The 18 Best Jarred Olive Brands, Ranked

Global olive consumption has skyrocketed by 179% in the past 30 years, which explains why almost any grocery store in the U.S. carries a staggering array of olive options beyond canned black or green varieties. There are so many we couldn't even review all the ones sold at just one grocery store. That said, we did some sizable damage, selecting olives of every variety, including kalamata, manzanilla, Castelvetrano, blue cheese stuffed, feta stuffed, and a specialty olive from several brands to compare.

Our criteria for ranking olives were based on look, smell, texture, and taste. We tasted the olives by group, starting with the specialty, then manzanilla, moving to feta stuffed, blue stuffed, kalamata, and ending with the Castelvetrano. We also considered ideal uses for several standouts, which we have noted. Once we factored in all the criteria, we scored the olives from worst to best. 

A quick note about green versus black olives. Green olives are picked before they are ripe, while olives become darker in color and more aggressive in flavor as they ripen. This was not always reflected in our reviews. The following is our list of olives ranked from our least favorite to the one that might convert even the staunchest olive hater into a lover.

Great Value is Walmart's store brand, which debuted in 1993. It boasts thousands of high-quality products retailing for far less than competitive brand names. When it came to its Blue Cheese Stuffed Green Olives, we had relatively high hopes. We love a blue cheese stuffed olive and have had positive experiences with other Great Value olive flavors. At first, sniffing upon opening the jar, we were overwhelmed with a pungent citric acid odor. These olives had a muted green color and were enormous. In fact, they were the largest of all the olives we sampled at roughly the length of your thumb.

Their texture was not squishy but also not super firm. The flavor was rancid, with the blue cheese having a pervasive flavor redolent of spoiled milk. And the aftertaste was aggressive, lingering for a minute or more after sampling the olive. We don't know if this happened to be a bad batch or the by-product of using subpar blue cheese, but this is one olive we cannot recommend to anyone for any purpose.

The Santa Barbara Olive Company has been growing olives in California since 1850. It generally has a stellar reputation for producing high-quality olives, oils, salsas, and condiments, so we don't exactly know what happened with these pimento-stuffed olives. At first glance, these ginormous olives looked a little dull in color but seemed promising. They had a pleasant aroma that smelled mildly vinegary but with a hint of sweetness. When we bit into them, their texture was mushy, completely dissolving before we could even chew them. The flavor was acrid and slightly stale, with a bitter aftertaste having a woody cardboard-like quality that appeared to last forever.

Again, we wonder if something went awry in the jarring process that caused these olives to turn, making them unpalatable. For this reason, we placed them toward the bottom of our list. That said, because we have had other olives from this company, including ones in this ranking, that were delicious, we might attempt to buy these again and hope for a better batch.

Mezzetta is a family-owned company that began in San Francisco, California, in 1935 by Italian immigrant Giuseppe Mezzetta. This company, four generations in the making, offers quality condiments, pasta sauces, and olives. Generally speaking, we tend to favor its olives for quality, consistency, and flavor, making us doubly disappointed by the Wisconsin Bleu Cheese Stuffed Olives. They weren't inedible, but they weren't great either.

They had a very aggressive blue cheese aroma when we opened the jar. The large Greek Halkidiki olives were slightly brownish, indicating they may have been past their prime. We enjoyed their texture, which was firm and snappy. Unfortunately, after taking a bite, they had a grainy mouthfeel with a sour blue cheese flavor. And though short-lived, the robustly biting blue cheese taste was unpleasant. That said, we suspect this was a slightly off jar that otherwise betrayed what would be a fine blue cheese-stuffed olive.

The first of the Kalamata variety of olive we sampled also came from Walmart's Great Value brand. Kalamata olives can be intense as a general rule of thumb, so we knew what to expect. We also quite enjoy really ripe salty olives, so aggressive flavor is generally not a deterrent to us. Used in the appropriate context, it can be the perfect complement to other ingredients that are milder in flavor or have an herbaceous quality.

From a scent perspective, these olives had a lovely mild vinegary aroma. These medium-sized olives had a typical dark brown color and were pitted, which is convenient. Yet again, their flavor was somewhat sharp with a slightly rank aftertaste. They might have been acceptable cooked into a recipe, like a pizzaiola sauce for pasta, where their flavor could mellow along with the other ingredients. But as an eating olive, we thought they were mediocre.

Pearls Specialties is the premium line under the Musco Family Olive Co. brand, which began in California in 1942. The pitted and hand-picked Greek Kalamata olives have a very wine-forward nose which is interesting because they are marinated in wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. We noticed that the liquid in the jar was cloudy with bits of olive residue. The color of these olives is almost maroon. Their texture is somewhat mushy, perhaps explaining why the brine they are marinated in was so murky. Their taste is not overly saline with a sour, but not offensively so, aftertaste, which stays on your tongue for a minute or two. This olive could be serviceable when added to an olive tapenade or chopped into a tuna or chicken salad for a hint of a salty kick. We wouldn't make it the star of a dish or eat these alone on a charcuterie board.

Another of the Walmart Great Value brand olives we tested was the manzanilla olives stuffed with pimento. This little squat jar of olives had petite manzanilla olives that were a brighter green hue compared with the other manzanilla olives we sampled. They had a pleasant aroma that wasn't overly vinegary. Their texture had good resistance without being chewy. These were a particularly salty olive with quite an astringent flavor and a bitter aftertaste that only lasted a few moments.

While these may not be the greatest olive, they would be acceptable mixed into a tapenade with milder olives. They also would be great as a garnish for a bloody mary or a dirty martini, where the acid and flavor of the alcohol would help to tame the saltiness of the olives. You may also consider soaking the olives in fresh water for a few minutes to help eliminate some of the salinity if you prefer them to taste less salty.

A subsequent variety from the Pearls line of products under the Musco Family Olive Company umbrella brand of products is its pimiento-stuffed manzanilla olives. These are advertised as firm and crunchy. Both are the opposite of what we experienced. Upon the first sniff, these olives had little to no smell and were a light brown hue. The flavor of these olives was suitably salty and sour, which is to be expected.

What we found disappointing was the mushy texture. We didn't bite into these olives so much as swallow them whole as they melted onto our tongues. This was unfortunate as the flavor was decent, and these were among the better manzanilla options we sampled. As such, this is definitely not an olive that could withstand an alcoholic beverage. A toothpick would destroy them. However, putting them into a recipe you plan to cook or a salad where they are chopped up would be a great way to use these olives. They would also be ideal in a homemade remoulade sauce as a topping for crab or salmon cakes.

Among the Pearls Specialties line of olives, this olive delivered on every promise as advertised by the company in its description. The queen olives were quite large and had a chartreuse color. The brining liquid had a noticeable vinegar aroma and murky appearance, with bits of blue cheese swimming around in the jar. Because of this, a slightly slimy coating surrounded the olive, which may be off-putting to some, but okay for us. These were firm and crunchy, and the blue cheese was piquant and creamy, per the manufacturer's words. There was a slight acrid lingering taste, but overall these were a classic example of a blue cheese stuffed olive that you might find in any bar as a garnish. These would also be good additions to a charcuterie board or cheese platter for a party, served with salty prosciutto and a sparkling rosé to cut the bold blue cheese flavor.

The feta stuffed olive was our favorite from the Walmart Great Value brand. In fact, we could have eaten quite a few of these. When you open the jar, the aroma of feta is quite strong. These are large olives with a grassy color, and there was a noticeable lining of congealed fat from the cheese surrounding the exterior of the container. The texture of these olives had a glorious snap that was very pleasing to bite into. The feta cheese stuffing was mild, creamy, and not overly salty. The aftertaste was pleasant and lingered for a minute or two before slowly fading away. There was no hint of bitterness or sourness to these olives. You could add these to an alcoholic beverage, salad, charcuterie, or cheese board or feed them to us as we soak in a bubble bath with a glass of wine. However we eat them, we'd be happy campers.

The only specialty olive we sampled was the jalapeño stuffed olives from the Santa Barbara Olive Company. We weren't sure what to expect from these, as we like some heat, but not to the point that we cannot taste anything anymore. When we opened the jar, the aroma was almost non-existent, and the olives were a muted lime green hue. These olives had a texture that was on the soft side, but this wasn't distracting from the delightfully mild jalapeño stuffing. Because the olive in and of itself was neutral in flavor, it allowed the spice to creep in slowly and coat our mouths with a kiss of heat before slowly petering out. This is a unique specialty olive to keep on hand for cocktails, especially a spicy bloody mary. And if you enjoy olives on your nachos, as we do, these would be the quintessential nacho olive that would compliment some spicy melted pepper jack and a juicy helping of carnitas to top them off.

The Santa Barbara Olive Co. pitted Kalamata olives are a perfect example of what we consider the quintessential Kalamata olive. When you first open the jar, it smells like you are smack dab in the middle of an olive grove. The medium-sized pitted Kalamata olives are maroon in color with a texture that is tender but still retains a healthy snap to it when you bite into them. These are not overly salty or sour, and they have a very satisfying aftertaste that though longer lasting, is welcome. We'd use these olives in any capacity, from making a tapenade or sauce to salads, pasta sauces, and a charcuterie board. The only thing we wouldn't use these for is a cocktail. They are more of a culinary olive. One of our favorite dishes happens to be a Moroccan tagine of chicken with preserved lemon and olives. These olives would complement the salty preserved lemons beautifully, juxtaposing the acidity with their butteriness.

For over 100 years, Mario Camacho Foods has produced the highest quality olives based on the family tradition, which grew out of the olive groves of the Spanish countryside of Andalusia. This company prides itself on quality, community, sustainability, and social responsibility. Its products reflect its commitment to this mission. The pimiento-stuffed Manzanilla olives are consistently good. These medium-sized olives have a distinctly vinegary aroma and a mellow green color. The flavor has a salty bite that mellows to a delightful sweetness before yielding a gently bitter aftertaste.

The best way to describe these olives is balanced. They titillate every taste bud — sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. That's no simple feat and makes for a rewarding culinary experience. Obviously, these olives would be ideal in a cocktail, but they'd equally shine in any culinary application. You could add a few of these chopped olives into a classic bagna càuda recipe. They will pop with the creamy anchovies atop crunchy toast points.

The Partanna brand began producing olive oil in 1916 from olives harvested from their family farm in the Valle de Belice in Sicily, the birthplace of the Castelvetrano olive. By 1919, the brand set up shop in America under the name Asaro Brothers Company. The family continues to produce olives using organic farming practices, hand-picking its crop at peak ripeness. The Castelvetrano olives are brined within four hours of harvesting to ensure maximum flavor and freshness. They are preserved with natural sea salt harvested in the west coast Sicilian village of Trapani.

All of this is great, but how do they taste? Glorious. As olive varieties go, Castelvetrano is our favorite. They are consistently bright green with a buttery flavor and texture, which sets them apart from other olives. There are no flaws that we can find with this olive. We prefer them with their pits rather than pitted, explaining why they ranked where they did. We also wanted to ensure we were fair in offering our top choices of each variety. With that said, this is a perfect olive that would shine in any recipe. We highly recommend them in a Moroccan orange and olive salad. Sweet blood oranges and Castelvetrano olives are topped with garlic, cumin, paprika, Argan oil, and orange blossom water for a deceptively complex dish.

The winner in the feta stuffed olive category goes to the Mezzetta feta stuffed Greek Halkidiki olives. These substantial olives have a beryl hue. The aroma of the brine is strongly feta-forward with very few vinegar notes. Like some of the other feta-stuffed olives, a distinct lining of congealed fat surrounded the edges of the jar. The texture of these olives was firm but not snappy. They were mild and not very salty until you hit the creamy feta in the middle. The aftertaste was short-lived, and the feta coated our tongues like a very appealing blanket. Yet again, we'd use these olives in any capacity, though they are advertised as cocktail olives. If you happen to be making a Greek salad with yogurt and dill dressing, these olives would be a delightful accompaniment. They'd also be perfect in an orzo and vegetable salad with a light lemon and olive oil dressing.

The blue cheese stuffed category saw our top pick awarded to the Santa Barbara Olive Co. After eating one of these olives, we instantly desired to pour ourselves a dry martini, shaken, not stirred, and pop about ten of these bad boys into it. The aroma of the brine on these is redolent of a nice pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc. The large grass-colored olives were very firm, perfect for a cocktail. The olive tasted mild and almost buttery. This was balanced beautifully with the biting yet unctuous blue cheese. There was no musty odor to this blue cheese, which is a characteristic that can often turn people off to blue cheese. And the aftertaste of these olives was super short-lived. It is a perfect blue cheese stuffed olive if there ever was one. We plan to purchase a few jars of these olives for future cocktail parties or an impromptu charcuterie board.

Of the pimento-stuffed olives, the Mezzetta Imported Spanish Queen Martini Olives reigned supreme. Apropos of their name, these royal Queen Gordal olives, sourced from Mediterranean olive groves, were brined with a martini in mind. Rather than marinating in a vinegar-based solution, these olives have been sea salt and vermouth soaked, preparing them for their ultimate destination.

These olives are large and have a beautiful dense texture with a hearty snap when you bite them. Their aroma bespeaks vermouth, having an herbaceous nose and conferring this fortification to the aftertaste of the olives, which is smooth with just a dash of oceanic salinity. When you close your eyes as you bite into these olives, you feel transported to a beach on the Costa del Sol of Spain, in a village like Malaga, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. All you need to complete this culinary vacation is a dirty martini, some ceviche, and a hunk of crusty bread.

If you were to peruse our notes on the Mezzetta Napa Valley Bistro Pitted Kalamata Olives, they would read like a love poem. We seriously fell for these purplish black beauties. As their name suggests, these olives are marinated in cabernet wine and dried herbs. From the moment you open the jar, intense aromas of the wine and rosemary waft into your sinuses. It's an earthy scent that is really pleasing. The marinating liquid is cloudy due to the abundant herbs and the fact that these olives are somewhat soft, as if they have begun to break down a bit in texture due to the acidic marinade. This is evident in the salty, sharp flavor, which leaves a complex thyme-forward aftertaste.

This isn't an olive to adulterate, meaning we wouldn't cook with them. It would hide their natural flavor too much. Nor would we suggest this olive for a cocktail, as it would overpower the beverage. These are strictly an appetizer type of olive, perfect for an elegant charcuterie and cheese board, particularly cheeses with heady flavors and aromas like camembert, gorgonzola, and an aged Manchego. We give this olive all the gold stars.

Being olive connoisseurs, we cannot say we are shocked that the Mezzetta Whole Italian Castelvetrano Olives came in first place in our ultimate ranking of jarred olive brands. From the moment that we discovered these olives, our lives changed for the better. This truly is the olive that is the gateway to the world of olives for those who might be on the fence about them, and this brand is the gold standard of the variety. Of the olives we sampled, this was the only one with a pit. While some dislike gnawing around the olive pit, it imparts a much better flavor and texture than pitted olives. The olives tend to stay somewhat firmer and not absorb quite as much salinity from their brine.

These olives have a bright green hue and an aroma that transports you straight to the olive farm in Sicily, where they grew. They are sweet, nutty, buttery, rich, velvety, smooth, mellow, and a superior olive for a charcuterie platter. While you could use them in a cocktail, we probably wouldn't, not just because of the pits but because we think you'd be wasting a premium olive on alcohol. You don't want to mute the flavor of this olive in any capacity. And, sure, adding them into a tapenade or sauce might be delicious, but again, we probably wouldn't. Enjoy these straight out of the jar and relish what the Cadillac of olives should taste like.