We are big lovers of anything sweet and savory, and these Apple Cheddar Crostinis are just that! A simple appetizer that can be made in a pinch, slices of savory cheddar cheese and tart green apple sit atop a toasted crostini, toped with a drizzle of honey and garnished with sea salt and thyme.

What is a crostini?

A crostini is a small, toasted piece of bread served with a topping (usually meat or cheese). It means ‘little crusts’ in Italian.

How do you make crostini?

You can make a crostini (toasted bread) in the oven, on the stove/grill, or even in the air fryer. For all methods, start by slicing a baguette, and brushing the tops with olive oil. If you don’t have access to a brush/olive oil, an easy method is to spray the tops of each crostini with a light coating of nonstick spray (olive oil spray preferred). In either. method, the oil helps toast the bread to a nice golden brown.

Oven Crostini: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange olive oil brushed bread on a foil lined pan, careful not to overcrowd. Place bread in oven and check every 5 minutes, or until golden brown as desired.
Stovetop/Grill Crostini: Place olive oil brushed bread on on medium heat on a grill pan. Check bread every 3-5 minutes, or until toasted as desired.
Air Fryer Crostini: Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place toasted bread on air fryer rack, cautious to not overcrowd, and air fry for 3-5 minutes at a time until bread is toasted golden brown as desired.

Crostini Toppings

We use a sharp white cheddar and a thin sliced green apple to top our toasted bread.

We have a few favorite sharp white cheddars, here’s our recommendations!

High End: Being from Seattle, Beecher’s Flagship is the creme de la creme of white cheddar. You can find it usually at your local grocer.
Middle Grade: If you can’t find Beechers, Kerrygold Reserve Cheddar Cheese is super sharp, and available at pretty much any grocer.
Cost Conscious: For a budget friendly white cheddar, try Trader Joes Unexpected Cheddar! It’s also made in a shredded version if you wanted to toast the bread and cheese together nicely.

For a little extra sweetness, we add a drizzle of honey, and a sprinkle of sea salt. On a few of the crostini’s we added some fresh thyme leaves (though the fresh herbs can be a bit overpowering, so go light or taste test one first to make sure you like it!).

You can make these ahead of time, but we recommend assembling just before eating (if you have to refrigerate them for too long the bread loses its toasty texture). The best bet to a make ahead approach is to pre-slice all of the ingredients, keep the toasted bread in an airtight ziplock bag (for up to 1 day after toasting) and assembly just before serving.

If you are looking for other delicious and easy appetizers, here’s our favorites!