Crostini are fun, bite-sized appetizers made of little slices of toasted baguette and topped with whatever your heart desires. For this crostini recipe, I used a healthy white bean topping drizzled with balsamic.
White Bean Crostini
Add this White Bean Crostini recipe to the menu for your next party! They taste amazing, look impressive, and are so easy to make. The creamy white bean spread pairs perfectly with the crunchy, toasted baguette, and the garlic, thyme, and balsamic pack them with flavor. For another delicious crostini topping, try my Spinach-Artichoke Crostini.
Why This Crostini Recipe Works
- Excellent for a Party: You can double or triple this crostini recipe, and they’re not messy to eat.
- Easy: For an individual appetizer, it doesn’t get much simpler than crostini. Just slice and toast the bread, make the bean spread, and assemble.
- Prep Ahead: You can toast the bread and make the bean spread a few days in advance, so all you have to do on the day of your event is assemble them.
- Pre-portioned: White bean crostini are the perfect small bite.
- Vegan and Vegetarian Appetizer option! For those guests who don’t eat meat.
What is the difference between bruschetta and crostini?
The main difference between bruschetta and crostini is the bread. Bruschetta uses thicker slices from sourdough that are rubbed with garlic and grilled, while crostini uses thinner, smaller baguette slices. Crostini means “little toasts,” and bruschetta, from the word buscare, means “to roast over coals” in Italian.
Crostini Ingredients
- Beans: Drain and rinse two cups of cannellini or Great Northern beans.
- Liquid: Olive oil and water thin out the white bean dip to make it spreadable.
- Thyme: Use fresh thyme in the dip and garnish with some leaves.
- Salt and Pepper season the beans.
- Garlic: Use one clove in the bean spread and rub another clove over the sliced bread.
- Crostini Bread: Slice a baguette into quarter-inch pieces.
- Olive Oil: Spray oil on the slices before toasting.
- Balsamic Vinegar: Drizzle the crostini with balsamic.
How to Make White Bean Crostini
1. Prep the Bread: Spray the sliced bread with oil and toast them in a 400°F- oven, turning halfway until golden and crisp. You can also grill them. Then, lightly rub each piece with a cut garlic clove.
2. White Bean Spread: Puree the beans, oil, water, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth. If it’s too dry, add a little more water.
3. Assemble the Crostini: Top each piece of bread with the white bean puree and more thyme. Right before serving, drizzle them with balsamic.
Variations
- Vinegar: Drizzle balsamic glaze over the crostini. Just heat some vinegar in a small saucepan on the stove until thick and syrupy.
- Herbs: Swap thyme for rosemary.
- Heat: Add some red pepper flakes to the beans.
How long can you keep crostini, and how do you store them?
These mini crostini are great for prepping in advance for a party. Here’s what to do:
- Make Ahead: Slice and toast the bread up to a few days before and store it in an airtight container. The white bean spread can also be made up to two days before and refrigerated. The beans will stay good for a total of four days.
- Serve More People: If you’re having a larger event, double or triple this recipe.
- Store Leftovers: Crostini are best eaten the day they are put together, but if you have leftovers, you can reheat them in the oven, air fryer, or stove.
More Bite-Sized Appetizer Recipes You May Love
- Sugar Plum Baked Brie Bites
- Air Fryer Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Bites
- Spinach and Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms
- Baked Brie Phyllo Tarts with Craisins and Walnuts
- Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
White Bean Crostini
Equipment
Ingredients
For the White Bean Spread:
- 2 cups canned Cannelini or Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp olive oil, extra virgin
- 4 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 clove garlic
- kosher salt , and fresh pepper
Crostini:
- 8 1/2 inch piece of baguette, (4 oz total) sliced into 1/4" thin slices
- 1 garlic clove
- olive oil spray
- extra fresh thyme for garnish
- balsamic vinegar, for drizzling
Instructions
- Cut the bread into 1/4″ thin slices.
- You can toast these in the oven with a little olive oil spray at 400F turning once until toasted or grill them with a light spray of olive oil until golden.
- Once the bread is toasted, lightly rub it with a garlic clove cut in half. Now your bread is ready to top.
- Pureé in a small blender or magic bullet all the ingredients for the white bean spread. If it’s too dry you can add a little more water.
- Top each piece with 2 teaspoons of the white bean puree and garnish with fresh thyme.
- Drizzle with a touch of balsamic right before serving.
LOVE this recipe! I have made it so many times and it is ALWAYS gone. I usually do a little more garlic than it calls for because I love it! Rubbing the bread with the fresh garlic is a must! Great on the baguette or with fresh veggies as a dip.
So easy! Delicious! And healthy! I have made a double recipe twice in the last 2 weeks. The 1st time, I followed the recipe mostly and there was nothing wrong with it at all. I maybe added extra salt and pepper. I felt it needed a bit more umph. The 2nd time, I used fresh basil for the thyme, used more garlic, salt and pepper. FANTASTIC all the way around!
Easy, delicious and so yummy! I love your recipes! I also love to change them up as others have suggested. Just made two batches One as described, the second with some sesame oil substituted for 1/3 of the EVOO plus toasted sesame seeds and thyme to garnish. Both were delicious.
These crostinis were so easy to make and it makes a lot! Our family likes a LOT of black pepper so we mixed in black pepper to taste for us. I also popped them back in the oven for about a minute and half once topped so the topping got warm. So YUMMY!! I like them both with and without the tiny drizzle of balsamic. Great appetizer or snack! AND….at 1 WW pt per piece, it’s a WIN-WIN all the way around!
This was absolutely delicious! I used this as the base of my crispy skin sea bass so that the fish sat on top of the puree skin-side up. I felt a bit indulgent so I added some black truffle oil and the thyme/olive oil/black truffles was absolutely intoxicating. I will definitely keep this for the future!!
Can the dip be made a day in advance and kept in fridge?
How many points or calories would this be without the bread, like if you wanted to stuff veg with it or something?
This is fab. I added red pepper flakes to give it a little zip and the garlic I have right now is very hot so it turned out very zippy.
Is it okay to make the dip portion a few days ahead and refrigerate or freeze? Will the taste and consistency stay the same?
Yes, sorry drain and rinse them.
Do you need to drain the beans first? Looking to make this and wanted to make sure I am doing it correctly! Thanks and LOVE LOVE LOVE this site!!!!
Gina, I love you! 🙂
My husband is from Italy and we had white bean crostini in Napoli 3 years ago.. I hadn't figured out how to duplicate it.. this was perfect, and I will guarantee less fat and calories than I had the first time.
A balsamic tasting, fun!!
I just made the bean portion of this and it is amazing! I put in more garlic because I love garlic. I can't wait to try this tomorrow with the bread. I am bringing it to a balsamic tasting event so it will be perfect. I can't thank you enough for your recipes!!!!
Well that made me feel good Laurie! Taste is so important to me so it makes me feel good knowing other enjoyed my dishes.
Boy oh boy – another HIT!! Today I am having my family over for the October birthdays. I have created my menu from your recipes. These for apps, the black bean avacado salad, the sauteed brussel sprouts, and the beef stroganoff.
Talk about one stop shopping! My sis-in-law is Vegan, and those recipes are fantastic! It's the ease and the taste that I am enamoured with!
Thank you Gina,for the work you put into this!
How can this be only .5 pts for 2 pieces????
That's great Steph! So easy!!
Hi Gina! I was invited to stay at a friend's Cape house with their family and was enlisted to make an appetizer. Not only was this delicious, but it was EASY! It was a big hit!
I made these tonight for my guests, they were excellent!
I made this tonight for happy hour and my boyfriend and I absolutely loved it. The balsamic is perfect with this. Thank you!
This is delicious! Thanks. We drizzled it with a hazlenut flavored balsamic vinegar.
This looks INCREDIBLE!! So happy I just found your blog!
I tried this last night and it's delicious. The balsamic vinegar gives it a really nice flavor.
Roasted red peppers would be great with this.
deeeeelicious!
Nice flavor profile. Could use a little color (roasted red peppers)?
I love anything with beans lately and this looks like such a delicious and healthy appetizer!
I've bee craving white bean dip lately! I bought some to make it wih, but then got sent on an extended business trip before I got to it. This just made th craving some back in full-force!
My daughter made something like this a few weeks ago and we loved it. Beans are so healthy!