Parmesan Toasts

Homemade crispy and thin cheesy toasts baked with parmesan make a great appetizer and are perfect as croutons in salads and soups.

It’s always good to have a starchy tidbit in your pantry, but the ones in stores are either very expensive or made with questionable ingredients. No worries, you can easily make your own! With just 3 ingredients you have at home: bread, olive oil and cheese. These are delicious and so versatile; You can use them to accompany some cheese and olives with cocktails or a nice wine, you can add them in salads and soups as croutons or just have them for a snack. These easy to make 3-ingredient parmesan toasts are so good, you can’t only eat one! And they are a great addition to any salad or soup because they have a subtle flavor that won’t interfere with any other ingredients. As an appetizer, I like to serve them along some cherry tomatoes, carrot, and cucumber sticks and some good kalamata olives.

Parmesan Toast Ingredients

• Bread: You want to use a baguette here for the shape and size. The slices must be extra thin to get that crispiness factor. I also like to use brown and whole grain bread as well. Best to use bread that is a day old.
• Cheese: I use Parmesan, but you can also try any other type of dryish, aged cheese. You don’t want a cheese that is to soft or moist that would reduce the crispiness.
• Olive Oil: Make sure the olive you use is not old, it will give an off taste and ruin your toasts

How to make Parmesan Toasts

Start by slicing the bread very thin about 1/8 inch thick (1/4 cm). It is important to get it thin so that it will be crispy when it bakes.

Spread the bread on a pan covered with aluminum foil and brush both sides with olive oil (I also use an olive oil mister-much quicker).

Sprinkle each toast with the parmesan (only one 1 side)

Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Storing

Let cool completely and store in air proof container for up to 10 days.

Variations

• Rub some garlic on each bread slice to give a hint of garlic flavor.
• Mix the olive oil with some dry herbs such as oregano or thyme before brushing on the bread.
• You can sprinkle with red pepper flakes.

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• Homemade Olive Oil Croutons
• Authentic Greek Barley Rusks – Paximadi Kritiko
• 3 Ingredient Baked Phyllo Chips

Photos by Elena Paravantes All Rights Reserved