These apple and brie sweet potato crostini are a perfectly festive way to celebrate any occasion. They are delicious as an appetizer before a meal, served as hors d’oeuvres during happy hour or cocktail hour, or a great light and healthy snack for both adults and kids. They’re also super easy to make with less than 10 ingredients and just over 30 minutes from start to finish!
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📋 About the Recipe
If you’re looking for a last minute appetizer before a holiday party or event, look no further than these delicious apple and brie crostini bites or these bacon bourbon pecan brie bites. With the use of a sliced and roasted sweet potato, instead of the traditional toasted bread, this recipe is wonderfully light and healthy with a pack of sweet and mildly cheesy flavor. The drizzle of honey on top of the apples helps to balance their inherent tartness, while the sprinkle of toasted pecans brings along a great crunchy texture and nutty flavor.
With only minutes to spare, you can prepare, cook, clean, and serve these crostini in almost no time. They are delicious served hot, so pull them out of the oven just as your guests come strolling through the door. (They’ll have no idea that you whipped this up at the last minute! 😉)
Additionally, this recipe is simple enough to size up or down depending on the number of eaters. Slice extra sweet potatoes and buy a large wheel of brie for extra guests or buy one potato with a wedge of brie for a happy hour for two.
Not sure when would be the best time to serve this quick and easy appetizer? Nearly any occasion will do! From Thanksgiving and Christmas to New Year’s Eve, summer barbecues, and an after school snack, this recipe is so versatile, you can truly enjoy it any time of the year.
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- If you’d prefer a more “typical” crostini, you can substitute the sweet potatoes for a sliced crusty bread, like a french baguette, ciabatta, or Italian loaf. Lightly toast them in the oven until they’re golden brown, watching carefully so the bread doesn’t burn.
- You can also substitute the brie with goat cheese, mild white cheddar cheese, or camembert instead.
- Any kind of apple works. I prefer honey crisp for a crisp, slightly tart bite. I also found that honey crisp apples don’t brown as quickly as granny smiths or other tart varieties.
- To toast the pecans: Spread them out on a sheet pan. Place them in a 425 degree F oven for 3 to 5 minutes until they’re fragrant and golden brown. (You do NOT need to add any oil.)
📓 Instructions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes and cut them into half-inch thick slices.
Prepare a sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray it with nonstick spray. Spread the sliced potatoes on the pan, leaving space in between each one. Brush or drizzle the sweet potato slices with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, flip the potatoes, then bake another 15 minutes until they’re soft, slightly brown, and toasty. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the brie, apples, and pecans.
To assemble, top the sweet potatoes with the triangles of brie. Allow the brie to begin melting before adding 2 to 3 apple slices on top. Drizzle the top of the finished crostini with some honey and top it all off with the chopped pecans. Garnish with a small sprig of fresh thyme.
The apple and brie crostini are best when served fresh and warm from the oven.
Check out the how-to steps in this web story!
🔍 FAQs
In Italian, “crostini” means “little toasts.” They are often topped with a combination of cheese, thinly sliced meats, or seafood.
On the other hand, “bruschetta” means “to roast over coals.” Though both seem very similar, bruschetta is often drizzled with olive oil and rubbed with garlic, then topped with fresh ingredients, like tomatoes and basil, and sauces, such as pesto or balsamic reduction. To truly distinguish between the two, it is common that the bread used for bruschetta is cooked whole, while instead, the crostini bread is sliced and toasted.
Crostini are typically served as an appetizer and make a great finger food. However, these crostini can be served with drinks, like a white wine or sparkling cider, during happy hour, as an after school snack, or as a unique side dish to pair with chicken or beef.
Pair these brie and apple crostini with:
- Apple Cranberry Salad with Feta and Candied Pecans
- Apple Cider Moscow Mules
- Sheet Pan Lemon Rosemary Chicken
What makes this recipe healthy?
As mentioned, crostini are made with a toasted slice of bread. In this recipe, I swap out the bread for a sliced sweet potato. In doing so, the potato offers more vitamins and nutrients, making it a healthy option. Likewise, the potato provides another fresh element, offering a lighter take on an Italian classic.
💭 One More Tip
If you’d like to switch things up a bit, you can get pretty creative with these crostini. Some variations include: substituting pears instead of apples, adding some prosciutto or a deli meat of choice, topping them with toasted walnuts, shelled pistachios, or sliced almonds instead of pecans, and drizzling maple syrup instead of honey.
🍴 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Apple and Brie Sweet Potato Crostini
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 3.5 ounces brie cut into small squares or triangles
- 1 apple sliced thin
- ½ cup toasted pecans chopped (see notes)
- honey for drizzling
- fresh thyme for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes and cut them into half-inch thick round slices.
- Prepare a sheet pan with aluminum foil and spray it with nonstick spray. Spread the sliced potatoes on the pan, leaving space in between each one. Brush or drizzle the sweet potato slices with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, flip the potatoes, then bake another 15 minutes until they’re soft, slightly brown, and toasty. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the brie, apples, and pecans.
- To assemble, top the sweet potatoes with the brie. Allow the brie to begin melting before adding 2 to 3 apple slices on top.
- Drizzle the top of the finished crostini with some honey and top it all off with the chopped pecans.
- Garnish with a small sprig of fresh thyme.
- The apple and brie crostini are best when served fresh and warm from the oven.
Notes
- If you’d prefer a more “typical” crostini, you can substitute the sweet potatoes for a sliced crusty bread, like a french baguette, ciabatta, or Italian loaf. Lightly toast them in the oven until they’re golden brown, watching carefully so the bread doesn’t burn.
- You can also substitute the brie with goat cheese, mild white cheddar cheese, or camembert instead.
- Any kind of apple works. I prefer honey crisp for a crisp, slightly tart bite. I also found that honey crisp apples don’t brown as quickly as granny smiths or other tart varieties.
- To toast the pecans: Spread them out on a sheet pan. Place them in a 425 degree F oven for 3 to 5 minutes until they’re fragrant and golden brown. (You do NOT need to add any oil.
- If you’d like to switch things up a bit, you can get pretty creative with these crostini. Some variations include: substituting pears instead of apples, adding some prosciutto or a deli meat of choice, topping them with toasted walnuts, shelled pistachios, or sliced almonds instead of pecans, and drizzling maple syrup instead of honey.
Nutrition
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