Olive Tapenade Pasta is a quick pasta recipe made using spaghetti, olive tapenade, and a few more simple pantry ingredients. Serve it with garlic bread for a hearty meal (vegetarian).
Here are a few more recipes made using olive tapenade that you may like – Olive Tapenade Bruschetta and Boar’s Head Olive Tapenade Hummus Dip.
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About Olive Tapenade Pasta
Olive Tapenade Pasta is an easy main course recipe with pasta, olive tapenade, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and lemon juice.
For the uninitiated, olive tapenade is a French condiment made using olives, capers, herbs, and sometimes anchovies. It has a savory umami flavor and a chunky, meaty texture.
Olive Tapenade is undoubtedly the star ingredient of this pasta recipe, and its savory umami flavor makes this pasta quite flavorful.
This pasta recipe needs just a few pantry ingredients and comes together in under 15 minutes.
Serve it on its own for a quick dinner or with a side of toasted bread, garlic bread, open toast, salad, or bruschetta for a wholesome meal.
This recipe is vegetarian and can be easily made vegan. You can double or triple it too.
Ingredients
Pasta – I prefer to use spaghetti to make this pasta recipe, but you can use other pasta variations such as linguine, penne, farfalle, etc.
Olive Tapenade – I make my Olive Tapenade at home but feel free to buy a bottle.
Parmesan Cheese – Use good quality parmesan cheese.
Breadcrumbs – I use seasoned breadcrumbs, which add a nice bite and flavor to the pasta. Check out my Pangrattato (Seasoned Breadcrumbs) to make your own batch.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Use a good quality one!
Others – You will also need salt, parsley, lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Adjust the quantity of ground black pepper and red pepper flakes per your taste.
For added protein, you can add salmon, chicken, shrimp, or steak to this recipe.
Make it garlicky by adding chopped garlic to the oil.
How To Make Olive Tapenade Pasta
Cook The Pasta
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add 2 tablespoon salt and 12 oz (340 g) pasta to the pot and stir well.
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, subtracting 1 minute from the recommended cooking time.
Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta.
Make Tapenade Pasta
While your pasta is cooking, heat 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
Stir in ½ cup of seasoned breadcrumbs and toast them until golden brown (1-2 minutes), stirring continuously.
Add the drained pasta to the pan along with ½ cup of olive tapenade and ½ cup of pasta water.
Toss well to combine, adding additional pasta water if needed.
Add 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese, ¼ cup (packed) chopped parsley, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice and toss well to combine.
Season the pasta with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.
Garnish with grated parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, red pepper flakes, and serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
To make it gluten-free, use gluten-free spaghetti and bread crumbs.
To make it vegan, use vegan spaghetti and breadcrumbs and replace parmesan cheese with nutritional yeast.
Storage Suggestions
This pasta tastes the best right out of the pan. Leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container for about 2-3 days.
Reheat in a pan or microwave until nice and hot. Garnish it with breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese before serving.
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Recipe Card
Olive Tapenade Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounce uncooked spaghetti pasta (340 g)
- 2 tablespoons salt (plus more as required)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- ½ cup olive tapenade
- ¾ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup chopped parsley (packed)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper (as required)
- red pepper flakes (as required)
- grated parmesan chesee (as required)
Instructions
Cook The Pasta
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
- Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add salt and pasta to the pot and stir well.
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, subtracting 1 minute from the recommended cooking time.
- Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta.
Make Tapenade Pasta
- While your pasta is cooking, heat extra virgin olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Stir in breadcrumbs and toast them until golden brown (1-2 minutes), stirring continuously.
- Add the drained pasta to the pan along with olive tapenade and ½ cup of pasta water.
- Toss well to combine, adding additional pasta water if needed.
- Add parmesan cheese, parsley, and lemon juice and toss well to combine.
- Season the pasta with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste.
- Garnish with grated parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, red pepper flakes, and serve hot.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!