These prosciutto and melon appetizers make a refreshing Italian classic extra pretty and feminine! With just 4 ingredients and a tiny cookie cutter, you can create these elegant honeydew and cantaloupe hors d’oeuvres in a snap. Just try not to eat them all before your guests arrive!
Since March, my husband and I have been staying in for Sunday brunch more and more, since our favorite restaurants have been closed. I’ve been thinking of ways to make our own home brunches special, without breaking the bank, and these melon appetizers add so much color to our Sunday mornings! Certainly, these make wonderful appetizers for a party, too… but why not just make them for yourself?
I love to pair these precious melon appetizers with my beet napoleons, which also have adorable prosciutto roses on top. They look so pretty together! Guests think it’s funny how they both look like tiny cakes, even though they’re made from fruits and vegetables.
If you really want to make a stunningly rosy brunch menu, try my gorgeous goat cheese quiche, covered in pearl onion roses, and why not make a bouquet of bacon roses on the side! And for a delightfully rosy brunch cocktail, try my “Distract-a-Bee.”
It’s a honied ginger, St. Germain and gin cocktail, spritzed with rose water! In fact, I have lots of floral cocktail recipes that would be perfect for any elegant brunch!
How to Make These Appetizers – Step by Step
1. Use kitchen scissors to cut a piece of prosciutto that’s about 5 inches long, and ½ an inch thick.
2. Carefully roll prosciutto slice into a pretty rose. Make 15 roses, and set them aside.
1. Slice 1 pound cantaloupe (about half a melon) into 1 inch thick slices. Use a small cookie cutter to cut them into rounds.
2. Slice the rounds in half to make them more precise and about ½ an inch thick.
3. Slice 1 pound honeydew (about half a melon) into 1 inch thick slices. Use a small cookie cutter to cut them into rounds.
4. Slice in half like the cantaloupe.
5. Simply stack alternated melon rounds. It looks pretty when some are topped with honeydew and some are topped with cantaloupe.
6. Find the tiniest mint leaves in the bunch and place them beside a prosciutto rose on top. You can also pierce them with a cocktail pin or toothpick to make them easier to pick up.
Common Questions
If you assemble them and put them in the fridge, they’ll look perfectly nice for up to an hour. The roses may start to undo themselves a little bit after that.
Depending how quick your prosciutto rose-rolling skills are, they can take about 10-15 minutes to make 15 roses, and the melon stacks take just about 8-10 minutes to slice, cut and assemble.
sharp knife and cutting board
small cookie cutter – about an inch in diameter
cocktail pins or tooth picks – optional
A Few Tips
1. To make them EXTRA fancy (and tasty), here are a few ingredients you can add:
- thin layers of mozzarella
- thin layers of goat cheese
- layers of basil
- drizzles of honey
- drizzles of balsamic reduction
- sprinkles of fresh thyme around them
- sprinkles of flake salt
- sprinkles of fresh pepper
2. Make them nice and bite-size with a small cookie cutter.
The cookie cutter I used is just over an inch in diameter, making these appetizers easy to pick up and perfectly bite-size.
3. Make those prosciutto roses first.
If you’re not used to making teeny, tiny prosciutto roses like I am, it might take you a little while to get the hang of it. Be sure to make the roses before you cut and slice your fruit, because if it takes you more time than you were expecting, the melon may start to look less pretty while it sits out.
4. Make sure to buy prosciutto that has slices separated with either wax paper or plastic.
If the slices are not separated by plastic or wax paper sheets, they really stick together, making it pretty impossible to make perfect roses.
Serve your pretty prosciutto and melon appetizers on an appetizer plate, and watch your guest’s eyes simply light up when they see them!
A Little More Rosy Inspiration
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Prosciutto and Melon Appetizers
Equipment
- sharp knife and cutting board
- small cookie cutter – about an inch in diameter
- cocktail pins or tooth picks – optional
Ingredients
- 1 pound cantaloupe melon – about half a cantaloupe
- 1 pound honeydew melon – about half a honeydew
- 3 slices prosciutto
- 15 mint leaves – small
Instructions
Make Prosciutto Roses
- Use kitchen scissors to cut a piece of prosciutto that’s about 5 inches long, and ½ an inch thick. Carefully roll prosciutto slice into a pretty rose. Make 15 roses, and set them aside.
Make Melon Stacks
- Slice 1 pound cantaloupe melon into 1 inch thick slices. Use a small cookie cutter to cut them into rounds.
- Slice 1 pound honeydew melon into 1 inch thick slices. Use a small cookie cutter to cut them into rounds.
- Slice the rounds into half-inch think slices to make them thinner and more precise.
- Simply stack alternated melon rounds. It looks pretty when some are topped with honeydew and some are topped with cantaloupe.
- Find the tiniest mint leaves in the bunch and place them beside a prosciutto rose on top. You can also pierce them with a cocktail pin or toothpick to make them easier to pick up.
Notes
- thin layers of mozzarella
- thin layers of goat cheese
- layers of basil
- drizzles of honey
- drizzles of balsamic reduction
- sprinkles of fresh thyme around them
- sprinkles of flake salt
- sprinkles of fresh pepper
Irene Li
Hi Genevieve, this appetizer is really pretty. Please advise what is the white inside the rose and your recommendation to stabilize the rose on melon if there is 30 mins travel time to friend’s home. Thanks
Genevieve Morrison
Hello Irene!
The white is just a little bit of fat that’s a part of the prosciutto. If you’re transporting these, I would honestly keep the roses separate in a container, then pop them on top once I got to my location. They’re so delicate and you wouldn’t want them to get dinged or banged if your car were to hit a bump in the road. That would be my suggestion 😉 Good luck, and enjoy the recipe!
Michelle
Absolutely delicious and so simple. The melon stacks make a beautiful presentation. I will use this recipe over and over again.
Genevieve Morrison
Aww, thanks so much! So happy you enjoyed them!