Can You Freeze Olive Tapenade?

How to Freeze Olive Tapenade

The best method to freeze olive tapenade is in small portion sized cubes. This is pretty easy to do with an ice cube or cupcake tray. Let’s take a look at how.

1. Decide Portions
   To start with, you need to decide on the portion size of tapenade you want. If you know you want to freeze in large portions suitable for the whole family, you can freeze in freezer-safe containers with a tight lid. However, for small portions, you can either choose small ice cube size portions or slightly large cupcake or muffin sized. Grab either an ice cube tray or cupcake tray.
2. Spoon Out
   Spoon in portions of olive tapenade into your ice cube or cupcake tray. You need to leave about a third of the tray empty. The olive tapenade will expand as it freezes, and if you overfill each section, it may burst out of the tray and make a mess and be difficult to use.
3. Flash Freeze
   Put the trays of olive tapenade into the freezer. Keep them flat in the freezer so that it doesn’t spill. Let the olive tapenade freeze fully.
4. Bag Up
   When you are confident, the tapenade is frozen, take it out of the freezer. This could take between two and four hours, depending on the size of the portions you have chosen. Transfer the cubes from the trays into a freezer bag.
5. Label
   Label the bag with the date and the contents and seal it tightly. Squeeze out as much air as you can before sealing to protect the olive tapenade and keep it tasting as fresh as possible.
6. Freeze
   Put the bag into the freezer.

Whenever you need a portion or two of olive tapenade, you can open the bag, grab out the number you need and then reseal the bag for the next time you need some delicious tapenade.

3 Tips for Freezing Olive Tapenade

Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 2 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing olive tapenade to have the best results:

• Add Cling Film – If you are storing your olive tapenade in containers in larger amounts, you can give it a little extra protection from the air by adding a layer of cling film to the top of the tapenade before putting the lid on. This helps to keep it protected from the air and stops any skins from forming on the top.
• Stir When Thawing – Because olive tapenade is full of healthy fats, you may find that occasionally there is some separation when it comes to thawing out the tapenade. A quick stir can help fix this. If this doesn’t work, you can pop it into the blender and give it another blend before serving to integrate all the ingredients.

How Long Can You Freeze Olive Tapenade?

The great news is that if you have olive tapenade leftovers, they can keep for ages in the freezer. It should still taste good and be safe for up to three months. After this amount of time, you may find the taste and quality deteriorates.

You Can Freeze Olive Tapenade for up to 3 Months

How Do You Defrost Olive Tapenade?

Defrosting tapenade is pretty easy. This is a dish that is served cold, so we wouldn’t recommend you try and use a microwave to defrost as this can end up with the tapenade being heated. 

The best way to defrost is to pop the portion into a bowl and put it into the fridge to slowly defrost. If you need it a little quicker, then you can put it on the kitchen side to thaw out instead. Or, you can keep the tapenade protected in a bag or container and put it into a bowl of water to thaw it quicker.

Can You Refreeze Olive Tapenade?

No, you can’t refreeze olive tapenade. Although it does freeze well, it is likely to change in texture too much to freeze multiple times.

Does Olive Tapenade Freeze Well?

Olive tapenade does freeze well. If there are any changes in it at all, it will be in the texture and not the flavour and should be too minimal to notice.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing olive tapenade or olives in general, then these may help:

Can You Freeze Olives?

Olives can be frozen for approximately 6 months. You can freeze them in an airtight container, thick freezer bags or even in a brining solution. We’ve written an extensive guide to freezing olives which is worth reading. 

Can You Freeze Capers?

Capers can also be frozen in much the same way as olives. You can store them in thick bags, rigid containers or in a brining solution. Again, we’ve written a complete guide to freezing capers for you to read.