Cream Cheese Wrapped Olives

Sometimes, a good finger food appetizer is all you need to feel satisfied after a day at work or school. This simple cream cheese wrapped olives meal is perfect as a side dish or on its own. Whether you’re prepping food for a football game day or heading to a work potluck event, this is one dish you won’t want to miss out on.

With just four different ingredients and a few minutes, you can rustle up this delicious appetizer. This easy cream cheese wrapped olives for beginners requires little skill. Even the most novice cook can put these together with ease!

For this best cream cheese wrapped olives recipe, you’ll only need olives, cream cheese, garlic salt, and walnuts to make it. The result is wonderful. Choose whichever kind of olives you happen to like best, whether that’s pimento olives, garlic-stuffed, blue-cheese stuffed or another variety.

You can use black olives, although the green ones seem to work better with the other flavors in the recipe.

Just ensure whichever olives you use that they’re pitted. This means that the center stone is removed. Nobody wants to bite down on an olive pit!

These make tasty finger foods for just about any occasion.

Scroll to bottom for printable recipe card.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe:

• These cream cheese and walnut wrapped olives are so simple but so addictive. One is never enough, and you’ll probably watch these disappear quicker than you ever imagined. For that reason, you might want to double the batch!
• This quick cream cheese wrapped olives recipe is perfect as an appetizer or a hearty side dish, especially when cooking slow cooker beef tips, a chicken dish (such as Amish chicken), or even crockpot cube steak!
• This appetizer is perfect for game day or even during the holidays!
• These family friendly cream cheese wrapped olives aren’t just family-friendly, but they look gorgeous and appealing once you’re finished putting them together.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

Cream cheese: Full-fat cream cheese works best here, or you can use one of the flavored kinds, such as garlic and fine herbs, for example. If you’re using flavored cream cheese, you might need to adjust the amount of garlic salt added or even leave it out altogether. Using a reduced fat cream cheese works as well, and will reduce the calories and fat in each of the wrapped olives.

Crushed walnuts: These are completely optional, but add a texture that helps balance the richness of the cream cheese. If you have children or picky eaters in the home, you can opt to only coat half of your cream cheese-wrapped olives in nuts.

Green olives: I recommend using green olives. But, if you’re searching for more homemade cream cheese wrapped olives ideas, you might want to try black olives. Find olives without the pit for best results!

Garlic salt: Use garlic salt for a garlicky flavor! If you are really a garlic lover, you can sauté your own garlic in advance and chop it to place it directly into the wrapped olives.

Ingredients:

• Green olives
• Cream cheese
• Crushed walnuts
• Garlic salt

How to Make It

Step 1. Beat the cream cheese with the garlic salt and 2 tablespoons of brine from the olive jar until smooth, using an electric mixer. You can also mix this by hand, but it will require a bit more time and strength to do so if your cream cheese is cold. Allow your cream cheese to warm to room temperature for best results (and easier mixing).

Step 2. Refrigerate the blended mixture for 30 minutes. This refrigeration period will make it much easier to work with once you begin the wrapping process.

Step 3. Dry the olives on paper towels, then press the cream cheese mixture around them to seal. Drying the olives will help prevent the mixture from becoming too moist, which will make it more difficult to stick to your olives.

Step 4. Roll each olive in crushed walnuts and chill for another 30 minutes to firm up before serving. Chilling these olives is a must! If you’re cooking in a hot kitchen, it may be more challenging to form each olive into a ball.

The briny, salty taste of olives pairs up with rich, velvety cream cheese, aromatic garlic salt, and crunchy walnuts to make these bite-sized little balls of flavor.

Tips for Success

Use reduced-fat cream cheese if you’re searching for a healthy cream cheese wrapped olives version at home.

Swap the walnuts for crushed pecans or another nut if you enjoy a variety of nut types!

Storage & Reheating

Leftovers will keep for a day or so in the fridge. Be sure to store your cream cheese wrapped olives in an airtight container. Avoid stacking them to prevent making a mess. If you’re layering them in a casserole or baking dish with a lid, separate each layer with the use of parchment paper.

It’s not recommended to freeze these, as the cream cheese may melt too much before you’re able to serve them. Simple refrigeration and chilling are ideal before serving these to family and friends!

There is no need to heat or reheat these cream cheese-wrapped olives, as they will melt and immediately lose their form.

Serving Suggestions

These can be served as finger food, or you can put a toothpick in each one. They are good with pre-dinner drinks and also nice on a buffet table or even as a snack! Serve alongside smothered hamburger steak, garlic roasted chicken thighs with Parmesan gravy, or even delicious chicken roll ups. These cheese-wrapped olives are perfect on their own as an appetizer or snack, or great as a side dish for a number of meals!

FAQs

Can I make them ahead of time?

Yes. You will need to make them ahead of time anytime you plan to serve them. Leaving them to chill in the refrigerator is what helps them hold their shape and texture.

Notes

These homemade cream cheese-wrapped olives are perfect for gameday, special occasions, and holidays with loved ones! Save this recipe and its variations for use anytime you’re searching for a quick snack or side that brings your main course to life!