A combination of amazing sweet and savory flavors in this Whipped Blue Cheese Crostini with Roasted Grapes. Top with a drizzle of balsamic glaze or honey for the ultimate easy appetizer! Super easy to makes and looks so fancy, this will impress all your guests. Great for date night in too!
Oh my my have I got a treat for you! This is the MOST addicting, MOST delicious fancy pants appetizer ever! Whipped Blue Cheese Spread and Roasted Grape Crostini.
What a crazy sounding recipe idea right? Well it TOTALLY WORKS TOGETHER. Please excuse all the yelling, but I am just too excited about how freakin' good this combination is. It's truly drool worthy.
The combination of fruit and creamy cheese is always a good one, just like in this Blackberry Goat Cheese Grilled Cheese.
Related recipe: Creamy Seafood Spread Crostini
Rich and creamy, sharp and salty whipped blue cheese with subtle hints of nutmeg and fresh thyme.
Sweet and juicy roasted grapes.
A crispy cracker (or crostini or toasted baguette).
A drizzle of honey or balsamic glaze on top. Or if you're feeling extra fancy, some truffle honey.
It's like a perfect dance of flavors and textures in your mouth.
If you make these for your next party, these little appetizer bites will be devoured. I promise. And the best part is that it's pretty easy to make. You can serve these all on a cheese board and let people assemble their own crostini with their favorite glaze. But I can't promise that they won't eat the blue cheese spread by the spoonful.
Related recipe: Tomato Avocado Bruschetta
A few tips on how to make the Blue Cheese Spread:
You will need a small food processor to make this. This is the one I have and it gets me by about 90% of the time. You can also mash all the ingredients together with a fork or the back or a spoon, but it won't turn out as creamy.
Blue cheese has a strong sharp flavor. The flavor is PERFECT when served with sweet roasted grapes, but if you are planning on serving this on its own (or are not sure about all the blue cheese the first time you make this), feel free to substitute 1:1 with a half cup of crumbled feta cheese.
You can use full fat or low fat sour cream. You can add more or less sour cream, depending on how creamy you want this spread to be. You can also add a drizzle of olive oil into the spread before blending, or drizzle some on top for a fancier look. Just make sure you use a really flavorful extra virgin olive oil (such as this one) instead of a cheaper olive oil that would be better suited for cooking or sauteing.
I used fresh thyme in this recipe because it is very affordable and can be found in pretty much any grocery store. You can also use fresh tarragon, or a pinch of dried thyme or dried tarragon.
I used freshly grated nutmeg because I recently bought some whole nutmeg and I am obsessed with grating it on my own. It's so fun to grate, smells amazing, and feels very fancy. Yea, it doesn't take much to make me happy. You can obviously buy grated nutmeg, or skip it altogether.
Related recipe: Cheesy Seafood Dip
A few tips on how to make roasted grapes:
You can keep this super simple and just toss grapes in a roasting pan with a drizzle of olive oil. You can also add some herbs, salt, and pepper if you like - it won't make much of a difference because most of the flavor is the sweetness of the grape.
Make sure not to overcook the grapes or they will turn to mush. 15 minutes at 375F is enough whenever I roast grapes, but your oven might be a bit different than mine.
You can double the amount of grapes you roast - they are SO good, they're like candy. You can use roasted grapes (or just the juices they release) as an ice cream topping, in yogurt, or stirred into whipped cottage cheese.
I always get red grapes or black grapes, just because they have more antioxidants than green grapes thanks to their intense color (I wrote my Master's thesis in chemistry on antioxidants in foods), but feel free to experiment with other grapes too.
Related recipe: Fig and Goat Cheese Flatbread with Balsamic Drizzle
Related recipe: Fried Brie Appetizer
How to put together the ULTIMATE Blue Cheese and Roasted Grape Crostini
Here's the game plan: Roast the grapes. While the grapes are roasting, make the whipped blue cheese spread. Resist the urge to eat all of it with crackers before the grapes are ready. This crostini works best when eaten quickly after being assembled, so that the crostini doesn't soften or get mushy. You can either make these for your guests, or serve it on a cheese board and let people assemble their own crostini (aka put your guests to work):
- Spread a generous amount (ok, about a tablespoon) of whipped blue cheese on crostini, crackers, or a toasted baguette.
- Use tiny tongs to add a few roasted grapes on top. These tongs make any cheese plate or at-home cocktail bar feel extra fancy.
- Drizzle with honey or balsamic vinegar. This part gets messy, but it's one of the things that makes this appetizer taste even better.
- Watch people ooh and ahh and lick their fingers as they go for seconds.
Other crostini and appetizer recipes you will love:
- Whipped feta with truffled mushrooms
- Brie pear puff pastry appetizer
- Pesto tomato crostini
- Easy salami appetizer
- White bean dip
- Cheesy chicken corn dip
- See all my party appetizers
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Blue Cheese Spread with Roasted Grapes
Ingredients
- 1 cup blue cheese - crumbled (or 4 oz)
- 1/2 cup sour cream - low fat or full fat
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 pinch grated nutmeg - freshly grated if possible
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cups seedless red grapes
- olive oil spray
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- crackers or a baguette for crostini
- honey - (optional drizzle)
- balsamic glaze - (optional drizzle)
- truffle balsamic glaze - (optional drizzle)
Special equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Place washed seedless red grapes in a medium baking pan and spray with olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes, or until the grapes start to burst and release juices.
- In a small food processor, combine 1 cup crumbled blue cheese, 1/2 cup sour cream, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, and the leaves from 2 thyme sprigs. Pulse to combine, then process until a desired consistency (you can leave it a bit chunky if you like!). Add a tablespoon of olive oil if you would like a richer flavor.
- Add a smear of the blue cheese spread to crackers or Melba toast. Top with several roasted grapes. Drizzle with honey, fig balsamic glaze, or a truffle balsamic glaze. Serve immediately.
- You can also use a baguette: slice it thinly, brush with olive oil, and toast in a preheated over (375F) for 5-10 minutes until desired crispiness.
Notes
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Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.