12 Canned Olive Brands You Should Look Out For

For such a tiny plant, the olive packs a big punch. These juicy, mellow stone fruits are vital to so many food cultures around the world and have been for thousands of years. Grown and eaten since antiquity, olives have had an enormous impact on the economies and traditions of multiple civilizations, and have been used not just for food, but for religious and ceremonial purposes. And nowadays, olives remain as popular as ever, with millions of tons of them being produced and eaten year-on-year around the world.

Arguably, part of why olives have remained so popular throughout time is their eminent ability to be preserved. For many, olives are the quintessential brined food, with most of us accustomed to fishing them out of a can or jar filled with salty liquid, that not just extends their lifespan but makes them extra delicious. And, as you can imagine, there are a lot of canned olive brands out there vying for customers' attention and seeking to whet appetites. But in such a crowded market, how do you separate the good from the bad? Which brands float to the top and are worth your time? Let's crack the lid on a couple of olive cans, and chew on a few favorites.

Check out any canned olive aisle, and you'll likely see the name Lindsay a fair few times. This California-based brand has made selling olives its mission for over 100 years and has developed a huge range of olive products to satisfy virtually any need you might have for this small fruit. Over that time, Lindsay has also built an enviable reputation, helped to no end by the sheer quality of the olives that it packs into each can. Each fruit is hand-harvested and checked rigorously for quality, with each can having a handy guide to the flavor of the olives inside. And no artificial flavors are used to try and amp things up, with the taste being supplied by the high-quality olives, as well as some sea salt.

Black olive fans can't go wrong with Lindsay Medium Pitted Black Ripe Olives, which are demarcated as having a mild and nutty flavor. And that flavor is a winner for tons of happy customers. "These were the best olives I have ever had. All of them are firm not squishy like other brands," says one review, per Walmart. Several other reviews point out their excellent taste, with one person, in particular, noting that they have a somewhat buttery flavor to them.

From its humble origins as a single store in Pennsylvania to a food titan, DeLallo has been on quite a journey in its 70-odd years of existence. And along the way, it's learned a thing or two about olives. The brand now sells a dizzying array of Greek, Spanish, and Italian olives, with its selection of stuffed and non-stuffed fruits providing satisfaction to a range of tastes. Whether you're in the market for blue cheese-stuffed olives, olives with garlic cloves popped inside them, or a classic pitted green olive, it's got something for you.

No matter which DeLallo olives you plump for, though, you can be pretty much guaranteed that a lot of care and attention has been put into the selection process, resulting in a premium taste every time. And this extends to its most basic products, like its Sliced Black Ripe Olives. Buyers via DeLallo have pointed out the product's consistently high quality, with the taste of the olives singled out in multiple reviews as top-notch. We're also big fans of these olives being pre-sliced, meaning that they're ready to go into any meal you're making with minimal prep. You can't go wrong with DeLallo, folks. ‌

Supermarkets' own-brand offerings are, in our opinion, often unfairly seen as worse than name brands. Granted, you may not be getting the best quality possible when you buy a lower-priced, supermarket-owned option. But a lot of the time, these own-brand products strike the balance of quality and price extremely well, and you can still get a perfectly good item while saving a few bucks.

Own-brand options are often great for pantry staples, like canned olives. And if you're looking to save some cash on your olives, head on down to Target. Target's Market Pantry range has a wide selection of everyday items at a slightly lower price than top-shelf alternatives, and its Small Pitted Black Olives are a firm favorite with shoppers. These versatile little olives are consistently firm and tasty, and their small size makes them less hassle to prepare, so you can just tumble them straight into your salad or pasta. "These are just as good as the name-brand olives. They taste fresh, and I've never had a bad piece in any of the cans I've purchased," says a pleased customer, via Target. At just $1.99 for a 170-gram can, this is a low-risk purchase that could lead to a juicy result.

California has a booming olive industry, and there are several well-known olive companies out there that look to the Golden State for its product. One of these is the Musco Family Olive Company, which, alongside Early California-brand olives, also sells the food under the brand name Pearls. The Pearls product range is pretty extensive, from its specialties products offering slightly more upmarket olives (including a Martini Vermouth flavor that we just have to try) to its everyday selection, with green and black olives, coming both whole and sliced.

It's the sliced olives that we're especially excited about here. When it comes to canned sliced olives, there's always a risk that they may disintegrate more readily in the brining liquid, thanks to their smaller size. But Pearls California Sliced Ripe Olives do no such thing, staying firm and plump until you're ready to eat them. Pearls Black Olives are "simply the best! Better than all the rest," one reviewer says per Walmart, using the everlasting words of the iconic Tina Turner to hammer home how good these olives are. "This brand is my preferred brand due to the texture and taste," adds the same reviewer who further states that "nothing beats" these olives.

Goya is nothing if not prolific. The enormous food company (the largest Hispanic-owned one of its kind in the United States) has successfully positioned itself as one of those brands that offer everything, everywhere, all at once. Walk into virtually any supermarket, and you'll see one of Goya's 2,500-odd food products. That's the kind of ubiquity and enormous product range that most businesses can only dream of.

But of all its foods, we might like its olives the best. Goya olives are uniformly excellent, with close attention paid to their origins, harvesting practices, and quality. Its stuffed olive offerings are particularly good, and the company also has some unexpected flavors going on in them, like its minced tuna stuffed olives. This product is clearly beloved by customers, boasting a high buyer rating over at Amazon, and multiple glowing reviews. The tuna taste is strong enough to be noticeable but not too fishy and overpowering, and the olives also avoid being too acidic, instead striking a mellow note. Given the distinct flavor of these olives, we'd say they're perfect served as a snack on their own. But they could also be a winner in a dirty gin martini, as one buyer points out. We like the sound of that.

Given that Amazon has all but taken over the world by this point, it's probably not very surprising that it has also made significant strides in the food industry. Luckily, though, these strides have also been performed with one firm eye on quality for the benefit of the retail behemoth's approximately 300 million customers.

The result, Amazon's Happy Belly range, operates similarly to many supermarkets' own-brand selection, with everyday items at a reasonable price. And it's struck gold with the Happy Belly olives. At a lower price than a lot of competitors, adding this can to your cart is a good way to get your olive fix without breaking the bank.

And frankly, the reviews speak for themselves. With an aggregated 4.5 rating out of almost 4,000 individual contributions, it's clear that Amazon has knocked it out of the park, quality-wise. Reviewers continually note that these olives have a great taste and a good, firm texture, without things tasting too salty or briny (per Amazon). People also point out that the Happy Belly olives are comparable in quality to name-brand options, without having to pay top prices for them. And they appear to be a winner in pretty much every meal under the sun, with buyers using them in tacos, pizza, salad, dips, and spaghetti. Okay, we're convinced!

Part of the Musco Family's offering of olives, Early California is the sister brand to Pearls. And like that brand, Early California has carved an impressive niche in the market, with its California olives becoming well-known for their quality and taste.

Early California offers a wide variety of olive options, mainly centered around black ripe and Spanish green fruits. Particularly of note is the butteriness of its olives, which might appeal to fans of a slightly less intense flavor experience. While Early California proudly announces this flavor note via its branding, it's also picked up on by customers, with several reviews pointing toward the buttery, mild taste of its green ripe olives (per Target).

Another reason to opt for Early California olives is the brand's attentiveness to dietary needs. It offers a reduced-sodium option for its black olives, with 25% less sodium than the standard amount that you'd find in a can. Given that olives can get pretty darn salty, this is no doubt welcome news for folks who are trying to reduce sodium in their diets.

You've got to hand it to Whole Foods somewhat, people. In a world of anonymized supermarkets where the emphasis is on speed and utility, Whole Foods managed to create a shopping experience and product line that felt wholesome and homely — even before it was acquired by Amazon.

But even though most people head to Whole Foods in pursuit of a fresher experience, the supermarket chain still stocks a variety of canned goods, including olives. And to be quite honest with you, it's knocked it out of the park with them. Whole Foods' 365 Medium Black Olives have an incredible 4.6 rating on Amazon, an average based on over 4,350 reviews. With just olives, water, and sea salt in the can, you're getting as natural an experience as you can get, without picking the olives off the tree yourself.

And it's taste-wise where these olives excel. "So delicious! Not overly salted at all," says a review via Amazon, one of many that highlight the product's well-balanced flavor. "Add to any salad or eat alone, which I did, [and] they were so darn good," another pleased customer reports who added that the pitted olives were huge. And, as a final bonus, these olives are available not just in-store, but they can be bought online and delivered to your door, too.

Canned olives are the kind of product that you can pick up for a few bucks, and still get a decent taste. But there are times when you want to go all out. And for those moments, try and hunt down a can of Brindisa olives. The U.K.-based company is a relative newcomer to the food scene, having been around for roughly three decades. But what it lacks in time, it makes up for in quality. Brindisa offers both bespoke wholesale products to restaurants and smaller items to individual consumers and its emphasis on authentic Spanish cuisine and ingredients has caused it to stand out in a crowded market. 

While it may not be widely available in supermarkets, Brindisa's olive selection can be found in specialist food stores and online via Amazon. And those olives are as good as they get. Brindisa Perello Gordal Pitted Olives have a meaty, luscious taste to them, and a complexity of flavor that you might not find in cheaper alternatives. Buyers also note that they're especially good when stuffed with anchovies or blue cheese, and they have a slightly spicy kick to them that makes them totally moreish. Don't hesitate if you spot a can in your local deli — they're not to be missed.

Look, guys: Sometimes you just want a basic olive — no frills, no fancy stuffings, no marinade of olive oil, and fancy vinegar and preserved lemon. Sure, all of those things are totally delicious, but times are hard, and we don't all have the money to spend. So where do you go when you just want a by-the-book mouthful of black olive-y goodness?

You go to Walmart. It's probably no surprise that the supermarket giant's prolific low-price brand has extended to olives, but it might surprise you how good they are. Great Value Medium Pitted Black Olives will only set you back a few dollars, and with a 4.3 rating garnered from hundreds of reviews, it's clear that they're a winner. "Use them often, and, as always, a great price from Walmart," says a reviewer who referred to them as "good, fresh, firm olives" (per Walmart) — one of the many customer reviews that highlight the quality for the price. Reviewers are big fans of the flavor of the olive in particular, which appears to hit the spot while not being too costly. And their size is also a winner, with multiple people noting that they're just right for use in their food without being too small or large. ‌

Like a lot of olive brands, Mario is steeped in history. The family-owned business has been producing and packing Spanish olives for four generations, and it shows no sign of slowing down. That's probably a good thing for olive fans out there too, as Mario's olives are as good as they get. Its olive selection, including its large pitted black olives, is a hit. The latter is especially popular thanks to the olives' succulent flavor and good quality, according to customers, per Amazon.

These olives, which have a frankly absurd amount of good reviews, are particularly admired for their ability to retain their shape and firmness even when canned. We also love the fact that the product is lower in sodium than most, with 130 milligrams per serving, without compromising any of its taste. Additionally, when buying Mario olives, you'll be safe in the knowledge that you've made an ethical choice. As a company, Mario places a strong emphasis on social responsibility, stating that "through education and community awareness we will continue to maintain our ethical standards" and continue to interrogate its social and environmental impact (via Mario's website). We love an olive that feels just as good to buy as it tastes.

Italy is one of the main producers of olives in Europe, cranking out hundreds of thousands of tons of them every year. Amongst its many varieties is the Castelvetrano olive. Native to Sicily, these olives are prized for their gentle, buttery taste, their meatiness, and their lurid green tones. But short of cracking open the jar in the store and trying them then and there, how do you know if the Castelvetrano olives you're choosing are any good?

Well, picking the right brand is a good place to start, and Partanna is one that it's hard to go wrong with. The company has a long history of producing Castelvetrano olives, with the food hand-picked and quickly brined in a sea salt solution to maintain its freshness. The result is an olive that's to die for. Available in a 5.5-pound can via Amazon, customers have awarded this product a super-high rating, and love the firm texture and gentle flavors of these olives, as well as the fact that they can make one purchase and have a snack that will last them for months. And can we talk about that can design? Its pastoral scene and coloring make it a work of art in itself.