Roast Beef Crostini

Why This is the Best Recipe

I think crostini appetizers are always a hit at a gathering because the crispy texture of the bread pairs so well with a variety of toppings.

I think this is the best roast beef crostini recipe because:

1. Perfect Crostini: Learn how to bake homemade crostini from a bakery baguette in just minutes. The texture is absolutely perfect.
2. Quick and Easy: Once your baguette is turned into toasts, just make the super easy horseradish sauce. The rest of the dish is just assembly!
3. Easy to Tweak: Once you serve this appetizer to your friends, they can build their own crostini bites and decide whether or not they want the sauce, the roast beef, the tomatoes, or all the above!

Ingredients

This is such an easy and simple recipe, you want to be sure that the ingredients you use are the best quality you can find.

1. Crostini: Making homemade crostini will take you 10 minutes total. This can be done the morning of the party. All you need is a baguette and some olive oil. In a pinch, you can buy pre-baked crostini toasts in the bakery section of the grocery store.
2. Horseradish Sauce: This homemade sour cream horseradish sauce takes less than a minute to stir together. It is fresh tasting and has the perfect consistency. In a pinch, you could buy prepared horseradish sauce from the grocery store.
3. Deli Roast Beef: Get fresh sliced roast beef from the deli department, not the tubs of roast beef by the lunch meat in the refrigerated section. The flavor and texture will be so much better.
4. Fresh Tomatoes: I used sweet cherry tomatoes from our farmer's market in shades of yellow and red, but you could use any fresh tomato you love. For even more flavor, you could use my easy marinated tomatoes recipe, too!

Assemble the Crostini

Spread the crostini out in an assembly line.

Use a knife or spoon to spread a dollop of horseradish sauce evenly over the toast.

Layer a slice of roast beef over the toast.

Depending on the size of your crostini, you may want to trim the roast beef slices in half or in quarters so there isn't an overwhelming amount of beef on each piece.

Chop the fresh tomatoes into large chunks and sprinkle them over each crostini.

Make Ahead Tips

If you want to make this ahead of time, I recommend prepping all the elements in advance but storing everything separately until just before serving.

The horseradish sauce, beef, and tomatoes will soften the crostini if they sit too long and it will lose that signature crispy crunch.

You can do these things up to 24 hours in advance:

• mix the horseradish sauce and keep it covered in the fridge
• bake the crostini and keep them in an airtight container
• chop the tomatoes and keep them covered in a dish in the fridge

Then simply assemble and serve.

Variations

If you prefer, you could serve the crostini, roast beef, horseradish sauce, and tomatoes separately on a charcuterie snack board and let your guests assemble their quick bites themselves.

You could also add:

• Arugula: If you want some greens, peppery arugula would pair perfectly with all these ingredients.
• Basil: Sprinkle fresh basil over the top.
• Balsamic Glaze: Skip the horseradish sauce and lay out a bottle of balsamic glaze instead.

For a little extra "something" fresh cracked peppercorns over the top would also be very delicious.

More Easy Crostini Appetizers

Once you've baked homemade crostini, it is so easy to prepare a few other crostini toppings to set out for your party alongside the roast beef crostini.

You could make a batch of Italian bruschetta al pomodoro, the classic tomato appetizer.

I also love peach blueberry salsa, my favorite strawberry bruschetta, or you could set out a platter of caprese salad and let guests add it to a plain crostini.