I’ve been SO excited to re-share this fun and flavorful appetizer with you for Day 2 of AK Cherry Week! That’s right, we’ll be sharing our best cherry recipes here on the blog and on social this week to celebrate the gorgeous fruit.
These grilled crostini have juicy roasted cherries, creamy ricotta, and a sprinkle of fresh basil to tie them together. Every bite is truly a flavor explosion. The cherries are roasted with a little pure maple syrup and lemon zest, giving them a lovely sweetness that’s perfectly balanced with creamy ricotta.
This roasted cherry and goat cheese grilled crostini is incredibly easy to make but feels really fun and elevated — AKA appetizer goals! I’ve included easy ways to customize them with what you might have on hand, as well as simple ways to prep them ahead of time. Serve these at your next BBQ or girls’ night and get ready to impress everyone.
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Everything you’ll need to make grilled crostini with roasted cherries
These flavorful grilled crostini require just a few simple ingredients but turn into the perfect app that feels a little fancy! Here’s everything you’ll need to make them:
- Bread: I like to use a French baguette because it’s easy to slice and even easier to grill. Each crostini holds up the toppings perfectly. Day-old bread works just fine!
- Cherries: we’re roasting dark, sweet cherries with olive oil, a little pure maple syrup, and lemon zest. I highly recommend using a cherry pitter for ease!
- Ricotta: creamy, slightly sweet ricotta pairs deliciously with the sweet cherries.
- Basil: top each crostini with basil ribbons for a wonderful hint of freshness.
Make these grilled crostini your own
There are tons of different ways to customize your grilled crostini! Here are some more fruit & cheese ideas that would be delicious:
- For the ricotta: You could also add a slice of brie if you’d like or creamy goat cheese.
- For the cherries: I love the flavor that sweet cherries have when they’re roasted, but you could also swap them for roasted berries (like strawberries in this recipe).
- To make gluten free: simply slice up your favorite gluten free baguette or loaf.
How to make these roasted cherry & ricotta grilled crostini
- Roast the cherries. Start by tossing your pitted & halved cherries in olive oil, maple syrup & lemon zest. Then roast them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper until they’re nice and juicy.
- Grill the bread. While the cherries are roasting you can grill your french baguette slices for 2 minutes on each side until they’re slightly golden brown. They grill very fast, so watch carefully!
- Assemble the crostini. Once the crostini are cool, top each one with a spread of ricotta, a spoonful of cherries & their juices, and a sprinkle of torn basil. Serve & enjoy!
Make them ahead of time
If you’re making these for a BBQ or party and want to save some time, I’d suggest pitting and halving your cherries the day before and storing them in the fridge so that you can easily toss them and roast them before serving. You can also slice up your baguette and basil ribbons for ease!
Storing tips
These roasted cherry ricotta crostini are best eaten on the same day, so I’d recommend only assembling ones that will be eaten. You can store the cherries and ricotta separately in the fridge to assemble the next day, too!
More appetizers you’ll love
- Avocado Strawberry Mango Salsa
- White Cheddar Brussels Sprouts & Pistachio Crostini with Hot Honey
- How to Make Super Creamy Hummus (+5 different flavor variations!)
- Fresh & Healthy 7-Layer Dip
- Apple & Brie Crostini with Hot Honey
Get all of my delicious appetizer recipes here!
I hope you love these grilled crostini with roasted cherries, ricotta & basil. If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Grilled Crostini with Roasted Cherries, Ricotta & Basil
Ingredients
- 1 french baguette, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch slices
- For the roasted cherries:
- 4 cups fresh dark sweet cherries, pitted and halved
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- For the lemon ricotta:
- 8 ounces whole milk ricotta
- ½ lemon, juiced
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
- To garnish:
- Fresh basil ribbons
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the pitted and halved cherries to the pan, then drizzle with olive oil, maple syrup and lemon zest; toss together then spread the cherries into a single layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cherries are nice and juicy.
- In a medium bowl mix together the ricotta, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, preheat the grill to 400 degrees F or medium high heat. Grill each side of the crostini for approximately 2 minutes or until slightly golden brown, watching carefully so they crostini do not burn. Set aside onto a platter. Alternatively you can baked the crostini for 5 to 7 minutes at 400 degrees F in your oven.
- Once the crostini are cool enough to safely handle, top each one with a dollop of lemon ricotta, followed by a spoonful of roasted cherries and their juices. Finish off the crostini with a sprinkling of torn basil and a little extra lemon zest. Crostini are best served immediately.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on June 14th, 2022, and republished to use ricotta on July 15th, 2024.
This recipe sounds so good, can’t wait to try it! Do you think roasting thawed frozen cherries would work as a substitute for the fresh cherries? Also, does the grilled crostini provide extra flavor or would broiling give the same taste results? Thanks for all your great recipes.
Hi! I think that should work fine, yes! You do get a bit more smoky flavor from grilling it but toasting the bread under the broiler or in your toaster oven would still be great 🙂
Pretty much awesome. I will add this to my next week’s friends’ party dinner.
So excited for you to try them!
How long do roasted cherries last in the fridge? I would love to use them with other things
I think they should be good for around 5 days!
Such a unique and rich appetizer! A wonderful recipe for a dinner party or backyard BBQ! I will 100% be making this recipe again!
Aren’t the flavors so good?! Thanks so much!
Hello, This recipe sounds exciting. In our place, oven doesn’t have option of grilling. It just have temperature settings. Do you have any idea how can I grill the bread? TIA!
Sorry for the confusion! I actually grill the bread on my actual grill outside. If you don’t have a grill, feel free to just toast the bread in a toaster or on a pan in the oven 🙂
Thank you so much Monique! I will try toasting the bread. Thank you!
I made these for a potluck this weekend, and everyone loved them! I used both regular goat cheese and a honey goat cheese. The Basil turned brown before I could use it so I nixed that ingredient, but I can imagine it would have been delicious! I’ve also made your Brie/apple and ricotta/pear crostinis before and they are all a hit every time with my friends!
Love that! Great idea to try it with flavored goat cheese. So happy the other crostini are a fav, too!
Delicious! The “pitter” is so great and fun to use!
Totally! Glad you’re enjoying these ❤️
Can these be served room temperature? Need to take to a potluck where there isn’t an option to serve them warm.
Sure!
Fantastic
Delicious!!!!
Glad you enjoyed!
Can you use frozen sweet cherries? What about whole cranberries?
Sure! This will work with tons of different fruits 🙂
Hi there! This looks soooo good! I’m thinking of trying it with frozen cherries – what do you think? I thought I would let them thaw and dry them off and prepare as directed. I expect they’ll be a little limper but likely still very close to the desired result. Apologies if you addressed this in another post. Thanks! (p.s. I looove cherries, and was so happy to find this post).
Yes that should work!!
Tried this out as a post-work snack/appetizer, and definitely going to try more of these crostini recipes! So yum! Used goat cheese cheese cuz’ my ricotta had disappeared (I blame hubs), and the creamy cheese, sweet cherries, and herby basil with fresh lemon is just a spectacular combo. My cherries weren’t all that sweet, so I did drizzle some reduced balsamic over them before serving, but it was just the perfect bite. Thank you as always! Can’t wait to try the strawberry one!
Amazing! So glad you enjoyed!