How to Make Crostinis – Toasted Bread Recipe
My super simple, restaurant-style Crostini Recipe features perfectly golden toasted baguette slices brushed with rich extra virgin olive oil, rubbed with fresh garlic, and seasoned with flakey sea salt. These versatile little toasts can be used in dozens of ways and are ready in just 15 minutes.
Equipment
- 1 Serrated Knife
- 1 Baking Sheet OR Sheet Pan
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Baguette or French Bread (SEE NOTES)
- As Needed Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (about 3-4 TBS)
- 2 medium Cloves Garlic – peeled and cur int half
- To Taste Flakey Sea Salt and Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Arrange the oven rack to the middle position and then preheat your oven to 375-degrees Fahrenheit (or 350 to 355 convection fan-forced).
- Slice Baguette: Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the loaf of bread on a bias into 1/3-inch to ½-inch rounds, you should get 16-20 slices of bread.
- For the Crostini: Arrange the slices of bread in a single layer on a large sheet pan. Next, use a pastry brush to lightly brush olive oil onto both sides of the bread. Then, sprinkle flaky sea salt all over the bread.
- Bake Crostini Bread: Transfer the bread to the oven and bake until lightly toasted, about 8-12 minutes, flipping the slices of bread over halfway through baking.
- Flavor the Crostini Toast: Working with one half of a garlic clove and a slice of bread at a time, rub the cut side of the garlic against the surface of each toast. Repeat with the remaining garlic cloves and crostini. Flip the crostini over so the garlic-rubbed side is facing down. Then, season the top of the crostini again with more flakey salt. (Tip: When rubbing, only use as much garlic as you like – applying harder pressure for more intense garlic flavor and using a lighter touch for a milder garlic flavor. For the most garlic flavor, rub the garlic on both sides of the crostini toast.) (Note: When using crostini as a toast for toppings, I like to serve the garlic-rubbed side of the crostini down so that when you eat it, the flavor of the garlic hits your tonged. If you put the garlic-rubbed side facing up, it will get covered with toppings. Zif you rubbed both sides of the toast with garlic, disregard this note.)
- Serve Crostinis: Top your crostini breads with bruschetta and tapenades, or serve as a dipper for soups, dips, and more.
Notes
- Bread: You can use any sturdy bread to make this crostini recipe. I typically use a baguette and have never run into an issue; however, other hearty breads such as ciabatta, sourdough, pane di casa, etc. work great too. I typically use whatever bread looks best at the store. (The pictures in the post feature a baguette.)
- Storage: Store crostini in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days. Alternatively, you can store your crostinis in the freezer for up to 30 days. Just be sure to defrost them before using.
- Make Ahead: If you’re wanting to use the crostini for bruschetta appetizers and such, you can add the toppings to the crostini up to 2 hours in advance. If you prepare it any further ahead, the crostini bread will get soggy.
- Need to Scale the Recipe? Hover your mouse over the number of servings in the recipe card. You'll see a sliding scale pop up, you can use that to scale the recipe up or down as needed.
- Got questions? I've got answers! If you ever run into an issue, have a question, or need any clarification - please feel free to drop them in the comments section. I'm happy to help when I can!
- Recipe Serves: 16-20; depending upon the size of your baguette or bread.
Nutrition
Calories: 51kcal Carbohydrates: 6g Protein: 1g Fat: 2g Saturated Fat: 0.4g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g Monounsaturated Fat: 2g Sodium: 77mg Potassium: 17mg Fiber: 0.3g Sugar: 1g Vitamin A: 0.03IU Vitamin C: 0.1mg Calcium: 14mg Iron: 0.4mg