Roasted Red Pepper & Ricotta Crostini (15 Minutes!)

Do you babes love a good crostini?

Because I’m totally obsessed with crostini.

Crostini is always my go-to food for when I’m entertaining – From the ease to the simplicity to the chance for creativity, there’s nothing I don’t love about these delightfully diverse toasts. Now admittedly some crostini are fancier than others, but I prefer mine to be simple, sleek, and streamlined – No fancy schmancy ingredients, no fussy preparation, just deliciously clean components piled high atop crisp bread.

What I love most about this quick-fix variation is that it’s perfect for planned parties and spontaneous get-togethers alike – Having lots of ooh-la-la apps to feed a crowd is wonderful in theory, but sometimes life happens quickly. So for all those in-a-pinch moments when you need a party app fast, this super simple crostini has you covered.

As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, the gist for these is painfully straight-forward – Create a roasted red pepper puree with the help of garlic, parmigiano, and tons of seasoning, toast up slices of baguette slathered in garlic butter, and… that’s it! A dollop of ricotta + a dab of pepper puree + a leaf of basil makes this a complete, party-ready appetizer that’s on your tablescape in just 15 minutes.

Obviously the color on these is SO summer — bright, splendid, glorious? Yes to all of it — but the taste is crazy seasonal, too. The pepper puree is stunningly herbaceous (it’s like taking a bite of an entire garden), and next to the creamy ricotta and buttery crisp toast, the three ingredients shine together into something impossibly tasty for an app made so impossibly fast.

It’s an entertaining win-win!

If you’ve got time to plan, you can make this even faster by prepping the pepper puree a few days in advance — it stays nicely in the fridge for about a week — and if you wanna drizzle some EVOO on top before serving, I won’t be mad at ya!

Sounds like a great idea to me. xo

Roasted Red Pepper & Ricotta Crostini

Yield: 24 - 28 crostini

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 15 mins

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

•  12 oz French Baguette
• 1 1/2 tbsps Salted Butter, softened
• 2 tsps Crushed or Minced Garlic, divided
• 12 oz jar Roasted Red Peppers, drained
• 1 tbsp Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1 tsp Basil
• 1 tsp Oregano
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup Part-Skim Ricotta (or more! use as much as you want/need)
• fresh Basil to garnish

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400F.
2. On cutting board slice baguette into ~1/4″ slices. Next, in small bowl combine the butter and 1 tsp of the garlic, stirring until combined. Evenly spread garlic butter across all baguette slices, then bake for 5 – 7 minutes until just beginning to brown/crisp.
3. Meanwhile, in food processor combine the roasted red peppers, remaining tsp of garlic, parmigiano, basil, and oregano, pulsing until smooth – Taste test as you go to add salt & pepper as needed (I used a tiny pinch of pepper and a few dashes of salt).
4. Slather toasted baguette slices with ricotta, then top with roasted red pepper mixture. Garnish with fresh basil, then eat!

crostini cool.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in August 2013 and has been updated with new photos and a slightly modified recipe.

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