Whipped Ricotta Crostini with Honey & Lemon
Whipped Ricotta Crostini is an impressive, yet super easy appetizer recipe! Made with whole milk ricotta cheese, french baguette, honey, and fresh lemon zest … these little toasts are a total crowd pleaser. They have endless additional sweet & savory toppings and are super customizable too!
Looking for a similar recipe? Check out my Upside-Down Puff Pastries or Cottage Cheese Toast.
The Easiest Fancy Appetizer Recipe
I am an appetizer girl through and through! I just love nibbling and munching on all the tasty bites … whether I’m at a restaurant, an evening dinner party, or a holiday celebration.
And I can promise you that this Whipped Ricotta Crostini Recipe is a great appetizer choice for any of these occasions and many more.
This recipe is an impressive crowd pleaser with its slices of french baguettes, creamy ricotta cheese, fresh lemon zest, and honey drizzle. But it is so simple and easy to make!
It will absolutely be your new go-to for a special and festive appetizer. You’ll have a beautiful dish ready to serve without spending hours in the kitchen!
For another easy, yet fancy appetizer stop by my Whipped Brie Cheese Spread next.
What is crostini?
Crostini means “little toasts” in Italian. They are thin slices of crusty bread that are either toasted or grilled and then topped with a variety of ingredients.
French baguette or another long loaf bread are used. Then they are brushed with extra-virgin olive oil and sometimes salt & pepper before being toasted. They make for a delicious appetizer!
If you’re looking for more Italian recipes check out my baked pesto chicken, burrata pasta, or tortellini caprese salad.
Ingredients
Ricotta crostini is made with only 6 simple ingredients! Plus salt and pepper of course. Don’t worry though, the minimal ingredients still pack a flavorful punch in the form of the easiest appetizer recipe!
Ingredient Notes
- French Baguette: French baguette is the classic and best bread to use in crostini! It is perfectly crusty and so delicious. You’ll need 1 baguette!
- Ricotta Cheese: Can’t have ricotta crostini without ricotta cheese. You’ll need 1 1/2 cups. Use good quality for ultimate deliciousness.
- Fresh Garlic: Add fresh garlic to the whipped ricotta. It provides so much good flavor! 2 cloves is all you need.
- Lemon Zest: Fresh lemon zest adds a lovely zing and citrus flavor here. 1 tbsp is perfect, which is about 1 whole lemon.
- Honey: I love the combo of honey and ricotta! It is simply incredible. Add 1/2 tbsp and a little extra on top.
- Olive Oil: Olive oil is used in multiple places throughout this recipe. 1 tbsp is added to the whipped ricotta, resulting in the creamiest spread. Another 2 tbsp is brushed on the bread slices for ultimate crispy, crunchy crostini.
- Salt & Pepper: Add 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper to taste to the ricotta mixture.
- Fresh Parsley: Fresh parsley is an optional, but delicious addition! It adds a beautiful look too.
Substitutions & Additional Toppings
Since this recipe is quite simple with only a few ingredients, there are not too many swaps that can be made! However, here are a couple of my ideas for substitutions and additional ingredients to these appetizer bites.
Bread: The french baguette could be replaced with another crusty bread! Like sourdough or an artisan baguette.
Fruits & Veggies: These crostinis are kept super simple with just a creamy ricotta topping, but there are so many additional fresh fruit & vegetable topping options! Like cherry tomatoes, roasted peppers, sweet peaches, pomegranate seeds, or juicy strawberries.
Meat: Some charcuterie meat would also be so delicious here! Try prosciutto or salami.
Sauce: A drizzle of balsamic glaze or smear of pesto would be incredible.
Fresh Herbs: I chose to include fresh parsley on these toasts, but any herb would be a great addition. Perhaps fresh basil or even mint!
How To Make This Recipe
This fancy appetizer is actually anything but hard to make! It is quite the opposite … easy as can be with no complicated techniques required.
All you do is toast the bread, whip the ricotta, and then assemble. You’ll have a crowd pleasing dish ready to go in no time!
Step By Step Instructions
Step 1: Set the oven to 450 degrees.
Step 2: Next cut the french baguette into thin slices, about 1/2 inch. Spread the slices on a large baking sheet in a single layer and brush with extra virgin olive oil. This will be about 2 tbsp. Bake for 6-8 minutes until golden brown, keeping a close eye so there is no burning.
Step 3: While the baguette is toasting, work on the whipped ricotta. Add the ricotta, lemon zest, fresh garlic, olive oil (1 tbsp), honey, salt and pepper to a food processor. Blend until creamy and smooth.
Step 4: Add the whipped ricotta to the crostini. Top with fresh parsley, an extra drizzle of honey, and black pepper. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
Brush the toast slices generously with olive oil. This helps make the best crunchy crostini! I recommend using a brush tool like this!
While the baguette slices are in the oven keep a very close eye. They can turn from perfectly toasted to burnt very quickly.
Add salt and pepper to taste to the whipped ricotta.
Mince the garlic cloves before adding to the ricotta! They will get blended in the food processor, but I still recommend this step to get them fully incorporated into the ricotta.
If you have time, prepare the ricotta spread ahead of time! This will save you some time the day of serving these delicious little toasts.
Add the extra drizzle of honey just as you are serving this recipe. The honey and cheese separate slightly and thus the dish will look best right away.
If you do not have a food processor to whip the ricotta, you could use a hand mixer or electric mixer!
Frequently Asked Questions
Don’t over toast! Over-toasting your bread will result in hard crostini that we all know is unenjoyable to eat.
Toasting the baguette slices for the instructed time should result in crunchy on the outside and perfectly soft in the middle crostini.
High quality whole milk ricotta cheese makes for the best ricotta crostini! The real deal stuff from Italian shops or the farmers market will be most delicious.
Yes, you definitely can!
You can prepare whipped ricotta 1-2 days before enjoying this appetizer recipe. Then simply do the crostini assembly right before serving.
It will last for about 5 days – 1 week.
You can do so much with leftover whipped ricotta! It’s the perfect dip for fresh veggies or more bread. It also is a great morning toast topper – try with a fried egg on top or even berries.
You can store the ricotta itself in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The toasted baguette slices can also be stored separately in an airtight container at room temperature.
However, I would not recommend storing the crostini once it is assembled. They simply do not keep well!
Love this recipe? Check out more delicious appetizers below…
- Hasselback Caprese Salad
- Baked Cream Cheese Salsa Dip
- Pesto Flatbread Pizzas
- Tomato & Goat Cheese Bruschetta
- Cold Parmesan Artichoke Dip
- Baked Brie Bites
- Healthy French Onion Dip
- Fresh Burrata Caprese Salad
- Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
- Air Fried Ravioli
- Cheesy Bacon Corn Dip
- Healthy Spinach & Artichoke Dip
Connect with me!
If you make this whipped ricotta appetizer or any of my other recipes, I would absolutely love to know! Tag me @wellnessbykay on Instagram so I can see and share your recreations.
Love this recipe? Leave a comment and a rating! I love to see and it helps me continue to develop delicious recipes for this blog.
Print
Whipped Ricotta Crostini with Honey & Lemon
- Prep Time: 5 Minutes
- Cook Time: 15 Minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 Servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Whipped Ricotta Crostini is an easy, yet impressive appetizer recipe! Made with whole milk ricotta cheese, french baguette, honey, and fresh lemon zest … these little toasts are a total crowd pleaser. They have endless additional sweet & savory toppings and are super customizable too!
Ingredients
- 1 french baguette
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (separated)
- 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Pepper, to taste
- Fresh parsley
Instructions
- Set the oven to 450 degrees.
- Next cut the french baguette into thin slices, about 1/2 inch. Spread the slices on a large baking sheet and brush with extra virgin olive oil. This will be about 2 tbsp.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes until golden brown, keeping a close eye so there is no burning.
- While the baguette is toasting, work on the whipped ricotta. Add the ricotta, lemon zest, fresh garlic, olive oil (1 tbsp), honey, salt and pepper to a food processor. Blend until creamy and smooth.
- Add the whipped ricotta to the crostini. Top with fresh parsley, an extra drizzle of honey, and black pepper.
- Enjoy!
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