Imagine ruby red beets and tangy goat cheese, flavored with orange zest and fresh tarragon, layered on crispy slices of toasted bread and sprinkled with walnuts. Beet bruschetta with orange tarragon goat cheese are irresistible!
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: These appetizers are strikingly beautiful and a perfect balance of flavor and texture.
How long it takes: 20 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: small food processor
Servings: makes 12 appetizers
Don’t you just love beets? I know I do! Just the color alone is amazing, that deep red with the shocking pink juice. It’s not surprising that the phrase “her face turned beet red” describes a person blushing deeply. Can you think of anything that has a deeper red color?
And the amazing sweet, yet earthy flavor of beets! It goes so well with the creaminess and tangy flavor of goat cheese in this appetizer recipe. The orange juice and zest, along with the subtle licorice flavor of tarragon, add more levels of flavor to these beet bruschetta, topped with crunchy walnuts.
Beet bruschetta are the best finger food–almost like a salad on toast, minus the leafy greens. It’s like enjoying all the yummy salad toppings without the salad. Let’s just forget the salad idea and enjoy these delicious beet appetizers!
How To Make beet bruschetta
Get a head start. Much of the preparation for beet bruschetta can be done ahead of time which makes this recipe an ideal appetizer. You can do most of the prep work a couple days in advance and then just assemble them right before serving.
Make the toasted bread slices. Here’s a guide to help you learn how to make crostini. They can be prepped ahead of time, cooled completely, and stored in a resealable bag.
Prepare the beets. You can also do this a day or two ahead of time if you like. There are a few easy ways to prepare beets or you can buy pre-cooked beets. Air fryer beets are the fastest way to go; oven roasted beets are another easy option; or learn how to boil beets which will give you the most tender beets.
Mix up the goat cheese spread. I use a log of goat cheese, and add orange juice and honey. I whip it up in a small food processor until it’s nice and creamy. Stir in orange zest and chopped tarragon. You can store this mixture in the refrigerator a couple of days. Let it soften a bit at room temperature and give it a good stir before spreading it on the toasts.
Assemble. When you’re ready to serve your bruschetta/crostini, simply spread the goat cheese on the toasted bread slices, add a few chopped beets, and garnish with walnuts (toasted or raw) and a little more orange zest or fresh tarragon. Voila! For a special occasion, serve the crostini with this grapefruit and elderflower cocktail.
Cooking Tip
Don’t assemble the beet crostini too far in advance because the beets will turn the goat cheese sort of a neon pink (which is kind of cool, but not that appetizing).
Changes You Can Make
- Cheese Shortcut: To simplify, use a pre-made goat cheese spread or your favorite cream cheese spread.
- Use a different citrus. Mix the plain goat cheese with lemon juice and zest, with a bit more honey to counter balance the tartness of the lemon. Experiment with clementine, blood orange, grapefruit or lime if you like.
- Try different herbs such as thyme, basil, or chives.
- Nut choices (or nut-free): Omit the walnuts. Substitute candied bourbon pecans, hazelnuts, roasted almonds, or pistachios. Toasted pepitas or sunflower seeds are great nut-free choices.
- Vegan alternatives: Use a cheese substitute and sweeten with maple syrup instead of honey.
- Make a salad instead. Mix your favorite greens (arugula, baby kale, spinach, etc) with this easy honey Dijon vinaigrette and top the salad with the beets, walnuts, goat cheese, and orange zest.
Serving Tips
As I mentioned above, most of the prep work can be done ahead of time. The goat cheese spread is also really good on crackers.
Recommended Tools
- Mini Food Processor
- Mini Spatula for scraping out food processor
More Bruschetta
Beet Bruschetta with Orange Tarragon Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 French baguette, made into crostini
- 1 cup diced cooked beets, ½ inch cubes (1 medium beet)
- 4 oz. goat cheese
- 4 teaspoons orange juice (zest the orange first!)
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
- ½ teaspoon minced fresh tarragon, or more to taste
- ¼ cup walnuts, chopped roughly, toasted or raw
- Optional: roughly chopped tarragon, for garnish
Instructions
- In a small food processor, whip the goat cheese with honey and orange juice. Scrape into small bowl and stir in orange zest and tarragon.
- To assemble crostini, spread approximately 1 tablespoon goat cheese mixture onto toasted bread slices. Sprinkle with beets and walnuts. Garnish with more orange zest, and chopped tarragon, if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Prepping the beets: Beets can be air fried, roasted, or boiled, whichever you prefer. You can also purchase pre-cooked beets (not pickled).
- Lightly toast the walnuts, if desired.
- Drizzle with a little extra honey after assembling if you like.
- Use softened cream cheese or a cream cheese spread instead of goat cheese, if you prefer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
