Red Radish Crostini make a gorgeous spring appetizer. Buttery crostini toasts topped with lemon ricotta spread and sliced radishes.
Wondering what you can do with radishes? They are so pretty displayed at the stands in my local vegetable market. And, they are one of the quickest and easiest vegetables you can grow yourself. In fact, I remember distinctly my pride in pulling up my first batch of radishes several years ago when I started my backyard garden. I happily rinsed and chopped them, serving them in salads, but soon realized I had no idea what else I might do with them. In fact, there are many uses for radishes (read on below), but one of my current favorites is this Red Radish Crostini with Lemon Ricotta.
Table of Contents
Why Make This Recipe
- Light and Healthy! This is one of the healthiest appetizers around, but no less delicious for its nutrition. Did you know that radishes are high in vitamin C and also include small amounts of potassium, folate, magnesium, and several other vitamins and minerals? They are low in calories and fat but contain 1g of fiber in a ½-cup serving.
- Perfect for an appetizer or for a light lunch. As an appetizer, these toasts pair beautifully with a glass of rosé or a dry white wine. You can even swap out the crostini for sandwich bread to make tea sandwiches, and serve next to a salad or a bowl of soup for lunch.
- Vegetarian! Sometimes appetizers can be heavy on the meat factor, like chicken wings, cocktail meatballs, or pigs in blanket. These toasts are a perfect addition to your table, showing off just how good vegetarian food can be!
🥗 Ingredients
- Ricotta Cheese: I love ricotta cheese in this recipe—it's the perfect creamy, mild counterpoint to the bite from the radishes. If you can't find ricotta though, you might substitute a mild fresh goat cheese.
- Olive Oil: No need for a fancy extra-version olive oil for this dish, any olive oil will do. You can also use a different kind of neutral-flavored oil, like vegetable oil or grapeseed oil. Or use melted butter!
- Pepper: I highly recommend freshly ground cracked black pepper for this dish. The freshness of the pepper really does come through! Rainbow peppercorns would also be delicious.
🥣 Instructions
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Slice a baguette into rounds horizontally, about ¼-1/3 inch thick, and place on parchment paper.
Combine olive oil and ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt in a small bowl.
Use a pastry brush to brush the olive oil and salt mixture onto the top of each baguette slice.
Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, until lightly browned.
Meanwhile, cut off the greens from a bunch of radishes (save them, and use for a salad or to make pesto).
Rinse radishes. Cut off tops and ends, then slice radishes thinly.
Combine 8 ounces ricotta cheese, ½ teaspoon lemon zest, 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt in a small bowl.
After crostini have cooled for a few minutes, top with a small dollop of the ricotta cheese mixture and then with a few slices of radish.
Sprinkle generously with freshly ground black pepper, and top with a few sprinkles of chopped parsley, if desired.
🧐 Recipe FAQs
Crostini can be baked, radishes prepped and sliced, and lemon ricotta spread made a few hours before serving. Wait to assemble until ready to serve though, since toasts will get soggy if made in advance.
Radishes are root vegetables, and come from the same cruciferous family as cabbage, turnips, and broccoli. The most common variety is the red radish, pictured in this recipe. White daikon radishes are quite large. Black radishes are peppery, and white on the inside.
Daikon and black radishes are often grated or cut into small pieces since their flavor can be quite pungent. French breakfast radishes are usually mild in flavor, and are red with white tips. Colorful watermelon radishes are bright pink inside and green on the outside.
Easter egg radishes are grown from a seed mix of radishes with different skin colors, so the radishes that pop up are a mix of purple, pink, white, and red.
You can often find red radishes year-round, as they store well. But in general, most varieties of radishes are in season in the spring. If you want to try growing your own, they are easy to start from seeds in the early spring.
They grow quite quickly—some varieties are ready to harvest in just 3 weeks! This makes them ideal for growing with kids—much less delayed gratification than with many other vegetables.
And, as you thin them after they first sprout, you can rinse the sprouts you thin and then eat them as salad greens. Interestingly, radishes become spicier the longer they are in the ground—so harvest them early for the sweetest flavor.
👩🍳Expert Tips
What to Do with Radish Greens
Did you know that radish greens are entirely edible and quite healthy? You can mix them with other greens like spinach or kale in a salad. Or sauté them in olive oil with a garlic clove for flavor. Or make soup, as in this radish leaf soup recipe by David Lebovitz.
To Peel or Not to Peel
For red radishes, it is not necessary to peel them. You should make sure to clean them well to remove any dirt, and then slice off the stem end and the tail. After that you can just slice and enjoy, or leave them whole.
Storing Radishes
Radishes can keep well in the refrigerator for up to a few weeks. Store them unwashed, and store the greens separately—the greens will suck water from the radishes and dry them out if left attached. Wikihow recommends storing radishes in a damp paper towel-lined, sealed plastic bag for the longest refrigerator storage.
What else can you do with radishes?
Red radishes are delicious raw, of course, but cooking radishes is also an option. In fact, cooking radishes can mellow their spiciness. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- add to potato or other vegetable soup
- braise with other root vegetables
- pickle them
- slice and use for sandwich topping
- roast them on a sheet pan over high heat
- try them in this Radish Salad Recipe, chopped and tossed with a creamy dressing
- make radish and butter tea sandwiches
- slice or shred and use them as a taco topping
- include them in a cabbage slaw
- add chopped radishes to your tuna or chicken salad
- include them in a crudité platter with a creamy dip
Other Delicious Appetizer Recipes
Putting a spread of appetizers together is my favorite way to entertain. The French even have a word for it, l’apèro dînatoire.
Less formal than serving a three- or four-course meal, in an apèro dînatoire, guests are free to nibble on whatever they like, whenever they like. Here are a few of my favorite options:
You might also try these Cilantro-Lime Crab Salad Toasts, these Old Bay Salmon Rillettes, and these Smoked Salmon Potato Chips with Everything Bagel Seasoning. Old Bay Shrimp with Dipping Sauce is always a favorite at my house, as long as your guests don’t mind getting their fingers dirty! For more ideas, go to my Appetizers page.
And, of course, you'll want some delicious cocktails to go with your spread. Try my Strawberry Mimosa, Blood Orange Margarita, White Wine Sangria with Strawberries, or my Rosé Spritzer, and enjoy.
If you try this recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me. And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
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Red Radish Crostini with Lemon Ricotta Spread
Ingredients
For the Crostini
- 1 baguette
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the Radishes and Lemon Ricotta Spread
- 7 ounces radishes
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Chopped parsley if desired, for garnish
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Slice baguette into rounds horizontally, about ¼-1/3 inch thick, and place on parchment paper.
- Combine olive oil and ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt in a small bowl.
- Use a pastry brush to brush the olive oil and salt mixture onto the top of each baguette slice.
- Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, until lightly browned.
- Meanwhile, cut off radish greens (save them, and use for a salad or to make pesto), and rinse radishes.
- Cut off tops and ends, then slice radishes thinly.
- Combine ricotta cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt in a small bowl.
- After crostini have cooled for a few minutes, top with a small dollop of the ricotta cheese mixture and then with a few slices of radish.
- Sprinkle generously with pepper, and top with a few sprinkles of chopped parsley, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!
Mimi Rippee says
I love this! A perfect crostini idea.
Chef Molly says
They are so pretty and delicious! I am becoming a radish person!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls says
Your tasty fun homemade lemon ricotta spread pairs so perfectly with the radish flavor. What a fabulous appetizer for Fall and Holiday parties!
Chef Molly says
Yes, I love this one! So light, but so delicious. And the red radishes are really quite festive!
Alex says
Such a pretty appetiser - I love radish for that gorgeous pop of colour! I can only imagine how delicious it would be with the lemon ricotta - I look forward to trying it very soon!
Chef Molly says
Thanks Alex! I love radish for that pop of color too. But the combo with the lemon ricotta is really ?.
Heather Ainsworth says
A new item in the Kids Are Making Dinner Night tradition we just started in our house. Easy to make and to eat!