Herbed Cheese and Roasted Pepper Crostini
These herbed cheese and roasted pepper crostini are a delicious appetizer to serve at any event or holiday gathering.
It’s been a bit since I’ve posted a recipe, and I miss it! Normally I find a lot of recipe inspiration from traveling and dining out. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened in a while. Sunday has become a big clean out the fridge day. We used to attend church and brunch, but now our tradition is online church, a big afternoon snack, followed by game night.
This has quickly become my kid’s favorite meal of the week. I make a huge cheese plate, veggie and fruit platter, and then take every leftover in the fridge and throw it on a crostini.
My kids normally avoid leftovers at all costs, but for some reason, if I put it on toasted bread it’s a whole new meal in their mind. This recipe was born from a few leftover peppers hiding in the veggie drawer, and half a container of herbed cheese spread. It’s now a new fave Sunday afternoon staple!
Herbed Cheese and Roasted Pepper Crostini
This recipe could not be easier. It’s also a great one to make ahead for entertaining. You can saute the peppers ahead of time, and assemble them whenever you are ready to eat.
Sauteed sweet peppers, garlic, fresh basil, and creamy herbed cheese are a delicious combo. Drizzle it with balsamic vinegar reduction and it really takes it over the top. You can absolutely make your own balsamic reduction by cooking it down until it reduces. Or you can make it super easy and buy a bottle of balsamic glaze which they carry in specialty shops, and even most grocery stores too.
Crostini Topping Ideas
A few other “leftover crostini” ideas I like to make are –
Leftover steak, sauteed onions, and horseradish mayo
Leftover chicken diced with bbq sauce and provolone
Fig jam, goat cheese, and almonds
Marinara and mozzarella
Hummus and tapenade
Almond butter, sliced strawberries, and honey (my son’s personal fave)
The options are endless!
Herbed Cheese and Roasted Pepper Crostini
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Ciabatta or French baguette
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 diced red or yellow sweet peppers
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/8 c of balsamic vinegar
- 3 ounces herbed cheese spread such as Boursin or goat cheese
- Chopped Basil
- 3 tbsp Balsamic Glaze or reduced Balsamic Vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Thinly slice ciabatta or baguette and place on a cookie sheet.
- Toast for 5-10 minutes until desired crunchiness.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saute pan on medium/high heat.
- Saute peppers 5-10 minutes until soft and slightly caramelized.
- Add minced garlic and balsamic vinegar. Cook 2-3 minutes more until vinegar cooks down.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove from heat.
- Remove the toasted bread from the oven and spread with Boursin or herbed goat cheese.
- Top with sauteed peppers.
- Top with chopped basil.
- Drizzle balsamic glaze over top.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
This Herbed Cheese and Roasted Pepper Crostini is the perfect appetizer for the holidays or just a Sunday afternoon! Find my other delicious appetizer recipes below.
Burrata Pesto Tomato Jam Crostini
Balsamic Mushroom Goat Cheese Tarts
made these tonight and oh my! delicious!!!
Oh yay, I’m so glad you liked them!
Looks delicious! I’m always looking for new appetizer recipes. Thanks for sharing!
I love the look and sound of these! You mentioned the demi ciabatta loaves in your TJ’s Favorites post. Can’t tell you how many of those loaves have gone in my cart!
Love all the ideas for this…I make a version with Boursin cheese spread on lightly toasted baguette topped with a little pile of shaved rare roast beef from the deli and a few fine shreds of red onion. Looks delicious and is so simple to pull together. (I’ve also made this with Honeycup honey mustard instead of the Boursin cheese – you can throw a little cheese on if desired; I’ve used some good English Cheddar crumbles but anything would probably work). Thanks for sharing!
They look delicious! Thanks for all the great ideas 😊
My stomach is growling!! These look amazing and Boursin is one of our favorites. Looks like I know what we are munching on Sunday afternoon. Thanks for sharing Kelly.
Oh, how pretty is that appetizer! I can just imagine the ooohs and ahhhhs when you present them. I will definitely make these. Thanks so much for the recipe, Kelly. :)
Fabulous ideas. I keep a rustic loaf of sliced bread in my freezer just for this purpose. I make French style tartines out of everything imaginable. Just take out a couple of slices to thaw and then broil them lightly on both sides. Our favorites are smoked salmon, capers, & red onion. The sky is the limit – sometimes it’s egg salad, tuna salad, speck, with a handful of arugula, whatever. They get a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. It’s really just an open face sandwich. I usually just do it for lunch, but for dinner you can add a simple green salad. Another tip – Jacques Pepin makes what he calls his refrigerator soup – using veggies a bit past their prime, etc. It’s a good way to clean out your frig, and I also keep some nice rustic breads in the freezer to help round out the meal. Today I am making a big pot of what is called farmhouse soup, and I’ll be adding barley to it to beef it up a bit. Wednesday afternoons we have a remote cocktail hour with long time friends, and after yacking for a couple of hours and having a cocktail who wants to cook, so I just warm up the soup. I think Jacque’s French formative years taught him to use up everything, and it’s amazing what you can come up with to make a nutritious meal.