Lemon Ricotta Bruschetta
This Italian lemon ricotta bruschetta is made with a creamy ricotta cheese with the flavors of lemon, honey, and fresh basil. It’s fresh, bright and a lovely spring and summer appetizer, perfect for any party! It’s a pretty presentation and a super easy recipe to make.
The sweet-honey, salty, and savory flavors combined with the a smooth texture on crispy baguettes, makes this a delicious gourmet appetizer. Savory lemon appetizers are the best, and so fresh for summer with basil.
Lemon Ricotta Bruschetta
This Lemon Ricotta Bruschetta with basil and honey has now become one of our favorite appetizers to serve, mostly in spring and summer (hello, lemon and fresh basil). Honestly, it’s great throughout the year, too! This recipe was inspired by Food52, and a recipe by Martha Stewart Living in 2010. Yes, way back then.
Read more: Lemon Ricotta BruschettaWhy I love this recipe
- It’s perfect for summer.
- Light and fresh and easy to assemble (make the crostini ahead).
- Screams summer with the fresh basil, and optional to add a little lemon zest!
What is bruschetta?
Typically, to make bruschetta you need 4 basic ingredients: bread, garlic, salt, and olive oil.
Bruschetta (pronounced broo-skeh-tah, not broo-shedda) is a toasted Italian bread drenched in a good olive oil, either in small slices (above), or you can cut a loaf of bread in half and toast it that way, too.
Originally it was served with garlic or tomatoes–pretty basic (and delicious if you’ve ever been to Italy). It can also be served with chopped olives, vegetables, beans, cheese or cured meats (think charcuterie).
Gather these ingredients
What makes this recipe so excellent is using quality ingredeints.
- Baguette bread, sliced and toasted
- Olive oil
- Fresh ricotta cheese
- Lemon
- Basil leaves (fresh)
- Honey
How to Lemon Ricotta Bruschetta
- Preheat oven to broil; lightly toast one side of the baguette toasts for about a minute. Turn over, drizzle with olive oil. Toast again until lightly brown.
- Mix fresh ricotta with lemon zest, and spread onto toasts.
- Add a few basil leaves; drizzle with honey. Serve!
Tips and substitutions:
- Look for a premier sweet and creamy ricotta cheese, is what my friend Judy told me. When shopping, if you don’t know, ask someone for help!
- Lemon zest is everything in this recipe … so light and delicate and fresh!
- For this recipe, we are leaving out the garlic (the traditional way to make bruschetta), for a sweeter spin on the appetizer!
- Optional to use a sprinkle of dried basil, but it won’t taste quite as fresh.
Honey adds a nice touch and doesn’t overpower the basil or ricotta.
Summer dinner party
We served buffet style inside, and enjoyed our meal at sunset. It was a beautiful night, with a magical summer light peeking through the trees. [Our backyard a few years ago in southern Oregon.] I loved setting out a platter of these Italian Lemon Ricotta Bruschetta bites!
For more appetizers, try our Whipped Lemon Ricotta DIp, and serve with grilled chicken thighs, a summer pasta salad, and a loaf of dill bread. Delish!
More ricotta lemon recipes to try:
- Baked Lemon Ricotta Custard
- Lemon Ricotta Pie
- Strawberry Lemon Ricotta French Toast
- Meyer Lemon Ricotta Muffins
Get the Recipe:
Lemon Ricotta Bruschetta
Ingredients
- 1 loaf baguette bread, sliced and toasted
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup fresh ricotta cheese
- 1 lemon, zest
- 2 Tbsp. basil leaves
- Honey, for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to broil; lightly toast one side of the baguette toasts for about a minute. Turn over, drizzle with olive oil. Toast again until lightly brown.
- Mix fresh ricotta with lemon zest, and spread onto toasts.
- Add a few basil leaves; drizzle with honey. Serve!
really nice ingredients here, like the ricotta over the mozzarella in most bruschetta recipes
Just yum
Made this tonight as an appetizer. Delicious! I will make this again.
This sounds delicious! Just wondering if anyone has found the ratios for this recipe? Thanks can’t wait to try it!
Made this tonight for my book club, but truly had to wing it for proportions. Perhaps you could revise this recipe to include measurements? I winged it – but was anxious! In the end, flavors were great
We made this tonight. It was so delicious ! This is a keeper for all of us! It was so easy to make and so lite tasting. I am having a New Years party and will be putting this on the table!
Looks like you had a great dinner! Loving that bruschetta, mouth watering for sure!
Oh my goodness I am soooo making this perfect appetizer soon! Miss you! xo
OH YUM! I’ve been looking for an excuse to make homemade ricotta, and I think this is it!