Anchovy Ricotta Toast

This Anchovy Ricotta Toast features a creamy, savory dip spread over crunchy toast or baguette slices.

Ricotta cheese is whipped with anchovies to give it a salty umami flavor, plus lemon and herbs add a burst of brightness.

It’s so easy and quick to make and it’s also great as a dip with raw vegetables.

Plus it’s easy to make it gluten-free and keto!

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Anchovy Ricotta Toast

I love throwing a bunch of ingredients in my food processor and letting it do all the work.

Then I just have a delicious, creamy condiment to spread on anything and everything.

And once I made a similar recipe from Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

And even anchovy lovers might be surprised by the amount of anchovies used here, but trust me, it works. It works so well.

She serves it with lightly toasted white bread with the crusts cut off, which is simple and elegant. (This also works well with gluten-free bread.)

But then the ricotta toast trend on TikTok exploded, which made me think this would be great over toasted baguette slices (aka “crostini”).

But it’s also great with carrots, bell peppers or cucumbers too, making this healthy appetizer gluten-free and keto.

What you need for Anchovy Ricotta Toast

Ingredients:

• 1 pound (15-16 oz.) full-fat ricotta
• 13-14 anchovies packed in oil, drained and patted dry (save the oil for another use)
• 1/2 cup Italian (flat leaf) parsley leaves, plus extra for garnish, rinsed and patted dry
• 2 tablespoons butter or ghee, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for garnish
• zest of one lemon
• freshly ground black pepper
• For serving:
  • 7 slices white bread (gluten-free white bread works well too), lightly toasted, crusts trimmed off, cut in half or in quarters (I prefer cutting from corner to corner to get triangle shapes)
  • 1 baguette, sliced, toasted and drizzled with a bit of extra virgin olive oil (again, gluten-free baguettes work well here; I’ve enjoyed these and these)
  • raw vegetables such as carrots, celery, bell pepper strips, and/or sliced cucumbers
  • toasted pine nuts for garnish, if desired

Equipment:

• a food processor or high-speed blender
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• a microplane for zesting the lemon
• a chef’s knife and cutting board for chopping the parsley (and veggies, if using)
• a towel for patting the parsley dry
• paper towels for patting the anchovies dry
• a serrated knife for slicing the baguette, if necessary
• a medium serving bowl and serving utensils

How to make Anchovy Ricotta Toast

To a food processor, add the ricotta, anchovies, parsley, butter or ghee, extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest and about 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.

Blitz until smooth and creamy. You might have to stop once or twice to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl (the oil can pool at the bottom).

Taste and add more black pepper, if desired.

If you’re really bold, you might also decide you want even more anchovy flavor, so feel free to add more, one a time, blending after each addition.

Since anchovies are salty, you do not need any additional salt.

Scrape into a serving bowl and garnish with chopped parsley, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and toasted pine nuts, if desired.

Spread on the toasted bread or baguette slices or serve as a dip with the vegetables.

This would be a great appetizer for the holidays, such as Christmas or New Year’s.

I would love to snack on this while sipping a Negroni Sbagliato or Limoncello Spritz.

Substitutions or variations

• If you want to skip the anchovies, you could leave them out altogether and add a big pinch of salt. Then you’d have a perfectly decent whipped ricotta.
• If you want to make this dairy-free, you could use dairy-free ricotta and dairy-free butter (or ghee, if you can tolerate that). I haven’t tried it this way, so if you try it let me know how it goes!
• You could try other herbs like fresh basil (use the same amount as the parsley), thyme (start with 2 tablespoons) or rosemary (start with 1 tablespoon)
• You could add one minced fresh garlic clove or 1-2 roasted garlic cloves

Make ahead and storage

The anchovy ricotta spread, without the garnishes, can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.

I also have to add: the anchovy ricotta mixture dolloped over a hot steak or burger is fantastic.

Other recipes you might like:

1. Chocolate Ricotta Pudding
2. Caesar Deviled Eggs
3. Spiced Candied Pecans
4. Cranberry Prosecco Chutney
5. Bacon Pineapple Guacamole
6. Grilled Avocado Hummus

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Anchovy Ricotta Toast

This Anchovy Ricotta Toast features a creamy, savory ricotta mixture spread over crunchy toast, or serve it as a dip with fresh vegetables. Plus it's easy to make it gluten-free and keto friendly!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time0 minutes mins

Total Time10 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: anchovy, appetizers, canapes, crostini, italian, ricotta toast

Servings: 2 cups

Author: Don Baiocchi

Ingredients

• 1 pound (15-16 oz.) full-fat ricotta
• 13-14 anchovies, packed in oil, drained and patted dry (save the oil for another use)
• 1/2 cup Italian (flat leaf) parsley leaves, rinsed and patted dry, plus more for garnish, if desired
• 2 tablespoons butter or ghee, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish, if desired
• zest of one large lemon
• freshly ground black pepper

For serving

• 7 slices white bread, lightly toasted, crusts trimmed off, cut in half or in quarters (I prefer cutting from corner to corner to get triangle shapes)
• 1 baguette, sliced, toasted and drizzled with a bit of extra virgin olive oil
• raw vegetables such as carrots, celery, bell pepper strips, and/or sliced cucumbers
• toasted pine nuts for garnish, if desired

Instructions

• To the bowl of a food processor, add the ricotta, anchovies, parsley, butter or ghee, extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest and about 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Blitz until smooth and creamy. You might have to stop once or twice to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl (the oil can pool at the bottom).
• Taste and add more black pepper, if desired.
• Scrape into a serving bowl and garnish with chopped parsley, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and toasted pine nuts, if desired. Spread on the toasted bread or baguette slices or serve as a dip with the vegetables.

Notes

Since anchovies are salty, you do not need any additional salt.

If you're really bold, you might also decide you want even more anchovy flavor, so feel free to add more, one a time, blending after each addition.

To make it gluten-free: use gluten-free bread or baguette, or serve with only the raw vegetables.

To make it keto: serve only with the raw vegetables.

Substitutions or variations

• If you want to skip the anchovies, you could leave them out altogether and add a big pinch of salt. Then you'd have a perfectly decent whipped ricotta.
• If you want to make this dairy-free, you could use dairy-free ricotta and dairy-free butter (or ghee, if you can tolerate that). I haven't tried it this way, so if you try it let me know how it goes!
• You could try other herbs like fresh basil (use the same amount as the parsley), thyme (start with 2 tablespoons) or rosemary (start with 1 tablespoon)
• You could add one minced fresh garlic clove or 1-2 roasted garlic cloves

Make ahead and storage

The anchovy ricotta spread, without the garnishes, can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.

I also have to add: the anchovy ricotta mixture dolloped over a hot steak or burger is fantastic.

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