How many times have you walked into an event and seen a cheese plate or tiny slow cooker full of meatballs? Countless times, right? That’s why for the next party you should give the people something different! Like these Cream Cheese Wrapped Olives. They’re just what they sound like – olives completely covered in a sphere of cream cheese and then rolled in crunchy walnuts – and I don’t recall ever seeing them at a gathering before.
This is an appetizer that feels a little retro but also is right at home in the modern-day. You can use whatever type of olives suit your fancy – pimento-stuffed olives feel a little more vintage, while garlic olives lend a totally different flavor. You could even try out some blue cheese stuffed olives if you really wanted a cheesy appetizer!
All you have to do is pat dry your olives, and then wrap them with a cream cheese mixture where some olive brine and garlic salt has been beaten into the cream cheese. Once they’re coated, you roll them in some chopped nuts and you’re ready to get to snacking. Such a great bite-sized delight for party trays and hors d’oeuvres spreads!
Cream Cheese Wrapped Olives
Ingredients
- 1 jar green olives (pimento or garlic stuffed, if desired)
- 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 cup walnuts, crushed
Preparation
- To a medium bowl, add the cream cheese, garlic salt, and 2 tablespoons of olive brine from the jar. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth, then chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Once mixture has chilled, wrap the olives. Pat an olive dry, and scoop out a bit of the cream cheese mixture. Press the cream cheese around the olive until it's completely wrapped. Roll in crushed walnuts.
- Repeat with remaining olives, then place in refrigerator to chill until firm.
- Slice in half, if desired, and serve. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Bunny's Warm Oven.