These pretty Easter crostini will make everyone smile! They’re spring pea with mint and goat cheese, mushroom pâté with carrot roses and white balsamic honey peach and ricotta!
They’re all vegetarian, in fact, the mushroom pâté crostini are vegan, so these appetizers are perfect for a family gathering with folks who don’t eat meat or dairy. But honestly, everyone will love them, vegetarian or not!
Why This Recipe is Special
They’re easy to make ahead and assemble before guests arrive – You can make all the bits and pieces the night before, and quickly assemble them a whole hour before the party!
Everyone loves those carrot roses! – They’re so simple to make and impress everybody! If you can find different colored carrots as I did, they look even prettier.
They’re just as delicious as they are beautiful – Each recipe is truly original AND tasty. They also pair so well with each other!
Ingredient Notes
Peas – I highly suggest using fresh peas, as they taste nicest, but you can also use frozen peas. Just be sure to thaw them completely first. Also, keep in mind that the topping will be a bit mushier if you used thawed peas.
Mushrooms – I like mixing shiitake and oyster mushrooms for my mushroom pâté, but you can also use just one kind if you like.
Peach – You’ll want to be sure you choose a peach that is nice and firm, so it’s easily diced into small pieces.
Goat Cheese – I used plain goat cheese but you can use an herb goat cheese as well.
White Balsamic Vinegar – Make sure to use WHITE balsamic vinegar instead of traditional balsamic vinegar. Otherwise, the appetizer won’t look very nice. You can also use rice vinegar too.
Ponzu sauce – This is a lemon soy sauce that gives the pea crostini a delightful citrus-umami flavor.
How to Make This Recipe
Prep the Crostini
1. Prep the mushroom pâté and carrot crostini. Follow this simple mushroom pâté recipe, and place it in a sealed container and refrigerate.
2. Use an apple peeler to make thin strips from 3 different colored carrots (or simply orange carrots).
3. Roll the carrot strips into tiny “roses.” For bigger carrot strips, slice them in half first so you can get a tinier rose.
4. Use a toothpick or cocktail pin to hold it tightly. Doing this helps them stay curled up when you’re ready to assemble the crostini. Make a total of 18. Place carrot roses in a sealed container and refrigerate.
5. Prep the spring pea and goat cheese crostini. In a food processor, place ½ cup fresh peas, 1 tbsp. fresh mint, 1 tsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. ponzu sauce and ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes. Pulse until you have a nice, coarse texture. Just 3 or 4 pulses should do the trick. You don’t want it to turn to mush. Place pea mixture into a sealed container and refrigerate.
6. Dice ½ peach into small pieces.
7. In a small saucepan, add ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp. honey. Simmer on MEDIUM for 4-5 minutes, until bubbling and syrupy.
8. Add 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice, stir and pour over diced peaches. Mix gently. If assembling crostini later, place peaches in a sealed container and refrigerate. If assembling right away, remove your other prepped ingredients and prepare to assemble!
Assemble the Crostini
1. Slice 1 baguette into 18 thin slices and toast at 400 F. (200 C.) For 5-8 minutes, until lightly brown.
2. Assemble the pea & mint crostini first. Cover 6 baguette toasts with about 1 tbsp. goat cheese. Then, spoon pea-mint mixture on top of the goat cheese.
3. Next, assemble the mushroom pâté and carrot rose crostini. Spoon a nice helping of mushroom pâté on 6 toasts, then press your carrot roses into the pâté. Feel free to press them down quite deeply. The pâté will work like cement to keep them from unraveling. Add 1 parsley leaf to each.
4. Assemble the white balsamic honey peach crostini. Cover 6 toasts in a nice helping of ricotta cheese. Then carefully spoon diced peach onto each slice. Top with optional, edible flowers.
Common Questions
The mushroom pâté lasts nicely in the fridge for a week, as does the pea-mint mixture. The balsamic honey peach, however, should really only be made within 8 hours of serving. If you have prepared the peach the night before, you may want to add a little bit more lemon juice right before serving to brighten the flavor. I would also only create the carrot roses 12 hours, at most, before the party, as they begin to dry out a little, even when placed in a sealed container and refrigerated.
– Cutting board and sharp knife
– Sauté pan (for the mushroom pâté)
– Food processor
– Apple peeler
– Toothpicks or cocktail pins
– Small saucepan
– 3 separate sealable containers for your toppings (if you intend to prepare ahead of time)
Mint is a little difficult to measure in tablespoons unless it’s already chopped so below is a picture of how much to use.
A Few Tips
For the spring pea and mint crostini:
If you’re using frozen and thawed peas, you don’t need to pulse in the food processor as much as if they were fresh. Watch carefully so the topping doesn’t turn to mush as you pulse. You can also add a little prosciutto if you don’t mind them not being vegetarian, and it will be a lovely addition. I suggest making little prosciutto roses to make them match the carrot roses if you do.
For the mushroom pâté and carrot crostini:
I would make the mushroom pâté first because it’s the most time-consuming. It takes about 40 minutes or so. You can make it up to a week before the party, so get that out of the way, and the others will be smooth sailing by the time you’re ready to start assembling.
For the balsamic honey peach crostini:
Ideally, this would be made the day of the party, as the balsamic vinegar starts to fade a little, the longer it sits in the fridge. The vinegar REALLY brightens the flavor of the peach, so even though it will still be tasty if you make it the night before, it’s tastier when made day-of.
An Important Note
The recipe for mushroom pâté and the pea-mint mixture will actually be enough to make double the recipe (12 crostini each). If you use an entire peach (this recipe calls for half) you’ll also have enough for 12 peach crostini. This recipe only calls for half because you may have larger toasts than I do, or want to pile the ingredients higher than I did. Better to have more than less 😉
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Colorful Easter Crostini
Equipment
- cutting board and sharp knife
- sauté pan (for the mushroom pâté)
- food processor
- apple peeler
- toothpicks or cocktail pins
- small saucepan
- 3 separate sealable containers for your toppings (if you intend to prepare ahead of time)
Ingredients
For the mushroom pâté with carrot rose crostini
- ½ cup vegan mushroom pâté
- 3 carrots – ideally different colors
- 6 parsley leaves
For the spring pea with mint and goat cheese
- ½ cup fresh peas
- 1 tbsp. fresh mint
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 3 oz. goat cheese
- ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp. ponzu sauce
For the balsamic honey peach and ricotta crostini
- ½ peach – firm
- ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp. honey
- 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 3 oz. ricotta cheese
For all
- 1 baguette – sliced
Instructions
Prep the Crostini
- Prep the mushroom pâté and carrot crostini. Follow this simple mushroom pâté recipe, and place it in a sealed container and refrigerate.
- Use an apple peeler to make thin strips from 3 different colored carrots (or simply orange carrots).Roll the carrot strips into tiny “roses.” For bigger carrot strips, slice them in half first so you can get a tinier rose. Use a toothpick or cocktail pin to hold it tightly. Doing this helps them stay curled up better when you’re ready to assemble the crostini. Make a total of 18. Place carrot roses in a sealed container and refrigerate.
- Prep the spring pea and goat cheese crostini. In a food processor, place ½ cup fresh peas, 1 tbsp. fresh mint, 1 tsp. olive oil and ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes. Pulse until you have a nice, coarse texture. Just 3 or 4 pulses should do the trick. Place pea mixture into a sealed container and refrigerate.
- Prep the peach crostini. Dice ½ peach into small pieces. In a small sauce pan, add ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar and 1 tsp. honey. Simmer on MEDIUM for 4-5 minutes, until bubbling and syrupy. Add 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice, stir and pour over diced peaches. Mix gently. If assembling crostini later, place peaches in a sealed container and refrigerate. If assembling right away, remove your other prepped ingredients and prepare to assemble!
Assemble the Crostini
- Slice 1 baguette into 18 thin slices and toast at 400 F. (200 C.) For 5-8 minutes, until lightly brown.
- Assemble the pea & mint crostini first. Cover 6 baguette toasts with about 1 tbsp. goat cheese. Then, spoon pea-mint mixture on top of the goat cheese.
- Next, assemble the mushroom pâté and carrot rose crostini. Spoon a nice helping of mushroom pâté on 6 toasts, then press your carrot roses into the pâté. Feel free to press them down quite deeply. The pâté will work like a cement to keep them from unraveling. Add 1 parsley leaf to each.
- Assemble your white balsamic honey peach crostini. Cover 6 toasts in a nice helping of ricotta cheese. Then carefully spoon diced peach onto each slice. Top with optional, edible flowers.
Anonymous
I can’t wait to try these crostini!