Cheese-Stuffed Fried Olives: The Perfect Aperitivo Bite

The perfect salty, cheesy little bite to enjoy with a cold glass of wine on a summer evening. Promise you can’t have just one.

By Rita K. Mashkova

August 01, 2024

TOTAL TIME

30 Minutes

What’s better than something salty and crunchy to go with a cold glass of wine? These cheese-stuffed fried olives are the perfect thing to serve for aperitivo and will be an absolute crowd-pleaser. In Italy, they’d be right at home at an evening apericena, where small plates and wine stretch long past sunset.

I like to use low-moisture mozzarella here because its firmer texture is easy to stuff into the olives, plus it melts beautifully. Dried parsley and garlic and a bit of parmigiano add extra flavor to the breading and make it irresistibly crisp. Fry these up just before serving and enjoy hot.

They pair beautifully with something like Pasta alla Norma, especially if you’re leaning into bold Southern Italian flavors.

Three bowls on a marble surface: one with flour, one with beaten eggs, and one with seasoned breadcrumbs. A glass of pink liquid and a bowl of green olives are nearby. Green leaves are partially visible in the corner.

Ingredients

6 servings

1

8-oz jar large, pitted olives (about 25-30 total)
4

oz low moisture mozzarella cheese
2/3

cup flour
2

eggs
1

cup breadcrumbs
1/4

cup parmigiano cheese
1

tbsp dried parsley
1

tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
cooking oil
lemon wedges (for serving)

Preparation

Stuff the Olives

Drain olives and set aside to dry. Slice your mozzarella into very small rectangles that are the size of the space inside your pitted olives. Stuff each olive with a piece of cheese.

If you love crispy bites like this, arancini (Sicilian rice balls) bring that same golden crunch to the table.

Set Up the Breading Station

Place your flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs in three separate bowls. Season the flour with a little bit of salt and pepper and stir to combine. Beat the eggs with a little salt. Add parmigiano, dried parsley, garlic powder, a little salt, and pepper to breadcrumbs and stir to combine. Note: because the olives are already salty, you don’t want to overdo it with the salt in this step.

Dredge the Olives

Dredge the stuffed olives by first coating in flour, then egg wash, then breadcrumbs.

A glass bowl filled with green olives, each stuffed with a small piece of garlic, sits on a marbled surface.

Step 4: Fry Until Golden and Crisp

In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat 1 inch of neutral cooking oil over medium-high heat. Fry the olives in batches of 5-8 olives for 3-5 minutes, until golden brown all over. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. For the best frying results, our guide to deep frying with olive oil covers everything you need, and aperitivo vs. apericena gives you ideas for the full spread.

A white plate with blue speckles holds breaded green olives, set on a marble table. A glass with a light beverage is partially visible at the top of the image.

Seven green and golden fritters are frying in bubbling hot oil inside a metal pan. The oil is foaming slightly around the fritters as they cook.

Step 5: Finish and Serve

To serve, drizzle with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and enjoy hot with a glass of cold wine. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
Serve them before a big centerpiece like Steak Florentine and suddenly you’ve got a full Tuscan-style evening.

A white bowl filled with fried, breaded olives and a lemon wedge sits on a marble table. Behind the bowl is a glass with a brownish beverage, labeled GRATSI. Greenery is visible in the background.

A bowl of golden-brown fried balls garnished with a lemon wedge, served on a white plate. A glass of light-colored drink sits in the background on a marble table by a sunny window.