The California Grown x No Crumbs Left Olives Cooking Contest Is On

If there’s one pantry ingredient that can jump from “snack while you unpack groceries” to “centerpiece on a party platter,” it’s California Ripe Olives—green or black, sliced or whole, briny or buttery. That’s exactly the spirit behind the California Grown x No Crumbs Left Olives Cooking Contest: make what you love, add California Ripe Olives, and share it with the community.

Teri Turner of No Crumbs Left puts it best: olives belong everywhere—spreads, salads, entrées, and straight-from-the-can snacking. Now it’s your turn to show how you use them.

How to enter (easy, and you can enter more than once)

1. Make any dish using California Ripe Olives (green OR black).
2. Post it on Instagram or Facebook—a post, reel, or story all count.
3. Tag @cagrownofficial and @nocrumbsleft in the caption and on the photo or reel.
4. Make sure your account and post are public and verifiable.
5. Look for California origin on the can label (and yes, showing the can in your content is a smart move).

Creativity is appreciated, but the contest is really about showing up: each share counts as one entry.

Contest ends: 04/20/26
Winners announced by: 04/22/26
Prizes ship within the U.S.

Prizes (plus swag!)

• 1 Grand Prize: $500 Williams-Sonoma gift card
• 2 Second Place: $200 Williams-Sonoma gift card (each)
• 3 Third Place: $100 Williams-Sonoma gift card (each)

Fine print: This contest is not sponsored by or affiliated with Meta, Instagram or Facebook. Sponsored by CA GROWN + California Ripe Olives. 

GET FULL CONTEST DETAILS HERE>>>

Recipes with California Ripe Olives to get you cooking (and posting)

Need some olive-forward ideas? Try these olive recipes from California Grown, No Crumbs Left, and a few favorites from our creators. Use them as written, remix them, or let them spark your own original entry.

Fast starters: snacks, boards, and make-ahead nibbles

Quick Olive Tapenade

Five minutes, one food processor, and you’ve got a bold, briny spread built on green + black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, fresh herbs, olive oil, and lemon. Perfect for crostini, cheese boards, sandwiches—or spooned onto grilled meats.

Creamy Garlicky Olive Dressing (No Crumbs Left)

A true multi-tasker: creamy, garlicky, and made to drizzle on salads, spoon over steak or chicken, or serve as a dip. It uses either green or black olives, plus mayo, herbs, lemon, vinegar, and olive oil—so it tastes like you did more work than you did.

Incredible Garlicky Marinated Olives with Citrus + Rosemary (A Table Defloured)

This is the “set it out and watch it vanish” appetizer: California Ripe Olives (black and/or green) get bathed in gently warmed olive oil infused with smashed garlic, rosemary, bright citrus zest, and a little chile pepper. It’s briny, herby, and ideal for charcuterie boards—or straight-from-the-jar snacking.

Cheesy bakes and bread-board heroes

Green Olive Garlic Cheese Bread (California Grown)

Olives, garlic, and molten cheese—no notes. This one mixes pitted green olives with butter, garlic, mayo, chives, and mozzarella, then bakes until bubbly, finishing under the broiler for that golden top.

Cheesy Olive Garlic Bread (Baking the Goods)

A slightly different (equally snackable) take that leans into a mustard-garlic butter, fresh herbs, and a melty cheese blend—then crowns it all with California Ripe Olives for a buttery, salty bite in every pull-apart slice.

Pepperoni Black Olive Stromboli (Baking the Goods)

Think “pizza meets sandwich,” rolled into a golden spiral: chewy dough stuffed with pepperoni, gooey cheese, garlic butter, parsley, and a generous layer of sliced California black ripe olives. Slice it for a party or keep it as the ultimate weekend bake.

Caponata Kolache with California Canned Green Olives (California Ripe Olives)

For bakers who want something unexpected: soft kolache dough filled with a sweet-savory eggplant caponata featuring whole, pitted California canned green olives, tomatoes, golden raisins, red wine vinegar, and a touch of brown sugar. It’s bold, a little tangy, and completely memorable.

Weeknight recipes with California Ripe Olives: pasta and pantry comfort

Fresh Tomato + Tuna Pasta (California Grown) 

A “pantry staples, but make it bright” kind of dinner—olive oil, garlic, herbs, lemon, tomatoes, tuna, and California Ripe Olives in a quick sauce that nods to puttanesca energy without feeling heavy. Fast, satisfying, and very California.

Herby Pasta Salad with California Ripe Olives (No Crumbs Left)

Springy and crunchy with orecchiette, asparagus, peas, pistachios, herbs, feta, and green California Ripe Olives, all pulled together with a tangy homemade dressing. It’s the kind of salad that disappears first at a picnic.

Spring Orzo Salad with Smashed Olive Dressing (A Table Defloured)

A springy, crowd-friendly pasta salad with asparagus, snap peas, radishes, herbs, and cotija, all pulled together with a “smashed” California Ripe Olive dressing that brings briny richness without feeling heavy. Built for picnics, BBQs, and make-ahead lunches (and it’s so pretty).

Party bites with big California energy

Mini Stuffed Peppers with Olives + Pepper Jack (California Grown)

Mini sweet peppers become instant finger food when stuffed with pepper jack, topped with sliced California black olives and chopped walnuts, then broiled until melty. Great warm, but still excellent at room temp—hello, snack table.

Olive + Pepper Queso Fundido (Tahiri Flowers)

A bubbling, baked “melted cheese” appetizer with Oaxacan cheese, chorizo, peppers, mushrooms, and California Ripe Olives—built for scooping and that dramatic cheese pull on camera.

Muffaletta with California Olives (No Crumbs Left)

A New Orleans classic where the “secret sauce” is the olive mix—here made with California green or black olives, pepperoncini, olive oil, chopped veg, capers, vinegar, garlic, and spices—then stacked with meats and cheeses and pressed until the flavors mingle.

Hasselback Potatoes with Herbs and Ripe Olives (California Grown)

Crispy edges, creamy centers—then the finishing move: a gremolata-inspired topping with fresh herbs, citrus zest, capers, olive oil, and chopped California Ripe Olives. It looks fancy, but it’s weeknight-manageable.

Enter Today (and don’t forget to tag us)!

Now pick a lane—cheesy, herby, briny, or boldly all-of-the-above—and let olives do what they do best: make everything taste like you meant it. We hope these recipes with California Ripe Olives have provided some inspiration!