Whipped ricotta crostini is such an easy appetizer, yet looks super fancy! The combination of roasted tomatoes and creamy ricotta cheese makes for the perfect bite. Not to mention, the crunchy baguette slices add tons of texture too! Believe me, they’re a total crowd pleaser.
Why I love this whipped ricotta crostini recipe:
I love making these little toasts for a delicious appetizer that’s full of bright flavors! It’s super adaptable and works with a variety of toppings but I like this play on tomato bruschetta with the roasted tomatoes for the topping. I’ll list a few other topping options below!
Other easy whipped ricotta crostini topping ideas:
- A drizzle of honey
- Pomegranate seeds
- Sautéed greens or onions
- Grilled vegetables
- Roasted red peppers
- Fresh herbs
Ingredients for easy whipped ricotta crostini:
- French baguette: This is my favorite bread to use for crostini due to its long, narrow shape and crunchy exterior. Feel free to use another variation of crusty bread.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: A quick drizzle of this on the bread slices helps them become golden brown in the oven.
- Garlic salt: I like sprinkling this all over the bread slices before they’re toasted to add some extra flavor.
- Cherry tomatoes: These are great for roasting a fit perfectly on the slices of french baguettes.
- Honey: This adds a little sweetness to the tomatoes.
- Red wine vinegar: Adds the perfect amount of acidity to the tomatoes.
- Fresh garlic: I highly recommend chopping your own fresh garlic for this recipe. It’s much stronger than store-bought minced garlic.
- Whole milk ricotta cheese: I like using whole milk ricotta over part skim because I find it to be more creamy and satisfying.
- Fresh lemon zest: Adds a little ‘zing’ and brightness to the ricotta mixture.
- Fresh basil: Basil has to be my favorite herb and when it’s fresh, it’s packed with flavor! I like to chiffonade it and sprinkle it on top of each crostini as garnish.
- Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
You can make whipped ricotta with an electric mixer or food processor:
I like using my food processor to whip the ricotta so that the lemon zest gets a little chopped up, but you can definitely make this with a hand mixer or stand mixer as well. Since ricotta is already creamy on it’s own, it doesn’t need too much help.
My top tips for creamy whipped ricotta crostini:
- Slice the baguette at a slight diagonal for a larger surface area. This way you can fit more ricotta and tomatoes on each crostini! Using a serrated knife is great for this step!
- Add sea salt to every layer! As you build the components of the crostini, you are building flavor. So be sure to season the toasts, tomatoes and ricotta mixture equally.
- Transfer the ricotta to a piping bag and pipe it onto the crostini for a more funky/fun look! If you want something more rustic, just spread it on with the back of a spoon.
- Don’t waste those leftover tomato juices in the baking dish! As the tomatoes roast, they release their liquid and it’s liquid gold! When you add the tomatoes to the crostini, I recommend spooning some of the juices from the baking dish on top of the crostini as well.
FAQ:
Sure! You can whip the ricotta and roast the tomatoes up to 2 days ahead of when you plan to serve this dish. Just cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge. As for toasting the bread and assembling, that will need to be done right before serving for optimal freshness.
Yes! The cherry tomatoes are nice because they’re the perfect size for the crostini and don’t have many seeds but you could use other tomatoes of your choice that have been sliced and roasted.
Some easy substitutions for ricotta cheese would be goat cheese or cottage cheese. You’ll want to stick with the full fat options for any cheese you use to be sure it’s thick and doesn’t run off the sides of the crostini.
Whipped Ricotta Crostini
Equipment
- 1 serrated knife (for slicing baguette)
- 1 microplane (for zesting lemon)
- 1 piping bag (for piping ricotta)
Ingredients
For the roasted tomatoes:
- 24 oz container cherry tomatoes (I used a medley)
- 3 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 5 cloves fresh garlic (peeled and chopped)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
For the bread:
- 1 baguette
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic salt
For the whipped ricotta:
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta
- 2 tbsp lemon zest (from one lemon)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- fresh basil (for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a 9×9 baking dish, add the cherry tomatoes, honey, red wine vinegar, chopped garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. Toss to coat.
- Bake the tomatoes for 35-40 minutes or until the tomatoes have bursted and released their liquid.
- While the tomatoes are roasting, slice the baguette into 1/2 inch slices and arrange them in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Drizzle the slices of bread with a little olive oil, then sprinkle with garlic salt and add them to the oven with the tomatoes for 15 minutes or until they're golden brown.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine ricotta with lemon zest, olive oil and salt. Whip ricotta until the mixture is creamy.
- Let the tomatoes and bread cool to room temperature for 10 minutes before assembling.
- You can transfer the ricotta mixture to a pastry bag and pipe, or use the back of a spoon to spread the whipped ricotta on each piece of crunchy crostini.
- Place the tomatoes on top of the ricotta and spoon on some of the juices from the baking dish as well. Garnish with fresh basil and an extra sprinkle of salt on top.
Great recipe! The flavors come together well. The only thing I did differently was I brushed my crostini with basil olive oil on both sides (I make by blending basil with the oil then cooking it a bit on the stove until it crackles) & toasted both sides of the bread and it held up to the wet ingredients much better. Also I rubbed the crostini with a garlic glove afterwards and I found I preferred the texture to not be over blended otherwise it’s giving more of a conoli dessert vibe for me so I blended it enough to mix the ingredients. The lemon & garlic was great! I also did one with just lemon for the non garlic fans and we drizzled that with my hot honey & fresh basil. The one with garlic I made a balsamic reduction and drizzled that on top! The were both really yum! Next time I’m going to make a pesto drizzle. Overall great base to do a lot of fun things with!