Whipped Ricotta & Roasted Tomato Crostini
The perfect spring and summer time snack that is bursting with flavor. It’s creamy, crunchy, savory and sweet. You cannot go wrong with these crostini bites.
This is one of my all-time favorite appetizers, snacks, bites, whatever you want to call it! I’m always amazed at the flavor complexity with such few and simple ingredients. It’s savory, sweet, creamy AND crispy, basically everything one might hope for in a perfect bite.
These would be great as an appetizer, snack, or side dish and can easily be made in a larger quantity to feed a crowd. I've also added a drizzle of balsamic glaze over the top as well. Serve it with grilled bruschetta chicken, pasta, salad, kebobs, the options are endless here. A glass of crisp white wine would pair excellent for a drink. These are an absolute must-try!
- 5 oz Baguette (Cut into 12 pieces, about 1/2 inch slices)
- 1 pt Cherry Tomatoes
- 3/4 cup Ricotta Cheese
- 2 tsp Olive Oil (Plus additional drizzle for crostini)
- 1 tsp Honey
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest (Plus additional for garnish)
- 1/8 tsp Garlic Powder
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 400*F and line two separate baking sheets with aluminum foil.
- Slice the baguette into 12 pieces. If you have a larger baguette or are doubling the recipe, slice desired amount.
- On one baking sheet, add the cherry tomatoes and drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
- On the other baking sheet, add the sliced crostini and drizzle each piece with a little olive oil (this is optional).
- Place in the oven, roasting the tomatoes for about 20 minutes until they are slightly bursting. The crostini will only need to go in the oven for about 5-7 minutes until slightly crisp.
- Meanwhile, add the ricotta cheese, 1 tsp olive oil, honey, lemon zest, garlic powder and salt and pepper to a mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment on an electric mixer, mix on medium speed for about 1 minute, scraping down the sides as needed. You could also use a food processor for this step. If you don’t have either, mixing vigorously with a whisk would work.
- Once the crostini and tomatoes are removed from the oven, add about 1 Tbsp of ricotta mixture onto each crostini and top with 2 or 3 tomatoes each.
- Garnish with additional sprinkle of lemon zest and/or cracked black pepper.
- While with this recipe, I utilized the oven for roasting the tomatoes and crostini, I’ve also used the grill outside. If you grill the tomatoes, I highly recommend adding them on a skewer and then grilling them to ensure they don’t fall through the grates. In addition, the char marks on the crostini are always a nice added touch.
- If you don't have an electric stand mixer or food processor, you can use an electric hand mixer on medium speed for about a minute. You could also simply use a whisk and put some force into it while whisking!