Each and every one of these ricotta toast recipes is easy and quick to make, and packed with flavor! Find both sweet and savory ricotta toast recipe ideas, from burst tomatoes with basil, to fig jam with pistachios and rosemary. This is a 15 minute recipe, so it’s the perfect snack, appetizer, or quick lunch!
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We’ve all had suppertime snack attacks before. You want to nosh, but not really dine. Can’t make up your mind. And definitely don’t want to cook anything substantial.
Whether or not you’ve got a whole family depending on you, or you’re ashamed to once again eat 6 grapes, a bag of microwave popcorn, and lick peanut butter off a very large spoon for dinner, ricotta on toast is a total life saver for so many reasons:
- No oven required. (Can I get a summer cooking amen?!?)
- Endless topping variations. One recipe, eleventy billion meals.
- It’s a breakfast. It’s a lunch. It’s a dinner. It’s a snack. It’s a party appetizer. Hello flexible.
- It’s ready in 20 minutes, start to finish. 15 if you’re not lazy. When even easy 30 minute meals feel overwhelming, ricotta toast is totally doable.
This currently-trending treat has been on my radar for years – ever since I started (and stopped) my would-be career as a cheesemaker with homemade ricotta cheese. It was so easy and it came out so good that I stopped to experiment with the seemingly endless ways to eat it that, well, I never bothered going back to try making a different cheese. And I still haven’t reached a limit!
Sure, I baked it into bread-based dishes – it’s a mild and creamy addition to a savory tomato galette, and I love dotting a bit of ricotta cheese into homemade focaccia. However, ricotta on toast with seasonal standbys like mushrooms in the winter or strawberries in the summer brought a whole new level of very simple (and near instant) satisfaction.
Is Ricotta Toast the New Avocado Toast?
For eating? According to TikTok, yes. Yes, it is. In terms of ruining Millennials lives and tanking the housing market? Well, that remains to be seen. If you Google “ricotta toast,” you still get recipes and not-cringe-worthy think pieces on the economy, so for now, I think it’s safe to say it’s still in internet popularity infancy.
Despite functioning in a similar fashion (as a creamy, delicious spread), avocado and ricotta have enough differences (fruit vs. cheese, green vs. white, unsaturated vs. saturated fats) to keep them both in rotation as a toast topper – key being their flavor.
Both pair beautifully with countless other foods, including each other. And surprisingly enough, they both pair really well with some of the same foods (like honey, corn, and even eggs), but you’ll probably find some combinations more to your taste than others.
Homemade Ricotta – Worth the Hype!
Homemade Ricotta Cheese…it’s creamy, it’s dreamy and OMG, it’s so easy to make! You know the rule – everything tastes better when it’s homemade. But as a busy lady and an even busier mom, you know I never steer you wrong when it comes to time management. In this case, let me steer you right.
First, you’re making your own ricotta. I mean, (a) it’s cheese and (b) it’s cheese you made. With your own two hands and some readily available instruments and ingredients. In 30 minutes, you can call yourself a cheesemaker. How cool is that?!
Second, ricotta cheese is something you might want to have handy, but don’t always want to have to be responsible for keeping on hand. It works in pasta dishes, pizza, desserts, sweet and savory breakfasts (we LOVE it in a frittata), and, of course, endless variations of ricotta on toast.
Knowing that you can easily make your own ricotta cheese opens up a world of possibilities when it comes to throwing together a meal on the fly.
How to Make Ricotta Toast
Ricotta Toast is the perfect lazy meal because it always taste like tons of effort. Sweet afternoon pick-me-up? No probably. Quick savory lunch? Easy! Choose super fresh produce and herbs to make the flavors pop! Not feeling so lazy? Definitely try making your own ricotta cheese.
- Slice some good quality crusty bread into ½” thick slices and brush each side with olive oil.
- To grill: Heat a grill or grill pan over medium. Place the bread directly onto the grates and grill 1-2 minutes until lightly charred. Flip and grill the other side for 1-2 minutes more.
- To toast: Heat skillet over medium high heat. Place the oiled bread in the hot skillet and cook 2-3 minutes, until golden brown. Flip and cook 1-2 minutes more.
- Spread 2 tablespoons of ricotta cheese on the toasted bread.
- Add toppings as directed below. (See ingredients in recipe card.)
Chef’s Tips!
- Make your own ricotta cheese – I promise the 30 minutes it takes will be worth it!
- Use a good crusty bread like sourdough. I cut it a bit on the thick side so that it can stand up to a substantial schmear of ricotta and a healthy dose of toppings.
- I serve and eat it ricotta toast open faced, but don’t be shy if you prefer to make and eat it as a variation on a grilled cheese sandwich. Just watch for spillage!
- Want whipped ricotta? All you need to do it whisk for 2 minutes. You can do it by hand or in a stand mixer with whisk attachment to get it even fluffier!
What’s the Best Bread for Ricotta Toast?
You want a hearty, savory toast or crostini that can stand up to lots of cheese and toppings. For a meal, go with a bakery loaf like sourdough. For appetizer or snack-sized ricotta toasts, choose a baguette. For either, slice into thick slices of at least half an inch.
How Do You Make Savory Ricotta Toast?
There are so many ways to put your own spin on this classic recipe, from sweet to savory, snack to meal, and everything in-between. Start with these ricotta cheese toast toppings and see where they lead you.
Ricotta Tomato Toast with Basil: Heat skillet on medium high. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, heat until it shimmers. Add cherry tomatoes and toss to coat in oil. Saute 5-6 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until tomatoes blister and start to burst. Divide tomatoes between each piece of ricotta toast, then top with 1 tablespoon fresh basil, 1 teaspoon balsamic reduction, and pinch of salt and pepper.
Ricotta Cheese Toast with Corn Salsa: Slice corn from cobs and transfer to a bowl. Add red onion, oregano, lime juice, and lime zest. Toss until well combined, then divide evenly between each piece of toast. Season with salt and pepper.
Avocado Ricotta Toast with Egg: Divide sliced avocado between four pieces of toast with a slather of ricotta cheese. Top each with 1 poached egg. Season with red pepper flakes and kosher salt.
Sweet Ricotta Toast Toppings
Don’t stop at savory! Ricotta is so flexible, and can easily accommodate sweet toppings (cannoli dip, anyone?). We love serving it appetizer-style (strawberry bruschetta with ricotta is a favorite!) but these sweet toppings are just as tasty.
Ricotta Honey Toast with Blackberries: Place 4-6 blackberries on each piece of ricotta toast. Drizzle each toast with 1 teaspoon honey, then sprinkle with fresh mint.
Fig and Ricotta Toast with Rosemary: Spread 1 tablespoon fig jam over the ricotta. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary and pinch of kosher salt.
Other easy ricotta toast ideas…
- Scale up our mushroom bruschetta or strawberry crostini into full-slice versions.
- In the fall we like roasted butternut squash with fresh oregano and toasted pistachios
- A summer classic? Grilled peaches with fresh mint, slivered almonds, and a drizzle of honey.
- Keep it simple and slather ricotta toast with jam – any flavor will do!
Is Ricotta Toast Healthy?
Fresh bread, fresh cheese, fresh toppings? You betcha ricotta on toast is healthy! Always check your ingredients on prepackaged items (namely the bread) for additives or preservatives you’re not comfortable with.
Now, if you wanna talk compliant, well, that’s between you and your diet god… All of these ideas are vegetarian. Substitute gluten-free bread as needed – just remember it needs to be hearty enough hold up to the toppings.
Do you like ricotta toast? What’s your favorite topping combo? Tell us all about it in the comments section below.
While you’re at it, let’s be friends – follow me on Pinterest and Instagram for the latest and greatest.
Ricotta Toast Recipe
Description
Ingredients
Base Recipe
- 4 slices thick-cut rustic bread, such as sourdough
- 4 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ c. ricotta cheese
Tomato Basil
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ c fresh basil
- 4 teaspoon balsamic reduction
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
Corn Salsa
- 2 ears leftover grilled corn
- ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon oregano, chopped
- 1 lime, zested and juiced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
Blackberry Honey
- ½ cup fresh blackberries
- 4 teaspoon honey
- 2 teaspoon fresh chopped mint
Avocado Egg
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced
- 4 eggs, poached
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Fig Jam
- 4 tablespoon fig jam
- 4 tablespoon roasted salted pistachios, chopped
- 4 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
Instructions
- Slice the bread into ½” thick slices.
- Brush each side of the bread with ½ teaspoon olive oil.
- To grill the bread: heat a grill or grill-pan over medium heat. Place the bread directly onto the grill grates and cook until lightly charred, 1-2 minutes. Flip the bread and grill 1-2 minutes more on the other side.
- To toast the bread: Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Place the bread into the hot skillet and cook until golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Flip the bread and cook until browned on the other side, 1-2 minutes more.
- Place the bread onto a plate or platter, then slather 2 tablespoons of ricotta cheese over one side of the bread.
- Add toppings, as directed below.
- Tomato Basil. Heat a 10” skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Add the cherry tomatoes and toss to coat in the oil. Saute, shaking the pan occasionally, until the tomatoes blister and start to burst, 5-6 minutes. Divide the burst tomatoes between each piece of ricotta toast, then top each with 1 tablespoon fresh basil, 1 teaspoon balsamic reduction, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Corn Salsa. Slice the corn from the cobs and transfer to a medium bowl. Add the red onion, oregano, lime juice, and lime zest. Toss until well combined, then divide evenly between each piece of ricotta toast. Season with salt and pepper and serve right away.
- Blackberry Honey. Place 4-6 blackberries, depending on size, on each piece of ricotta toast. Drizzle each toast with 1 teaspoon honey, then sprinkle with fresh mint.
- Avocado Egg. Divide the avocado slices between the four pieces of ricotta toast, then top each with a poached egg. Season with red pepper flakes and kosher salt.
- Fig and Pistachio. Spread 1 tablespoon fig jam over each toast. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary and a pinch of kosher salt.
Courtney
I’m so adding this to the grocery list!
Lorraine
Who knew I could make my own ricotta? Well we did and it was fabulous! We made the ricotta and then did the toast with the toppings in the recipe. Then we had some for breakfast the next day. And then again for lunch. lol. 🙂
Danielle
I’m so glad you enjoyed this! I eat it for breakfast all the time 🙂