This Olive Wreath is a fun and festive holiday appetizer, perfect for any size crowd. It’s easy to assemble and makes a beautiful table display. Wow your friends and family this holiday season by creating this beautiful and tasty appetizer!

Appetizers are my JAM! This year, I thought it would be fun to do a December Holiday Appetizer Series. I am posting quick and easy appetizer recipes all month long to help with your gatherings, big or small. I started the series last week with Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Mushrooms.  Today, I have a crowd-pleasing, stress-free Festive Olive Wreath.

Festive Olive Wreath Appetizer Ingredients

This is more of a how-to rather than an actual recipe. These are the ingredients I used along with some tips. Don’t be afraid to get creative and add or substitute any of these ingredients. 

• • • Fresh Herbs – I used rosemary and basil. Sage, thyme, bay leaves, and/or dill would also work.
    • Roasted Red Pepper Strips – To keep it simple, I bought a jar of roasted red peppers and cut a few of the pieces into strips. I plan on using the leftovers for roasted red pepper soup. You could roast your own red pepper. See my Roasted Red Pepper Hummus recipe to see how I roast my red peppers.
    • An Assortment of Olives – Different colors, shapes, and sizes all add to the visual interest of your wreath and also will give your guests a variety to choose from. Olives with pits have the most flavor, but it’s perfectly fine to purchase pitted olives if you don’t want your guests to deal with the pits. When I serve olives with pits, I always have appetizer plates available, as well as a small bowl for the pits.
    • Sweet and/or Spicy Red Cherry Peppers – So yummy, and they add vibrant color to your wreath. You can purchase them in a jar and are usually located near the pepperoncinis. Just be sure to check the ingredient label. Some brands load them with unnecessary, highly processed ingredients. You can sub fresh cherry tomatoes instead of cherry peppers.
    • Oil Packed Sun-Dried Tomatoes – Some of my tomatoes were pretty large, so I cut them in half.
    • Fresh Mozzarella Cheese Pearls – I used mozzarella pearls, but little chunks of feta would be delish too.
    • Toothpicks for Serving

How to Assemble Your Festive Olive Wreath Appetizer

 1. You will first need to start with a round plate or a round cutting board. Gather all of your ingredients. I put everything except for the herbs in small bowls. This makes the arranging process much easier and faster.

2. Arrange basil around the plate and create a wreath shape, leaving some room between the basil and the edge of the plate. Layer the rosemary on top of the basil. I left the edges of the basil sticking out. Don’t worry about making it perfect.   

3. Place your red pepper strips around the wreath a few inches apart from each other. I crisscrossed two of the strips and placed them at the bottom of the wreath to create a bow.     

4. Arrange olives around the wreath, making sure not to put too many of the same color right next to each other. It’s ok if they are not all on top of the rosemary and basil.

5. Add your sun-dried tomatoes, sweet/hot peppers, and mozzarella wherever you need pops of color. I added a mozzarella pearl to my bow.

So easy and beautiful!!! 

Serve your incredibly beautiful olive wreath alone or make it part of a charcuterie board. You could add any or all of the following ingredients: dried meats, additional cheeses, fruit, crackers, breadsticks, jam, honey, mustard, nuts. Enjoy!