This tasty Pimento Cheese Crostini Recipe pairs a homemade creamy pimento cheese spread with bold spices and smokey bacon on top of baguette slices for the perfect no-cook appetizer! It's a delicious finger-food idea to serve at parties or family gatherings.
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You'll love this easy pimento cheese appetizer
The Pimento Cheese Crostini with Bacon appetizer is absolute comfort food. It's not only flavorful but so simple to make.
Crostini is an Italian term for "toast". They're usually topped with things like garlic, cheeses, tomatoes and/or other vegetables and herbs and served on a platter as an appetizer.
Related post: Spinach Artichoke Dip Crostini Appetizer Recipe
This version has a unique flare from the pimento. Pimento is a pepper that is sweet, aromatic, and has very little heat. Its bright red color also contributes to the overall beauty of the dish!
By adding garlic, hot sauce, and cayenne, the flavor of this crostini recipe is even more delicious.
Easy to make, and a sure crowd favorite— you'll love this bacon pimiento crostini. It's unfussy and a great appetizer recipe to serve for any party.
Ingredients
The ingredients you’ll need to make this crostini recipe are all common and easy to find.
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Whipped cream cheese
- Mayonnaise
- Pimiento
- Hot sauce
- Garlic
- Cayenne
- Bacon
- Baguette
The Tillamook cheddar is my favorite when using store-bought cheddar in recipes. It has better flavor and melts a little better than most other brands.
I recommend shredding cheese yourself at home for the best flavor. And you also get more value for your money!
You may be able to find ready-made pimento cheese which will cut out a step. Just give it a taste to see if you need to add in some exta spices.
I like to use ready-cooked bacon for two reasons. It is usually less fatty and it's so much quicker. But you can use whatever bacon you want.
For the crostini part (bread slices) you can choose to bake the bread or leave it at room temperature. If you’d like to bake it, bake at 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes.
See the printable recipe card for quantities and full recipe.
How to Make It
Shred the cheddar cheese if you are doing it yourself and finely chop the pimentos. Also, crisp up your bacon and crumble it (or cook it, then crumble).
Step 1
To a mixing bowl add the whipped cream cheese, mayonnaise, chopped pimento, hot sauce, garlic, cayenne pepper and bacon pieces (reserve some for a garnish) and mix well.
Step 2
Add the shredded cheddar and mix again.
Step 3
Cover the bowl and refrigerate the cream cheese mixture for about 4 hours so the flavors blend together.
Step 4
Slice the baguette on an angle into approximately ⅓ inch slices. Aim to cut about 24 pieces.
Step 5
Spread about a teaspoon of the bacon pimento cheese mixture onto each slice of bread.
Then sprinkle on some extra bacon pieces.
Serve on a platter and enjoy!
Variations
- Bake it! - While I like to serve mine as is, you can also bake these at 400 degrees for 4-5 minutes to melt the cheese. Totally up to you!
- Bread - French baguette is the most ideal due to its size but you can use other crusty bread like ciabatta or Italian loaf. This would also be absolutely delish on sliced rosemary bread.
- Toast the Crostini - Bake the bread for additional crunch. Toast the slices in the oven for 3-5 minutes at 350 degrees or on a skillet over medium heat.
- Cheese - Use other types of cheese like parmesan, ricotta, Monterey jack, and goat cheese. The idea is to get a hard and salty one for flavor and another soft one for body and creaminess.
- Meat - Try substituting the bacon with other cold cuts like salami, prosciutto, smoked ham, or crumbled sausage.
- Add ins - Add other ingredients to make the cheese mixture yummier like green onions, olives, and tomato paste.
Tools
You'll need a mixing bowl, a spatula, and a serving platter.
Top tips
- Begin with room-temperature ingredients. They’ll be easier to combine.
- You can make the cheese mixture ahead of time. More chill time means the flavors will get to develop more as well!
- You can use an extra small ice cream scoop or measuring spoon to distribute the cheese filling in even portions on top of each bread slice.
- I like to use an offset spatula to spread the cheese mixture.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can serve your crostini appetizer with fresh fruits and other party appetizers. Or serve them with a few other types of crostini.
If you used older bread, the pieces may not be as soft. Bread dries up as it sits so it's best to use fresh.
If you toasted them, you might have set the oven temperature too low that it dried out the bread instead of toasting it.
I doubt you’ll going to have to store any leftovers because these get gone easily! But if you’ll ever have some, simply store them in a sealed container and keep in the fridge. They’ll stay good for 3-4 days. If you can, try to store the bread and cheese in separate containers but if you've already made them understand the bread texture will be different than when made fresh.
The smokiness of bacon and creaminess of the pimento cheese spread make these Pimento Cheese Crostini appetizer gold. This low-stress recipe will help you turn your gathering into an extra delicious experience.
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- Cream Cheese Bacon Dip Recipe With Sage
- Truffle Burrata Dip Recipe
- Spinach Artichoke Pinwheels
Bacon Pimento Crostini
Ingredients
- 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded by hand
- 4 oz whipped cream cheese
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoon pimiento finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoon bacon pieces
- 1 loaf baguette bread sliced
Instructions
- Shred the cheddar cheese, and chop the pimientos.
- Add the first 7 ingredients to a small bowl, and mix together. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours so that the flavors will blend together.
- Once ready to serve, start by slicing the bread on and angle into 24 pieces, roughly ⅓ inch slices.
- Arrange slices of bread on a platter, and spread about a teaspoon or so of cheese mixture onto each one.
- Top with bacon pieces.
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