These creamy pesto and tomato crostini will give you the brightness of summer even in the middle of winter!
Because we’re all craving some bright flavors in the depths of winter, I’m making a fun creamy pesto and tomato crostini!
I love having back pocket hosting food: dishes that are easy and ideally can be made ahead of time. In covid life, this is equally good as a fun lunch, giving a pretty presentation to a super simple lunch!
It’s always worth making your own pesto: takes five minutes, and you can make a bunch and freeze for later. Most supermarkets sell fresh basil year-round, and you can easily grow a pot on your kitchen windowsill even in winter. But even if you don’t, it’s still delish!
This creamy pesto spread is a great condiment in general. You can easily treat this as a spread for sandwiches, a dip with veggies, or part of a charcuterie board! The leftovers definitely made it into a few panini at my house and I highly recommend it.
Typically sun dried tomatoes come jarred in oil, so make sure you press them a bit to dry them out before adding to the food processor. You can also make your own in the oven and freeze if you’re not using right away. Frozen ones will also need thawing and drying out before adding to the recipe.
Keep in mind that the more you blend this, the browner the color gets. So it’s worth blitzing together all the ingredients except pesto and then pulsing in the pesto in until just combined.
If you’re making it ahead of time, put in a bowl topped with a drizzle of olive oil. Then press a layer of plastic wrap over, touching the dip. This keeps air from oxidizing the top layer and turning it brown.
Tools you’ll need: food processor.
Creamy Pesto and Tomato Crostini
Ingredients
- 1 baguette
- 8 oz cream cheese
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 5 oz pesto
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese grated, plus more for garnish
- 1 jar sun-dried tomatoes (about 1/2 cup tomatoes)
Instructions
- Slice the bread and toast or bake them until lightly browned.
- Pat dry the tomatoes to remove excess oil. Cut 3-4 into bits and set aside.
- Combine cream cheese, Greek yogurt, Parmesan, and tomatoes in a food process. Beat until everything is fully incorporated. Add the pesto and pulse until just combined
- Let the bread cool before spreading the pesto mix on each slice. Top with a few bits of sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan.
Creamy pesto & tomato crostini are my favorite lunch when I’m craving summer flavors in the middle of winter!
Want more easy lunch ideas? Try chinese corn soup, slow cooker pulled pork, or kale & quinoa salad!
