Sliced baguette toasted with garlic butter, topped with soft goat cheese, prosciutto (or you favorite meat), arugula, and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. This Goat Cheese Crostini with Prosciutto and Arugula is the perfect finger snack for your next party or get together! And bonus, it’s fast so you can make it at the last minute!
I have to admit: I’m slightly obsessed with easy party snacks. For someone as introverted as I am, I sure do love to be a party host. It doesn’t matter how many people I have over, I will go overboard and make a ton of party appetizers.
My husband and I tried something similar to this at our favorite restaurant, Bocca Italian Kitchen, here in Houston. It made me want to try making my own! This Goat Cheese Crostini with Prosciutto and Arugula appetizer is one of my new favorites. It’s incredibly easy to make and super tasty.
Why use goat cheese?
Goat cheese is a perfect type of cheese for this kind of appetizer! Now, there are a ton of different types of goat cheese ranging in flavor profiles and hardness, but generally speaking, goat cheese has a slightly more tart flavor profile.
The particular kind of goat cheese I used is Snofrisk. I was able to find it at my local supermarket. It’s a super soft, spreadable Norwegian goat cheese. If you are a little nervous about the flavor of goat cheese, this might be a good one for you to start with. It’s made with 80% goats milk, with the remainder being cow cream. It’s got a pretty mild flavor, but is soft, creamy and rich. I found it perfect for this goat cheese crostini appetizer.
What do I need for this goat cheese crostini?
The good news is that the ingredients for this goat cheese crostini is pretty short! For the topping, you will need:
- goat cheese- We just talked about this above!
- balsamic vinegar- You can use whatever kind you like! Just make sure it’s a thick, syrupy reduction. If you want a little sweetness, try some balsamic fig glaze. Also delicious!
- prosciutto- I also used sopressata on some of mine. Sopressata has a saltier, stronger flavor. It is SO GOOD! Prosciutto is a bit more mild, but so tasty and perfect for a crostini topping.
- arugula- I opted for mature arugula instead of baby arugula. Mature arugula has a more potent, peppery topping.
To prepare the crostini, you will need:
- A french baguette loaf- long skinny bread with a crispy crust
- melted butter
- grated garlic
- salt
- dried oregano (not required, but a nice addition)
Putting together your crostini
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This is such an incredibly fast and easy party appetizer. It really can be done in about 20 minutes! The most amount of effort goes into toasting the bread.
Preheat your oven to 400F. While that is going, melt your butter over low heat on the stove. Using a microplaner if you have one, grate the garlic into the butter. Stir it around and let the garlicky goodness meld into the butter. Make sure to keep the heat LOW so the garlic won’t burn. It will go from perfect to scorched in seconds. Add the oregano if you are using it.
Speaking of OXO Good Grips 1-½ Inch Natural Pastry Brush” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow”>pastry brush, brush both sides of each slice of bread. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt.
Note: I only made about 12 pieces of crostini with the amounts listed. You can easily make more or less!
Put them in the oven and toast for about 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. You want your crostini to be super crunchy, but don’t let it burn!
When your crostini comes out of the oven, you’re almost done! From here,
- Spread the goat cheese. Give it a nice thick layer!
- Drizzle the balsamic glaze.
- Add your prosciutto. Prosciutto normally comes in a large slice, so I used about a hald slice for each piece.
- Top with a couple pieces of arugula.
After that, your goat cheese crostini appetizer is ready to go! Quick, easy, DELICIOUS!
Enjoy!
Need some more easy finger party food or appetizer ideas? Try:
- Stuffed Mushrooms with Italian Sausage
- Panko Crusted Fried Zucchini
- Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Peppers
- Low Carb Mozzarella Sticks
Goat Cheese Crostini with Prosciutto and Arugula
Ingredients
For the Crostini
- 1 baguette loaf I prefer the super skinny ones
- 2 cloves grated garlic use a microplaner for best results
- 4 tbsp butter
- ¼ tsp oregano optional
For the topping
- 4 ounces spreadable goat cheese
- 2-3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar Or balsamic fig glaze for a little more sweetness
- 6 slices prosciutto or sopressata or both!
- 1 handful arugula Not very exact, but you get the idea! It's on average about 2 leaves per crostini.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Slice bread into slices, about ¾ inch thick. Slice on an angle for a little more surface area.
- In a small saute pan over medium low heat, melt butter. Add grated garlic and oregano. Cook on low/med-low for 2 minutes. Do not turn the heat up! The garlic will burn.
- Using a pastry brush (preferably, if you have one), brush both sides of the bread until completely coated. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt on both sides.
- Toast in the oven for about 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. You want it to be really crispy!
- Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
- Spread cheese in a generous layer on each crostini.
- Drizzle balsamic vinegar on each piece. I tried to keep mine to a few skinny stripes.
- Top each piece with prosciutto. I used half a slice per crostini. You can also use sopressata for a salties taste.
- Place arugula on top of each crostini. Start with 1-2 pieces each.
- Serve and enjoy!
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