about stuffing olives.

Why do you stuff olives?

It’s thought that the original idea was intended to cut any bitterness in the olives, but now I think it’s just because stuffed olives are delicious! It’s fun to add different layers of flavors.

How long will marinated olives last?

Since these marinated olives are stuffed with cheese, I would recommend storing them in the fridge in an airtight container to enjoy within 3-5 days. Normal (unstuffed) marinated olives can be kept for a few months.

an overhead photo of a martini garnished with three stuffed olives

More Bite-Sized Snacks

If you make these Martini Marinated Blue Cheese Olives, be sure to tag me on Pinterest and Instagram!

I seriously love seeing what you guys are making and sharing your creations with the Everyday Elizabeth community!