How to Make Crostini
Learn how to make crostini at home with this simple, 3-ingredient recipe! These crisp, golden little toasts are perfect to serve alongside your favorite party dips, appetizers, or on a cheeseboard!
Crispy, golden bread!
Today I want to show you how to make crostini – one of the easiest, 3-ingredient recipes that elevate any and everything you serve it with.
I mean, at this stage of life, most people can combine a few ingredients and make a dip, but when you say you made homemade crostini to pair with your dip, you automatically earn brownie points.
Crostini? You made crostini?
Honestly, it’s a lot fancier sounding than the amount of energy required to put it together. And if there’s anything we love, it’s a recipe that sounds fancy but requires minimum work! All you need to do is slice up a store-bought baguette or ciabatta baton and pop it on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with flakey sea salt. If you want to get really fancy, bust out a little smoked sea salt or rub with a cut clove of garlic when the crostini is hot out of the oven.
The prep time on these is minimal, but the results are amazing!
Instructions for How to make Crostini
- Prep first. Start by preheating the oven and lining a large baking sheet with parchment paper. You can easily fit 18-22 slices on a large baking sheet, but if you’re making more, you’ll need multiple sheet pans.
- Slice. It’s important to slice the baguette into even slices so that all of the bread toasts in roughly the same amount of time. Drizzle or brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. A pastry brush works best for this. Then, sprinkle with flaked sea salt. If you’re feeling fancy, smoked flakey salt is delicious for this.
- Bake until golden. Arrange the slices on the baking sheet in a single layer. The cook time on these will vary based on how thick your slices are. I usually slice them about ½-inch in thickness, and they take about 8-11 minutes that way. But keep a close eye on them. If you sliced them slightly thinner, they may be done sooner. I estimate about 6-9 minutes. Feel free to rub them with a cut clove of garlic when they’re hot out of the oven for more garlicky goodness!
Best Tips for Homemade Crostini
- Use olive oil, but not extra virgin. No need to splurge on EVOO. This recipe works best with regular olive oil as it has a higher smoke point than extra virgin olive oil.
- Use good quality bread. You can use a variety of bread, but make sure it’s good quality. You can use a french baguette, a rustic Italian bread, or even an artisan ciabatta baton.
- A serrated knife makes better slices. A bread knife is made for this job! It will easily slice through the bread in uniform slices. Apply even pressure when slicing so that the bread isn’t concave in the center. It’ll cook much faster in the middle and leave the edges pale, and you don’t want that!
- Make even slices so that they all bake in the oven evenly. I like to do ½-inch thick. slices. It’s the perfect amount of bread for topping!
- Cut the bread on the diagonal this gives you more surface area for toppings!
- You don’t have to use stale bread. Crostini can be made with fresh or stale bread. For stale bread, you’ll need to bake the crostini for a minute or two less than fresh bread.
- For the best flavor, rub with garlic. If you’re serving this with a savory dip or appetizer, rubbing a cut clove of garlic on the crostini right when it’s hot out of the oven gives it a delicious flavor! This is what I do when I’m making bruschetta, and it works for all sorts of dips too!
FAQs about this recipe:
Definitely! Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle (or brush) the sliced bread with olive oil on both sides. Place the bread on the grill and crisp the bread through, about 1-3 minutes or until the first side has grill marks. Flip and cook the other side. Immediately rub with the cut side of the garlic clove if desired.
If you want the crostini to be crisp around the edges but still softer in the center, you can bake the crostini for roughly half the time and then broil it for 30-45 seconds under the broiler. Broiling helps brown it quickly and won’t dry out the center of the bread as much.
Crostini is thinly sliced and toasted white bread. A baguette is often used to make crostini.
Bruschetta is wide cuts of sourdough or rustic Italian bread that is grilled or baked. Crostini is usually smaller pieces of bread, and most often, it’s white bread or french-style bread.
Keep the crostini in an airtight container at room temperature. Use within two days!
What to serve with crostini
Top crostini with homemade dips:
- Baked Goat Cheese Dip
- Herb Garlic Baked Brie
- Extra Smooth Hummus
- Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Jammy Hot Onion Dip
- Tomato Fresh Basil Bruschetta (drizzle with balsamic glaze!)
- Philly Cheesesteak Dip
- Hot Chipotle Shrimp Corn Dip
- Smoked Salmon Goat Chees Bruschetta
Other serving ideas:
- As cheese toasts with tomato basil soup
- As a vehicle to scoop up a festive salad
- Wildflower honey or hot honey
- Strawberry preserves (or others)
- Olive Tapenade
- Hot Honey Cheese Balls
- Sliced fruit
- Seafood salad (or shrimp salad)
- Roasted vegetables in whipped yogurt sauce
- With whipped ricotta and pistachio
- Herbed cream cheese
- With marinated mozzarella and tomato salad
How to Make Crostini
Learn how to make crostini at home with this simple, 3-ingredient recipe! These crisp, golden little toasts are perfect to serve alongside your favorite party dips, appetizers, or on a cheeseboard!
Ingredients
- baguette (french-style or ciabatta)
- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil, for brushing
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
- 1-2 clove garlic, optional
Instructions
- PREP: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
- SLICE: Slice the baguette on the diagonal (this gives it more surface area for toppings!) just shy of ½-inch thick slices. You can also slice them thinner but they will bake quicker (see notes.) Drizzle or brush both sides of the bread slices with olive, and sprinkle with sea salt.
- BAKE: Arrange the slices on the parchment paper in a single layer and bake for 8-11 minutes or until crispy and golden. Store leftover crostini in an airtight container for a couple of days.
Notes
- Storage: Keep leftover crostini in an airtight container at room temperature. Use within two days!
- Slices: You can slice the bread thinner than suggested if you’d like. But make sure to keep a close eye on the crostini as it will cook in closer to 6-9 minutes.
I plan on making this, am wondering about adding a tomato Basil seasoning or maybe a sundried tomato paste to it. There are so many ideas running in my head. Thank you for this!