Perfect as an easy game day appetizer, this Lemon Olive Tapenade made with Lindsay Olives is delicious served with crackers, fresh bread or with herbed goat cheese spread on toasted crostini.

My mom always loved to entertain and host when I was little. As with any good party, there was always lots and lots of food. Of all the food, the one constant that always made its way to the table, no matter the party, were olives. I remember this because, in addition to my love of eating olives, I really loved to stick one on the end of each finger and run around the house like a crazy person. More than two decades later, I can’t remember when I finally stopped doing this, but I can promise it was probably when the olives stopped fitting on my fingers.

If you’ve been to a party or two, you may have noticed that olives and entertaining go hand-in-hand. From holiday parties to birthdays, to big Game Day celebrations, olives are needed for tiny fingers, fancy drinks and as an easy snack for guests to (practically) inhale.

My go-to olives for entertaining, snacking and simple weeknight cooking are Lindsay Olives. A family owned and operated San Francisco Bay Area company, Lindsay Olives come from California. Born and raised in California myself, I am a huge advocate for supporting local companies. Geography aside, Lindsay Olives really are, simply put, that good. The cans with “whole” olives are actually filled with whole olives- not broken up olives bits and pieces impossible to stick on (and keep on) a toothpick (or on tiny little fingers).

But most important, Lindsay Olives just taste really really good.

Seriously, ask Octavian. My olive-loving child may have eaten at least an entire can of olives in the making of this post. His favorite? The green and black Lindsay Naturals (and he sampled them all), making this Mama happy since ALL Lindsay Naturals have no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

With football season here and happening (yayy!) I wanted to make a quick, easy and delicious appetizer with Lindsay Olives as the star ingredient.

Here’s the thing, you guys- whatever I was going to make it needed to be easy-going, fun and relaxed (we’re talking about game day here!). I wanted something easy to transport, but also stable enough to keep out in the open for at least a few hours. After all, the last thing I want to do is spend the entire day in the kitchen while the rest of the party fights for their team.

When it comes to olives, the possibilities are endless, but for this occasion the answer was easy…Lemon Olive Tapenade. Popular in France, Tapenade traditionally is made from olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil. Although my version of this popular appetizer is very different from the traditional version (for example, mine is slightly chunkier and less pasty), it is just as good (at least from my point of view).

To take the appetizer just one step further, I added a super easy 2-ingredient herbed goat and cream cheese spread (can you guess the ingredients there??) and thinly sliced toasted bread to give the option of making Lemon Olive Tapenade Crostini.

So, basically, two appetizers in one. You’re welcome 🙂