Delicious Baguette Appetizers

A fresh, crispy baguette can turn any appetizer dish into a great hit: The Flammkuchen-Baguette, Tomato Mozzarella Baguette and the Raclette-Baguette are delicious, quick, and easy to prepare. Perfect for a romantic appetizer party!

This post is sponsored by Rimuss, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Crazy Kitchen possible!

One baguette – three baguette appetizer ideas

The baguette is such a great bread. Whether for breakfast, for a jam sandwich in between meals or with a salad – the baguette plays an important role in our lives. That’s why I came up with appetizer ideas using the long, French bread. I think we all know “garlic bread”, which is made with baguette (at least in my household). So today I’m going to show you three new baguette appetizers with the Baguette. I do like garlic bread … but I’m always open to new things! 🙂

Winter appetizer

In winter, I like the appetizers to be served warm – and the selected beverage cold. Ideally, there is fresh snow outside, it is cold, and the sun has just set. Inside, the fire burns and crackles in the fireplace, I sit on the cozy couch in my cuddly socks and enjoy the warm “apéro” with my guests. I guess you can say I like the atmosphere to be a little bit romantic, because when it’s so dark outside, I really like to be in my cozy place and enjoy being together with other fun people. Valentine’s Day is on 14 February – If you still need any appetizer inspiration, this recipe is just right!

For the baguette appetizers, I always like to toast with the Rimuss Champion Moscato. I really like the sweetness and bubbliness and I think it goes perfectly with the melted, rather salty cheese on the baguettes.

So, now you’re probably starting to wonder what my fuss is about … My favourite is the Flammkuchen-Baguette (Tarte Flambée on a baguette – seriously, so good!), but the Tomato Mozzarella Baguette and the Raclette-Baguette are just as good 😉

And let’s just quickly take a moment to appreciate the fact that this is my first ever salty recipe on my blog! Hurray! 🙂 No, I am really excited because for almost a year now I’ve only ever published sweet dessert recipes. I have quite the salty tooth too, so I feel it’s quite okay to publish non-sweet recipes on Crazy Kitchen, too!

Tomato Mozzarella Baguette

The Tomato Mozzarella Baguette is basically the appetizer version of the tomato mozzarella salad (insalata caprese).

You need fresh, juicy red tomatoes, mozzarella, concentrated tomato paste/puree, Italian seasoning and a baguette. I used a crunchy stone-oven baguette for all three appetizer ideas, but feel free to use the regular baguette as well. I have noted some tips and tricks below.

First, cut your baguette in half. Then cut each half lengthwise in half again so that you have four pieces of bread in total.

Then spread about a tablespoon of the tomato paste on one piece of bread. If the baguette is very “holey”, you can use more tomato paste; it gives the whole thing a really tasty flavour.

Then cut the tomato into slices that are about 5 mm thick (about a ¼ inch) and cut the mozzarella into slices of about the same thickness.

For the last step, place one tomato slice and one mozzarella slice alternating on the baguette. Depending on the length of your baguette and the thickness of the slices, you will need more or less tomato/mozzarella. Finally, sprinkle some Italian spices such as basil or oregano on the finished baguette.

Then place the baguette with the other baguette appetizers on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 15-20 minutes in an oven preheated to 180°C convection (350°F). The Tomato Mozzarella Baguette is ready when the mozzarella has melted nicely and formed a fine, brown crust in some places.

Before serving, sprinkle fresh basil, salt and pepper and cut into even smaller pieces that are about 3 cm wide (about an inch).

Flammkuchen-Baguette

The Flammkuchen-Baguette is quick to prepare and very uncomplicated. This is definitely my favourite version of the baguette appetizers, but shhh, that’s my secret 🙂 Flammkuchen or also known as Tarte Flambée originates from Alsace, an eastern region in France. The Flammkuchen is made on a really thin dough, then smothered in crème fraiche and sour cream, and then sprinkled with cut up onions and a bit of bacon. I dare say it’s better than pizza.

First, cut the baguette in half, and then cut both pieces in half again lengthwise. Then mix the crème fraiche, sour cream, salt and pepper together (see recipe box below for details) and spread it on the baguette pieces. Next, halve a medium-sized onion and cut it into small slices. “Grind” the slices a little in your hand so that you get even smaller pieces (just rub the slices in between your hands). Sprinkle the onion pieces together with the bacon on the baguette.

Bake the Flammkuchen-Baguette for approx. 15-20 minutes in a 180°C convection oven (fan-assisted).

Let the baguette pieces cool slightly for about 2 minutes and cut them into smaller pieces that are about 3 cm wide. Bon Appétit!

Raclette-Baguette

Raclette is one of the Swiss main dishes. Every non-Swiss thinks that cheese is the only thing we know how to eat … which is kind of true, I guess … 🙂 Raclette is definitely my favourite cheesy dish, but my father LOVES fondue. I think I prefer Raclette over fondue because we normally fry vegetables with the melted cheese, and we also eat some meat. With fondue, literally all you do is dip bread into cheese … Hi, carbs! 🙂
Unfortunately, after eating such a big meal (trust me, Raclette is a big and filling meal), is always something left over. Whether it’s vegetables for the grill on top, such as peppers, courgettes or even corn kernels, or otherwise several slices of cheese.

We usually have a casserole with all the leftovers thrown together a few days after eating raclette. But since I have this appetizer idea in my repertoire, we’ve also started to make this appetizer as a meal 🙂 This is probably the easiest baguette of all three, because you should already have most of the ingredients at home.

First cut the baguette in half, then cut the two pieces in half lengthwise again. Then spread about a tablespoon of tomato paste on each piece and put about two tablespoons of tomato sauce on top and spread the sauce.

Then, depending on the length of your baguette pieces, take two to four slices of raclette cheese and cut the slices in half. For me personally, 2 slices per baguette piece were enough (so I had 4 halves).

Place the raclette cheese halves slightly diagonally on the baguette; they may also lie slightly on top of each other. Then cut a bellpepper into smaller pieces and sprinkle them on the cheese. If you like, you can also put courgette, tomato pieces, mushrooms, corn kernels etc. on the cheese. There are no limits to what you can do with the Raclette-Baguette! 🙂

Finally, bake the Raclette-Baguette in a 180°C oven for 15-20 minutes. When you take the baguette out, you should wait a few minutes before cutting it, because the melted raclette cheese is very hot. But it’s definitely worth the wait!

FAQ – your questions answered!

Which bread should I use?

I like the baguette appetizer best when prepared with a fresh, crusty stone-oven baked baguette. I find the taste of the bread is a little more intense and interesting than with the “normal” light baguette, but that’s just my personal preference.

You can of course use a “normal” French baguette, the recipe works just as well.

If you have an older bread and simply want to enjoy an uncomplicated appetizer at home in a small setting, you can prepare the apptizer on slices of bread instead of baguette pieces. I mean, if you prepare the Raclette-Baguette this way, you are really recycling a lot of food, which is great! 🙂

Can I prepare the appetizers in advance?

Of course! However, I wouldn’t prepare it the day before, but at most 2-4 hours before the guests arrive. You can prepare the baguettes according to the recipe and then place them on the baking tray. If it’s cold enough outside, you can just put the tray outside, or in the fridge.

When the time for baking comes, put the tray in the oven, bake for about 20 minutes and then enjoy. As the baguette pieces will be a little colder when you start baking them, I would bake them a little longer than if you put them in the oven at room temperature.

If you don’t mind “cold” melted cheese, you can also prepare the baguette pieces way before the guests arrive. Then you can simply leave the baguette pieces to cool and cut them into 3 cm-wide pieces – this makes about 5 mini pieces per baguette!

Can I store the baguette appetizers?

If you have baguette appetizers left over, you can simply put the pieces in a Tupperware. To reheat them, place them on a baking tray and bake them for 5-10 minutes at 180°C convection (350°F).

What can I serve with the baguette appetizers?

That’s a good question! Of course I serve the baguette appetizers with a matching Rimuss. Rimuss is a Swiss brand that sells non-alcoholic sparkling wine. Since the appetizer is a bit on the salty side with all the cheese and other vegetables, I like a sweet, refreshing Rimuss, such as the Rimuss Champion Moscato. However, I can also highly recommend the Rimuss Fresh or Rimuss Rosato.

As further appetizers I like to serve wasabi nuts. These are known to be spicy, and the spiciness balances the sweetness of the Rimuss and the otherwise salty appetizers. A vegetable dip would certainly be good too. If you have some crème fraiche mixture left over from the Flammkuchen-Baguettes, you can use it as a dip sauce.

I hope I have been able to inspire you with some creative appetizer ideas! The baguette appetizer is really versatile and super quick to prepare – which is ideal, because then you can spend more time with your guests.

If you make these baguette appetizers, please leave a comment down below and rate the recipe! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and to tag me there! 🙂

Take care!

Joelle 🙂

You might also like …

• Crème Brûlée with sparkling wine – Rimuss isn’t just good for accompanying appetizers, but also for desserts!
• If you love fruit pies, you’ll absolutely adore this Plum Hazelnut Frangipane Tart!

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