Why I Love Pitted Kalamata Olives
Pitted Kalamata Olives are something I always have in my fridge, and to me they’re an essential ingredient in Greek food. And it doesn’t take many of these flavorful olives in a recipe to add amazing Greek flavor and this post has recipe links to show you how I use them.
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These Pitted Kalamata Olives are something I consider a staple, and I love them to add Greek flavor to some many recipes! And if you’re not familiar with this type of olive, they’re the ones that are often called simply Greek Olives in recipes and on restaurant menus.
Of course I realize that the strong somewhat bitter flavor of Kalamata Olives is not a winner for everyone (which is why I often give the option of using plain black olives in recipes as an alternative.) But for people who enjoy that flavor (like me, and millions of Greeks!) having pitted Kalamatas always available is a game-changer for Greek cooking.
Where can you get Pitted Kalamata Olives?
For many years this product was something I’d always find at Costco. Now it’s hit and miss there for me, but I’ll always buy a jar there when I see them. If you’re lucky you might find them at the grocery store although probably in a smaller jar, but I can always find the big jars of Pitted Kalamata Olives (affiliate link) at Amazon.com.
How long will the big jar keep in the fridge?
I had to rely on Google for an answer to this question, because the pitted Kalamata olives get used so much at my house to make salads for parties or dinner guests that they don’t last more than a few months. But according to online sources, they will last 12-18 months in the fridge as long as they’re covered with brine!
Recipes to make with Kalamata Olives:
- Green Bean Salad with Hearts of Palm
- Salmon Packets with Tomatoes and Olives
- Greek Chicken with Tomato, Olive, and Feta Topping
- Stuffed Mushrooms with Olives and Feta
- Mediterranean Eggplant
- Asparagus Salad with Tomatoes, Olives, and Feta
- Cauliflower Steaks with Red Pepper, Capers, and Olives
- Greek Green Bean Salad
- Greek Salad Spaghetti Squash Bowls
- Grilled Zucchini Greek Salad
- Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi with Mediterranean Salsa
- Greek Chicken Salad
- American Greek Salad with Lettuce
- Garlic Lover’s CrockPot Beef Stew
- Pan-Grilled Steak (with Olive Sauce)
- Salmon with Tomato Olive Relish
- Greek Salad with Peppers
- Instant Pot Greek Chicken Bowls
- Middle Eastern Tostadas with Hummus
- Greek Style Zucchini Noodles
- Salmon with Tomato-Olive Relish
- Greek Chicken Bake
Want more ways to use the Pitted Kalamata Olives?
If you’re a fan of the flavor of Greek Olives, you can use them in almost any recipe that calls for olives! Just enter “Olives” into the search bar on Kalyn’s Kitchen and you’ll find lots more ideas for using them!
About Kalyn’s Kitchen Picks:
All products featured here for Kalynโs Kitchen Picks are things I use in my own kitchen that I buy myself and would happily purchase over and over, and these companies have no idea I am featuring their product. Because I want readers to trust my recommendations, I stopped accepting sample products to review back in the early days of my blog. You can see all the products Iโve recommended by checking out the category for Kalynโs Kitchen Picks.
18 Comments on “Why I Love Pitted Kalamata Olives”
That’s a lot of olives to get through! But what a great reason to go crazy and try a bunch of things. I love the idea of the hummus dressing–I definitely plan to try that in the near future.
Janelle, seriously, they are as good as any olives of this type that I’ve had, and the price is amazing.
Amy, this jar of olives is a commitment, but you can work your way up to it!
Oh my goodness, that’s a lot of olives! I only recently started eating olives so I got a tiny little jar from Trader Joes. ๐
THANK YOU! I have walked by those olives a million times, wondering if I should commit to such a large jar and now, knowing you rubber stamp the quality and flavor: I WILL BUY THEM! Cool! And I will have to try it with the feta…
Katie, I wonder why no olives like this in France? It’s interesting why some places have certain foods and others don’t. Wish I could send you some!
Willa, Kalamata olive bread sounds wonderful.
Christine, love your ideas. Olives are on my top ten list for sure.
Jenndz, thanks for stopping by and glad to hear you’re doing well with South Beach. I love this way of eating.
Jaden, stock up! You never want to run out of olives, right. Seriously, this brand is really excellent, in my opinion.
Holler, Saganaki with kalamata olives sounds wonderful to me.
Valentina, look forward to seeing your idea for using them.
Dear Kalyn, I was so busy and unfortunatelly missed quite a few posts. Just had a quick glance and I can already see that in keeping up with tradition the posts are fabulous. Need to get my notebook. I love kalamata olives. This is the one I often buy and end up putting it anywhere suitable. It is such wonderful Olive! Will try to come up with a few proper recipes for you.
What is it with Kalamata olives? Everyone seems to love them. I just posted a recipe for Saganaki Fried Cheese and it calls for Kalamata olives. I am an olive coward, so I left them off! But you are all tempting me to try them with your comments!
I’m heading to my local warehouse store and getting olives right now! Sometimes I get scared buying a big bin of something..what if it tastes like crap? now I’m stuck with a barrel of olives!
Hi Kalyn!
I am really enjoying your blog. I have had great results with the South Beach diet, and the food is great. I usually eat a mediterranean diet and the foods you make on here really fit all those categories! I will definately be back! That cauliflower recipe looks amazing!
Me too, Kalyn! I never met an olive I didn’t love either — and when I discovered pitted kalamatas I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. We do not have a Costco near us, but we do have a specialty grocery store that sells pitted kalamatas in bulk. I love them in all kinds of things — with braised green or yellow beans served cold, with crumbled feta, chopped up with garlic, basil, and anchovy in tapenade, chopped and scattered over braised endive, in pasta puttanaesca…. I am getting WAY too hungry for this hour of morning.
One of my sisters lives in San Antonio, and when we go to visit her one of the first stops on our agenda is a visit to the Central Market grocery store. They have the BEST kalamata olive bread- we always buy a loaf and eat it for the rest of our visit. I’ve not been able to make one at home that I like as well, but I have made some that are pretty good.
For the 2 weeks I was in the U.S. I went to the olive bar at the local SM and bought olives, all kinds, but I really love the kalamata. I nibbled on them with a glass of wine…
For some reason I can’t get them here. I can get something close at one shop that is very inconvenient….but, after seeing this, I guess I’ll go there today….and stock-up!
Anonymous, you first click the title, which makes it so that only one post is showing. (If you don’t do this first, it prints everything on the page.) Then you print like you normally do, by going to file, then to print, and then clicking OK when the print window pops up.
Sorry, I don’t understand how to print your recipes… I click on the title ( I think) but nothing happens. The title is the first large name of the post – correct?
Thanks!
Tanna, don’t divorce him just for not liking olives. Just eat them all yourself!
Lydia, I would drive an hour for Costco. Luckily for me (but not so lucky for my budget) it’s only about two miles from my house.
Tristan, great. Blogger and Costco, two great deals.
Hey Kayln! Your wonderful Blog was what finally motivated me to get my own Blogger account! It seems like that, and a Costco card, are the only things required to enjoy your daily posts ๐
These are my favorite olives, too. I drive an hour to get to Costco, and it’s absolutely worth it.
Wish my husband like olives more.