Fried Sausage Stuffed Olives – Delicious And Crispy
Updated Aug 26, 2024, Published Mar 06, 2018
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Delicious and crispy sausage stuffed olives, deep fried and served with a squeeze of lemon juice and simple sour cream dip. These stuffed olives make a great appetizer or snack that are perfect for weekend nibbles with drinks or to serve up at your next party.
These little beauties are pretty addictive…
Deep fried stuffed olives are SO popular in Italy. They are served as an aperitif or aperitivo with drinks in many restaurants and bars and let me tell you they are so delicious and highly addictive!
They are so popular here that you can buy them frozen in most supermarket so all you need to do is deep fry them as you need them. Although that’s very convenient and all that, I’m not a fan of frozen anything (with the exception of some veggies).
I also doubt they are easy to find outside of Italy so buying them pre-made could be difficult. Not to worry, I have the easiest stuffed olives recipe for you here and you’re going to love it PLUS they taste 100% better homemade.
Tip: Make a big batch and freeze them for a quick and easy last-minute snack.
What Stuffing To Use?
You can stuff your olives with many different ingredients. I went for Italian sausages which have spices and herbs such as fennel seeds and oregano and garlic. They have so much flavour and are great for this recipe. See more ideas below.
- Any good quality sausage
- Mozzarella or any good melting cheese (for firm cheese don’t cut the olives in half, instead cut small cubes of cheese and insert into the pitted olives)
- Ricotta or cream cheese
- Sun-dried tomato pesto
- Basil pesto
How To Make Sausage Stuffed Olives – Step By Step
Place the breadcrumbs, flour and beaten egg in separate plates/bowls and set aside. Add the sausage to a bowl with lemon zest and oregano and mix together (photo 1).
Drain the pitted olives, rinse and pat dry with kitchen paper. Cut one olive in half and stuff with a small amount of sausage then close the olive back up by pressing the sides together. Repeat with all the olives (photo 2).
Roll and toss the olives in the flour until coated well. Dip them in egg and then roll in breadcrumbs until completely coated (do this in batches) (photos 3-8).
Tip: Cup the olives in your hands after dusting in flour and lightly shake to remove excess flour before dipping in the egg.
Tip: Roll the crumbed olives gently in the palm of your hands to create a rounder, more uniformed shape.
Deep fry the olives in sunflower oil until crispy and golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper (photo 9).
To make the garlic sour cream dip, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Serve the olives with the dip and wedges of lemon.
Fried stuffed olives are not usually (or ever) served with a dip or lemon wedges in Italy but I think it goes really well especially at parties. Everyone loves a dip, right?
Other Easy Appetizer Recipes To Try;
- Easy marinated olives
- Stacchino and sausage crostini
- Bruschetta al pomodoro – tomato bruschetta
- Cecina Toscana – Tuscan chickpea flatbread
- Ricotta stuffed zucchini flowers
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Step By Step Photos Above
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Fried Sausage Stuffed Olives
Ingredients
For the stuffed olives
- 1 1/2 cups (340g) pitted olives
- zest of half a lemon
- 3.5 oz (100g) Italian sausage
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 cup (70g) plain flour
- 1 cup (100g) fine breadcrumbs
- 1 egg, , beaten
- salt and pepper
- 3.5 cups (1 ltr) sunflower oil, , for frying
- lemon wedges (optional), , for serving
For the dip
- 1 small bunch parsley, , finely chopped plus extra for garnish
- soured cream
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
Instructions
- Add the sausage to a bowl with the lemon zest and oregano, mash with a fork to mix together.
- Rinse the olives in cold water then dry with a paper towel. Cut the olives in half and stuff with a small amount of sausage meat (around 1/2 tsp) then close the olives back up by pressing the sides together, repeat with all the olives.
- Place the flour and breadcrumbs in separate plates and a beaten egg in a bowl, season each of them with a tiny pinch of salt and pepper. In batches, toss the stuffed olives in the flour then dip in the beaten egg and then roll them in breadcrumbs, repeat until all the olives are crumbed.
- Add the sunflower oil in a large pot, test with a small piece of bread to see if the oil is hot enough. When the bread sizzles on the surface and turns golden it's ready. Fry the olives in batches until golden and crispy, remove with a slotted spoon, drain on kitchen paper. Scatter over some chopped parsley and serve with lemon wedges.
- To make the sour cream dip simply combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve.
Notes
- Make in large batches and freeze for a super quick and easy snack
- Cup the olives in your hands after dusting in flour and lightly shake to remove excess flour before dipping in the egg.
- Roll the crumbed olives gently in the palm of your hands to create a rounder, more uniformed shape.
- Any good quality sausage (I would avoid spicy/hot sausages as they could be too overpowering)
- Mozzarella or any good melting cheese (for firm cheese don't cut the olives in half, instead cut small cubes of cheese and insert into the pitted olives)
- Spinach and ricotta
- Sun-dried tomato pesto
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you fry them before freezing I would like to make a big batch Thank you
Hi Antonietta, yes, I would freeze after frying 🙂
Oh these are just perfection. I have fond memories of aperitivo…stuffed olives, charcuterie and a glass of prosecco. I just adored my time in Italy!
I will be making these soon. Are they best served hot from the fryer or could I keep them warm in an oven?
I actually can’t think of anything better than nibbles and a glass of prosecco, it makes me happy hahaa. Yes, they are definitely at their best straight from the fryer served hot. Thanks, Claire.
This is such a great idea! I’ve never seen fried olives before. And it looks so easy to make. I love your step by step instructions, they make it easy to understand the process. Very well done!
Thanks so much Maria, they really are so easy definitely give them a go!
Now this is a unique and delicious looking appetizer or snack. This would be great for a game night!
They would be so great for a game night, thanks so much Allison!
Yum! I never thought of stuffing olives but this is such a great idea for a party appetizer or just hanging out. I’m definitely going give this a try since I love olives 🙂
I’m sure you’ll love them, thanks so much Stephanie!