These gorgeous little Red Caviar Toasts with salmon roe look so fancy and taste incredible! They're super easy to make with just 3-ingredients and make a great appetizer. Definitely a must-try, once-in-a-while treat!
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Salmon roe appetizer
Caviar toasts were a common party appetizer at our family parties when I was growing up. Not in a bougie "I eat caviar for breakfast" way... but... you know how some people get a nice charcuterie board with fancy prosciutto or splurge for a shrimp cocktail at dinner? Well, our fancy treat was red caviar!
We always serve it by making little caviar toasts. Just 3 ingredients: baguette, butter, and a little can of salmon roe caviar.
It's simple, but it's so good!
To be honest, the baguette is simply the vehicle for delivering the salty little caviar spheres into your mouth. And the creamy butter pairs so well with the crusty baguette and salty caviar.
It works really well together!
More 3 ingredient appetizers: Salami Skewers
Ingredients
- 4 oz jar of salmon roe caviar (thawed if frozen, see caviar buying tips below)
- ½ of a baguette (about 8-10 inches of baguette without the rounded ends)
- 2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- Chives (or garlic chives, scallions, fresh parsley, or dill)
More seafood baguette appetizers: Seafood Spread Crostini
Equipment
- Large baking sheet (optional, for toasting the baguette if your baguette is not super fresh)
- Serrated bread knife
- Butter knife
More salmon appetizers: Lox Appetizer Platter
Instructions
Step 1: Cut off the rounded ends of the baguette, then slice the baguette into thin slices (about ¼ - ⅓ inch), as thin as you can go without the baguette slices breaking. I was able to make 18 caviar toasts with one 4-oz caviar can, so start with about 15-18 slices and go from there.
Step 2: Optional step to toast the baguette. I actually do not recommend toasting if you have a soft, fresh baguette. But if you have an older baguette, or want to crisp yours up: Preheat oven to 375F. Place the baguette slices on a large baking sheet and toast for 5 minutes, until warm but not crisp (unless you want it crisp, then add a few more minutes!). Allow to cool before the next step.
Step 3: Spread butter on top of each baguette slice. I recommend going a little heavy on the butter because the creaminess is a nice contrast to the crusty baguette and the salty caviar.
Step 4: Use a teaspoon to add some salmon roe caviar on top of each toast. I recommend going a little lighter on the caviar because it can be salty and you don't want to overpower the butter and baguette.
Step 5: Cut the chives into ½-inch pieces and decorate the top of each toast with 2-3 pieces. If using other herbs, finely mince them and add a small pinch on top of each toast. Serve immediately at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to 2 hours before serving. If refrigerating, take them out a half hour before serving to bring to room temperature.
More fancy appetizers: Roasted Grape Crostini with Whipped Blue Cheese
Important tip for making caviar toasts
→ Everyone has different preferences about how much butter-to-caviar-to-baguette they like! I recommend making one piece, tasting it, and adjusting to your tastes, whether you need more butter (creamier!), more caviar (saltier!), or thicker baguette (breadier!). There's no wrong way to do this. 🙂
→ To toast or not to toast: It's up to you! If I have a soft, freshly baked baguette (especially one that might still be warm from the bakery or from your oven, mmm...), I prefer serving the caviar on a soft, untoasted baguette. If you prefer more of a crispy crostini type of toast, you can toast the baguette. 5 minutes if you want to just warm it up and soften it, up to 10 minutes for a crustier baguette. I recommend not toasting if you are making these toasts in advance and refrigerating them (read below for make-ahead tips, but I recommend making these fresh).
More fancy seafood recipes: Brown Butter Scallops
Make-ahead tips
→ This is definitely an appetizer that is best made fresh, within an hour of serving. If you try to prepare these caviar toasts in advance, the baguette will dry out too much or the juices from the salmon roe might drip too much. Not ideal!
→ If you do want to prepare this an hour or two in advance of serving, you can keep the toasts refrigerated on your serving platter or on a cutting board, and then remove from from the fridge about a half hour before serving so they can come to room temperature.
Recipe variations
- Try this with small rye toasts or fancy crackers instead of caviar.
- Try garlic confit butter instead of regular butter. Just make sure to use unsalted butter to make the garlic butter if you're planning on using it for caviar toasts.
- Try these with cream cheese instead of butter (whipped cream cheese or regular). It's not as traditional (at least not for our family), but also delicious.
- Add a slice of thinly sliced cucumber under the red caviar for a little crunch.
More salmon appetizers: Puff Pastry Lox Bites
Where to find salmon roe caviar
If you have a Russian, Ukrainian, or Slavic store near you—especially a large store with a fresh seafood department—you should be able to find salmon roe caviar in little cans there. You can also get salmon roe caviar on Amazon, you will need two 2-oz containers to make the ~18 toasts for this recipe. Here are a few tips for picking out salmon roe caviar:
- Always check the expiration date and/or "packed on" date. Caviar is expensive (I find mine for roughly $20-35 a jar), so you want to make sure you are getting stuff that is not expired, or caviar that is packed less than a year ago.
- Read the storage instructions on the can. Some of them require the caviar to be frozen until used, some are good at room temperature.
- A small 4 oz can was enough to make about 18 little toasts (more or less, depending on the size of your baguette and how much you use per toast), so get an extra can or two if you want to make more than that.
Psst, if you have leftover salmon caviar, it is AMAZING on buttermilk crepes with a little schmear of sour cream!
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!
Red Caviar Toasts
Ingredients
- 4 oz salmon roe caviar - (thawed if frozen, see caviar buying tips below), you'll need 2 jars if getting the 2-oz jars
- ½ of a baguette - (about 8-10 inches of baguette without the rounded ends)
- 2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
- chives - (or garlic chives, scallions, fresh parsley, or dill)
Special equipment
- large baking sheet (optional, for toasting the baguette)
- Serrated bread knife
- Butter knife
Instructions
- Cut off the rounded ends of the baguette, then slice the baguette into thin slices (about ¼ - ⅓ inch), as thin as you can go without the baguette slices breaking. I made 18 caviar toasts with one 4-oz caviar can, so start with about 15-18 slices and go from there.
- Optional step to toast the baguette (see notes): Preheat oven to 375F. Place the baguette slices on a large baking sheet and toast for 5 minutes, until warm but not crisp (unless you want it crisp, then add a few more minutes!). Allow to cool before the next step.
- Spread butter on top of each baguette slice. I recommend going a little heavy on the butter because the creaminess is a nice contrast to the crusty baguette and the salty caviar.
- Use a teaspoon to add some salmon roe caviar on top of each toast. I recommend going a little lighter on the caviar because it can be salty and you don't want to overpower the butter and baguette.
- Cut the chives into ½-inch pieces and decorate the top of each toast with 2-3 pieces. If using other herbs, finely mince them and add a small pinch on top of each toast. Serve immediately.
Notes
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.