Description
These little pesto ricotta puff pastry cups are the kind of party snack I return to again and again. They look and feel boujee, but are so simple – think just five ingredients and less than 30 minutes to make. Perfect for grazing boards, they’re the snack everyone reaches for first.
Ingredients
For the puff pastry cups -
- Butter or olive oil, for greasing
- 1 cup (roughly 250g) ricotta
- 4 tablespoons basil pesto
- 3 slices of bacon
- Black pepper, to taste
- Salt, to taste
- 1 sheet of puff pastry
- 1 egg, beaten (for the egg wash)
To serve -
- 3 tablespoons toasted pistachios, finely chopped or crushed
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated (or make Parmesan crisps for an extra crunchy element)
- 2 slices of bacon
- A handful of chives
You'll need a mini muffin pan for this recipe - I use this pan I picked up from Amazon.
Instructions
- Heat your oven. Set your oven to 400°F (200°C fan) and lightly grease your mini muffin pan.
- Cook the bacon. If you’re using it, cook your bacon (for the filling and the garnish) in a pan until super crispy. You can also air fry your bacon – I find 6 minutes at 400°F (200°C) works well to make it lovely and crispy. Once cooked, finely chop it.
- Make the pesto ricotta filling. In a bowl, mix your ricotta, 4 tablespoons of pesto, three-quarters of the chopped bacon, and a good grind of black pepper. Taste, then add a little salt if it needs it (this will depend on how salty your pesto is).
- Prepare the pastry. Roll out your pastry onto a wooden board, then slice it into small squares (roughly 2 to 2.5 inches). I like to cut a test square first, to make sure it fits in my mini muffin pan. Gently press the puff pastry squares into your prepared pan.
- Fill the cups. Spoon a heaped teaspoon of the filling into your pastry cups, then brush the edges with the egg wash.
- Bake the cups. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes – I like to check after 10 minutes and rotate the pan if one side is browning more quickly than the other. Once the cups look gorgeously golden and are beginning to brown on top, remove them from the oven.
- Garnish and serve. Carefully remove the cups from the pan (they should pop out easily), then transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with the crushed pistachios, grated Parmesan, chives, and extra crispy bacon if you’re using it. Serve while hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Notes
PREP AHEAD: There are a couple of ways you can do this. Assemble the cups in your mini muffin pan, then tightly cover and pop into the fridge for 24 hours. Then, you can bake them whenever you’re ready to serve. Or, bake the cups, then store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat them in the oven (350°F or 180°C for about 6 minutes) or in the air fryer (350°F or 180°C for about 3 minutes) when you’re ready to serve.
INGREDIENT NOTES: I like using basil pesto for the cups, but sun-dried tomato pesto is great too. For the best, vibrant, fresh flavor, I really recommend making your own basil pesto (it takes 10 minutes and is worth it). Store-bought pesto is absolutely fine though. If possible, opt for the fresh pesto found in the refrigerator section, rather than the jarred variety. You could swap the ricotta for whipped cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, or even crumbled feta.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: appetizers
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 cups
- Calories: 252
- Sugar: 1.4g
- Sodium: 240mg
- Fat: 17.9g
- Saturated Fat: 6.9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11g
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 15.8g
- Fiber: 0.8g
- Protein: 8.6g
- Cholesterol: 38mg