Crostini Recipes – Easy Crostini Party Appetizers – Crudites Topping Ideas

Entertaining this time of the year can make for a stressful few months if you don’t have a few easy appetizers in your arsenal.

Lucky for me, (and you!) these Crostini Recipes come together in a flash and are perfect for those times when guests show up with little notice.

Do you like 30 minute meals? This whole collection of appetizers can be made in this time at all!  I am on a roll lately with all of the opportunities for entertaining.

It seems that every weekend, from now until January, there is one opportunity after another to get together with our friends.

One of my favorite things to serve when we entertain is a crostini topped with something tasty.  Did you know that these popular party appetizers started out life in a very meager way?

What are Crostinis?

Crostini means “little crusts” in Italian.  They first came about in Medieval times when it was a normal thing for Italian peasants to serve their meals on slices of bread instead of crockery which they could not afford.  

Lucky for us that this tradition has made its way to our parties!

We no longer serve our meals this way, but these delightful little bites ARE the perfect party starter.  I love that they are so easy to make and that I can use things that I have in my pantry and fridge when I am in a hurry.

On a recent trip to my local supermarket, I picked up some cheese balls and logs to help with my entertaining menu. A fresh baguette also got put into the shopping cart, since I plan to make my own crostini to save money.

Have you checked out how expensive it is to buy the prepared crostini? They are so easy to make and you will save a lot if you make your own.

I still have lots of fresh herbs growing in my garden to use on the toppings as well. 

I also picked up some thinly sliced deli meats and fresh veggies and fruits.  I wanted to have plenty to items on hand so that I could make a variety of Easy Crostini Recipes.  

We plan to have friends over for drinks soon and these easy appetizers will make the perfect starters for my next party.

Having something this easy to make will ensure that my time with our friends is spent socializing, NOT in the kitchen!

Let’s get started on these Easy Crostini Recipes.

The first step was to make the actual crostini.  They are so simple to do.  Just preheat your oven to 375 º F and slice any kind of baguette you have on hand diagonally into 1/2″ thick slices.

Lightly brush both sides of the slices with olive oil and place on a baking sheet which has been lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper and bake for 10 minutes, flip the slices, and bake for another 8 minutes.  

The crostini will be golden brown when they done, and they will be all set for your toppings. You can either use them now, or they will also store well for 3-4 days in an airtight container.

Great for making ahead so that the day of the party is easy peasy.

I used two of the Cheese Balls in my recipes. The flavors I chose were Smoky Bacon Cheese Ball and Sharp Cheddar Cheese Ball.

I thought these varieties would give me plenty to work with in the way of toppings. Now comes the fun part – assembling my Crostini Recipes.

Mushroom Bacon Crostini Party Appetizers

Who doesn’t love bacon? For my first crostini appetizer, I teamed up bacon with some sauteéd mushrooms, and fresh thyme for a savory bite of goodness.

The mushrooms and bacon are cooked first. Then the baguette slices are spread with some of the Smoky Bacon Cheese Ball, topped with the mushroom quarters and crumbled bacon and topped off with a sprig of fresh thyme.

The taste is smoky from the cheese ball and the extra bacon pairs beautifully with the mushrooms and fresh thyme.

Prosciutto and Cheddar Crostini Party Appetizers

Thin slices of prosciutto, sliced grape tomatoes and fresh basil add a lovely taste to my second crostini appetizer.  There is no cooking for this one. (YAY – quick and easy!)

Just spread a tablespoon of the Sharp Cheddar Cheese Ball on the sliced baguette.

Arrange some halved grape tomatoes and thin slices of the prosciutto and garnish with some strips of fresh basil. These have a summer time fresh taste that will be a nice change on a cool autumn evening.

Avocado Shrimp Crostini Party Appetizers

I love the combination of bacon, avocado and shrimp, so this next combination is a favorite of mine. First I spread a tablespoon of the Smoky Bacon Cheese Ball.

The crostini is topped with a dollop of mashed avocado and a single shrimp garnished with a sprig of cilantro.  The taste is international and the flavor is YUM!

Rosemary and Pear Crostini Party Appetizer.

I wanted my last crostini to have a bit of a sweet taste.  I chose sliced fresh pears, with fresh rosemary, a single pecan and a bit of raspberry jam.

The combination of tastes will give my guests a nice bit of sweetness that is not too much like a dessert.  The flavors go beautifully with the Sharp Cheddar Cheese Ball.

These four Crostini Recipes will really get your party going in style.  They run the tastes from savory to sweet and are sure to delight all your party going guests.

Serve these Crostini Recipes on fun seasonal platters for some great festive appeal. I find that something simple like that will really help to set a holiday mood for your party.

One thing that I love about using cheese balls is that I can use some of the cheese for my crostini recipes, but I still have plenty left over. I will use it to re-form into smaller balls on a cheese board with some grapes and nuts for another easy party appetizer idea.

My party guests always love to dig in here!

Are you ready to make these Crostini Recipes for your party guests? Just head to your local supermarket and visit the Deli Department to get your cheese and baguette and pick up the rest of your items in the produce section.

Many stores now even have a whole range of fresh herbs if you are not able to grow them like I do.

Admin note: This post for crostini recipes first appeared on the blog in November of 2016.  I have updated the post to include a video, new recipe card and nutritional information for the appetizers.

Would you like a reminder of these easy crostini recipes?  Just pin this image to one of your entertaining boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.

Yield: 16

Easy Crostini Party Appetizer Recipes

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These crostini party appetizers will start your next holiday gathering off to a tasty start. They are made with home made French bread crudites and are simple to prepare.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Total Time 28 minutes

Ingredients

For the crostini:

• 1 baguette
• 1/3 cup Olive Oil
• Sea Salt & cracked black Pepper to taste

Mushroom Bacon Crostini

• 4 baguette slices
• 1/3 cup of button mushrooms, quartered
• 2 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 4 tbsp of a Smoky Bacon Cheese Ball
• sprigs of fresh thyme

Cheddar Prosciutto Crostini

• 4 baguette slices
• 4 tbsp of a Sharp Cheddar Cheese Ball
• 4 grape tomatoes/halved
• 4 thin slices of prosciutto
• fresh basil to garnish

Avocado Shrimp Crostini

• 4 baguette slices
• 4 tbsp of a Smoky Bacon Cheese Ball
• 4 cooked shrimp
• 4 tbsp mashed avocado mixed with a bit of lemon juice
• Cracked black pepper and Cilantro to garnish.

Rosemary and Pear Crostini.

• 4 baguette slices
• 4 tbsp of a Sharp Cheddar Cheese Ball
• 8 thin slices of ripe pears
• 4 pecan halves
• 2 tbsp of raspberry preserves
• Sea Salt and Fresh rosemary to garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375º.
2. Slice the baguette diagonally into 1/2" slices. Lightly brush both sides of the baguette slices with olive oil, using a pastry brush.
3. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Bake 10 minutes, flip the slices and bake another 8 minutes until golden.
4. Serve warm, or store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
5. For the Mushroom Bacon Crostini
6. Sauté the mushrooms in a small amount of olive oil until they are tender.
7. Spread the cheese on baguette slices, top with the cooked mushrooms, crumbled bacon, and add a small sprig of fresh thyme.
8. For the Cheddar Prosciutto Crostini
9. Spread 1 tablespoon of the cheese on each baguette slice. Arrange the halved grape tomatoes and slices of prosciutto and garnish with the fresh basil.
10. For the Avocado Shrimp Crostini
11. Spread 1 tablespoon of the cheese on each baguette slice. Mash the avocado and mix in a bit of lemon juice to keep it from going brown.
12. Add it to the top of the cheese, and layer with a single shrimp. Add some cracked black pepper and a sprig of fresh cilantro.
13. For the Rosemary Pear Crostini
14. Spread 1 tablespoon of the cheese on each baguette slice. Layer the cheese with two thin slices of pear.
15. Add a half tablespoon of raspberry preserves and a single pecan half.
16. Add some sea salt and a few leaves of fresh rosemary to garnish.
17. Enjoy!

Notes

The nutritional information above is an average over the four crostinis

This is the actual breakdown of the individual appetizers.

!Mushroom Bacon - 187 calories each, 2.8 g Saturated Fat, 3.5 grams sugar, 9.1 grams protein, 353 mg sodium, 18.4 grams carb

!Cheddar Prosciutto - 215 calories each, 4.3 g Saturated Fat, 3.8 grams sugar, 8.3 grams protein, 814 mg sodium, 19.1 grams carb

!Avocado Shrimp - 199 calories each, 1.7 g Saturated Fat, 3.5 grams sugar, 6.7 grams protein. 293 mg sodium, 19.8 grams carb

!Rosemary Pear - 229 calories each, 2.4 g Saturated Fat, 12.4 grams sugar, 5.5 grams protein, 282 mg sodium, 31.3 grams carb

The cheese balls that I used were Smoky Bacon and Sharp Cheddar and they worked well with my other ingredients. Feel free to substitute a different flavor of cheese ball to your liking.

Recommended Products

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1 crostini
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 207Total Fat: 2.8gSugar: 5.8gProtein: 7.4g

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