Holiday Crostini
Crostini is a great party appetizer for any occasion and this holiday version is easy and elegant for any holiday party!
For more ideas for New Year’s Eve and other holiday appetizers, check out our whole collection of New Year’s Eve Appetizers!
Why This Is A Great Holiday Appetizer
Perfect mix of flavors: These crostini layer sweet, salty, creamy, and crunchy ingredients like Brie, pears, prosciutto, cranberries, and pomegranate seeds, all the flavors we love during the holiday season.
Beautiful and festive: The bright pops of red from cranberries and pomegranate seeds make them look extra cheerful on a holiday table (and gorgeous next to a sparkling pomegranate cocktail).
Crowd-pleasing variety: With a trio of toppings: creamy Brie, sweet pear-cranberry, and savory prosciutto, there’s something for everyone, making them an easy win for parties.
Surprisingly simple: Even though they look elegant, these crostini use many of the same ingredients across each topping, so they’re budget-friendly and quick to assemble.
Pairs perfectly with cocktails: Because they balance richness with brightness, these crostini are wonderful alongside bubbly holiday drinks, especially anything with pomegranate or prosecco.
Ideal for any holiday gathering: They fit right in at Christmas parties, New Year’s Eve celebrations, and even Thanksgiving.
Ingredients for Holiday Crostini
For the crostini itself, you’ll need:
- French Baguette -find it in your local supermarket’s bakery section.
- Olive Oil – For the best flavor, use extra virgin olive oil.
- Salt – You can use either coarse sea salt or coarse kosher salt.
- Black Pepper – Freshly cracked black pepper will always yield the best flavor.
The toppings include:
- Brie Cheese – When it comes to Brie, the creamier, the better! If you can find a triple cream Brie cheese, snag it.
- Pears – Pears can be a bit touchy. Make sure yours are fresh by checking for excessive bruising, brown spots, and tenderness, as those are all signs that the pear is no longer fresh.
- Onion – A yellow onion is preferred, as it has a delicate amount of sweetness that compliments the other ingredients.
- Cranberries – Use dried, not fresh cranberries.
- Thyme – For the most wonderful aromatic experience, use fresh thyme.
- Honey – for the best flavor, try to get fresh local honey!
- Pomegranate Seeds – grab a cup of pomegranate seeds from the produce section, it will save you a lot of time!
- Mascarpone Cheese – This cheese is light and creamy and pairs well with both sweet and savory dishes, making it perfect for this crostini recipe.
- Prosciutto – thinly sliced, salty prosciutto will be perfect component to other sweet and fruity ingredients.
- Pine Nuts – If you have any left over, make sure to put it to good use by making some Homemade Pesto!
How to Make Crostini
Preheat your oven to 425°F. While that’s heating up, slice the baguette into thin slices.
Brush each slice of bread with olive oil on both sides.
Place the prepared slices onto the baking sheet in a single layer. You will need to use two large baking sheets or bake in two batches. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on top.
Finally, bake the crostini for approximately 6-8 minutes, until golden brown.
Prepare the Toppings For Holiday Crostini
Melting Brie On Crostini: To prepare the Brie, simply cut the rind-free Brie into small, even pieces, then place them onto the crostini. Pop the crostini back into the oven for just a few moments until the Brie has melted.
Pear and Cranberry Topping: Dice the pears and divide the pieces into two even halves. Cook the diced onion in a small pan until softened. Add half of the pears, continuing to cook until the pears are golden in color. Mix in the cranberries and cook for a few more minutes before removing from the heat and stirring in the fresh thyme.
Pomegranate Topping: In another small bowl, combine the remaining pears with pomegranate seeds and stir to combine. Divide some mascarpone cheese on the remaining slices of baguette, then evenly top each one with the pear and pomegranate mixture.
Prosciutto Topping: Next, divide the prosciutto over the remaining Brie topped crostini before placing a few pine nuts over the meat.
Finally, the Honey: As a tasty final touch, drizzle some honey over the prosciutto and pomegranate crostini!
Make Ahead Options
The hardest part of making crostini is making the toasted bread, and that’s really not difficult at all.
- You can prepare the crusty bread slices ahead of time and leave it on the counter, uncovered for several hours or up to a day.
- If you need to store them for longer, keep them in an air-tight container at room temperature.
- They should be good for up to 5 days. If you need to crisp them back up, just pop them in the oven for a couple of minutes at 425°F.
Recipe FAQs
While both technically translate to “crispy bread,” there is a difference between them. The main difference is the bread itself. Bruschetta is generally made with larger slices of bread, while crostini is supposed to be the size of a bite or two.
Crostini is also usually simply rubbed with olive oil and seasoned with salt, while bruschetta calls for olive oil, salt, and a rubbing of garlic.
Bruschetta is known for being toasted slices of bread topped with fresh tomato mixture, while crostini usually has a very wide variety of toppings.
When it comes to texture, crostini is usually much more dry and toasted with a definitive crunch, while bruschetta is toasted golden to have crispy outer layer with a little softness in the middle.
My favorite ones to serve are light and crisp with similar fruity and tart notes. Think pomegranate martini, pomegranate champagne punch, pomegranate gin cocktail, Christmas punch, French 75.
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Holiday Crostini Trio Recipe
Ingredients
For Crostini:
- 12 oz French baguette
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- coarse sea salt or coarse kosher salt
- black pepper
Toppings:
- 8 oz Brie cheese
- 2 pears peeled and diced
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2/3 cup pomegranate seeds
- 4 oz mascarpone cheese
- 4 oz prosciutto 6-8 thin slices
- 3-4 tbsp pine nuts
Instructions
How To Make Crostini:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Don't line or grease a thin rimmed baking sheet.
- Slice baguette into thin slices. (You will get about 30 slices, not counting the end pieces.)
- Brush each slice of bread with olive oil on both sides. Place the bread slices onto the rimmed baking sheet in one layer. Sprinkle some coarse salt and black pepper over the bread and bake for 6-8 minutes, until golden brown.
Melt Brie On Some Crostini:
- Slice the rind off the Brie cheese and discard it. Cut the Brie cheese into small pieces and divide them evenly among 20 crostini pieces.
- Place the baking sheet with cheese topped crostini back into the oven for just a couple more minutes, until Brie is melted. Take out and set aside.
Prepare toppings:
- Dice the pears and divide it in two even halves.
- In a small cooking pan, cook diced onion until softens. Add half of the pears and cook until pears and onions are soft and start to golden. Mix in dried cranberries and cook everything together a few more minutes, until onions and pears are golden. Take off the heat and stir in thyme.
- In a small bowl, combine remaining half of the diced pears and pomegranate seeds and mix.
- Spread some mascarpone cheese on the remaining 10 slices of baguette and divide the pear/pomegranate topping evenly over each slice.
- Divide the sautéed pear/cranberry topping evenly over the 10 Brie crostini.
- Divide the prosciutto over remaining 10 Brie topped crostini and spread some pine nuts over the prosciutto.
- Drizzle honey over the prosciutto and pomegranate crostini. (If you wish, you can drizzle honey over all of the crostini.)
Nutrition
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Appetizer Recipes, Christmas Dinner Recipes, New Year's Eve Recipes, Snack Ideas, Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Great! Look so yummy. Love your site’s tone much!
Thanks! 🙂