Roasted Grape Crostini with Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Why We Love Roasted Grape Crostini with Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Today I have some lovely little appetizers for you. They are crisp and creamy, salty and sweet. These crostini with goat cheese, walnuts and a roasted grape topping have it all! They sort of fall somewhere between Roasted Cranberry Flatbread and these beet and goat cheese bruschetta.

They are sweet and savory and really surprising. I even got a phone call from my husband at work the other day telling me how awesome they were! Day made.

Grapes are easy to weave into both savory and sweet recipes. Plus, roasting fruit helps to bring out so much natural sweetness. Try this Vanilla Roasted Pear Overnight Oats recipe or Pizza with Roasted Grapes and Rosemary and you’ll see what I mean.

Although they’re the perfect Holiday or Thanksgiving appetizer, you technically don’t need a special occasion to make them. You could whip them up before having some casual dinner guests over, if you’re feeling fancy or even if you’re just in the mood for some little nibbles.

Serving Ideas

Serve them with other festive appetizers for a heavy hors d’oeuvres party. Some other appetizers that would make good accompaniments to this are my Walnut Lentil Pate, Hoisin Glazed Turkey Meatballs and these Sesame Wonton Cups. Or these crostini can serve as a first course to a holiday meal of Roasted Pork Loin with apple chutney, Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes and Maple Glazed Carrots. Serve Maple Bourbon Pumpkin Pie for dessert.

Roasted Grape Crostini Ingredients

Red grapes

I used red grapes for this recipe because they tend to be much sweeter than green grapes. I’d recommend not swapping them out for green grapes because of that.

Fresh thyme leaves

Thyme really complements the sweetness of the roasted grapes in this recipe. You should be able to find fresh thyme in the produce section of the grocery store but if you can’t you can always use dried thyme instead.

Toasted walnuts

You can either buy pre-toasted walnuts or toast them yourself. You could also swap walnuts out for pecans or even some type of seed (like pumpkin seeds) if you’re taking a nut allergy into consideration.

Baguette

I find a lightly toasted baguette to be the best base for crostini. You could also use crackers or any gluten-free bread/baguette instead.

Fresh goat cheese

Goat cheese (or chèvre) taste amazing with grapes. Especially roasted grapes! I like using unflavored goat cheese, but you can also get chevre that’s been rolled in black pepper if that’s what you’d prefer.

Additional Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey

How to Make Roasted Grape Crostini

Step 1: Preheat oven & grease baking dish

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a large glass baking dish with cooking spray.

Step 2: Roast grapes

Stir together the grapes, oil, salt, thyme and pepper in a medium bowl. Spread them out in a single layer in the baking dish. Roast, stirring occasionally until wrinkled and caramelized, 48 to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over the grapes, and stir to coat. Set aside.

Step 3: Assemble grape crostini

Spread the goat cheese on the baguette, dividing equally. Top with the grape mixture. Sprinkle with walnuts, drizzle with honey and serve.