FLUFFY. WHIPPED. RICOTTA. TOAST. This savory Whipped Ricotta Toast is a delicious appetizer that only uses 5 ingredients and is ready in under 10 minutes. Serve on toasted Italian bread and drizzle with olive oil and tons of flaky sea salt.
I'm so excited to share this copycat Misi Whipped Ricotta Toast recipe with my fellow New Yorkers and Misi lovers!
The first time I ever had whipped ricotta crostinis was at Misi in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Fortunately for me, the friend I went with is a psychopath that doesn't like cheese so all three slices were mine. Unfortunately for me, getting to Williamsburg on the L train is an absolute pain and getting a reservation at Misi is even worse.
Eventually, I began to see this appetizer pop up at various different restaurants for a whopping $15 and like most people I said "this can't be that hard to make at home???"
Et voila! Turns out it's ridiculously quick, cheap, and easy to make this vegetarian appetizer at home in a food processor. We're talking less than 10 minutes!
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Why this Recipe Works
Making whipped ricotta may sound like quite an undertaking. But honestly, it's a quick lunch for me in between meetings. You know when the one meeting ends 10 minutes early before the next half hour point? Yeah, you can have this ready and scarf it down before the next.
But that's not the point. Whether the goal is an elegant appetizer that you can whip up (haha, no pun intended) for entertaining at a dinner party or a quick snack, you now have something in your arsenal to impress!
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
- Bread - Ideally use Italian bread for this toast, but any rustic bread will work! I also love sourdough.
- Ricotta - Use the highest quality whole milk ricotta you can find, whether it's making it fresh at home or getting some from a local dairy farm at the farmer's market. It completely changes the taste of the ricotta, but store-bought is completely fine. The fresher the ricotta, the better aeration you'll get for a light and creamy result.
- Heavy Cream - Cream loosens the ricotta to get a smooth cheese and also adds a ton of richness in flavor! Substitute with half-and-half or it can be omitted entirely.
- Extra virgin olive oil - Since the olive oil isn't used for cooking, use an extra virgin high quality oil! The flavor of the olive oil will enhance the ricotta.
How to make Whipped Ricotta Toast
Before whipping the ricotta, have your bread ready. Grab a few slices of rustic or Italian bread and toast it until golden brown in a toaster or with butter in a hot pan.
Now that the toast is ready, set that aside. Let's make the whipped ricotta in a food processor.
- Whip the ricotta. All you have to do is aerate the ricotta with the EVOO and heavy cream mixed in until it's smooth and fluffy. You can do this with a rubber spatula, a whisk, a blender, or preferably whip the ricotta in a food processor for up to 5 minutes. The food processor gives the fluffiest, smoothest texture that's ideal.
Pro Tip: You can omit the olive oil and heavy cream for really thick whipped ricotta. On the other hand, if you add too much olive oil and heavy cream, the whipped ricotta will be too runny and may be better used elsewhere.
- Pipe the ricotta. Spoon the ricotta into a Ziploc bag or decorating bag. Be sure to push the ricotta towards the tip you're going to cut to prevent air bubbles. Cut a dime sized tip, and pipe it on toast in a snake motion.
- Then, the toast is ready to serve! Misi only sprinkles the toast with a bit of flaky sea salt but I love it with an extra drizzle of olive oil.
I recommend adding a side salad, charred peppers, or some fruits to go with it to make it a whole meal!
Other Variations
The best part is that you can make so many different variations of this toast. Keep the base of the recipe the same and add truffles or sautéed vegetables like peppers, broccolini, snap peas, etc
While I chose to make it a bit more savory by adding olive oil and my favorite flaky sea salt, you can go the opposite way!
A few people told me that they would completely omit the olive oil in this recipe make whipped ricotta toast with jam instead, making it the perfect breakfast. I'll personally be adding some grilled caramelized peaches to mine with some honey. I meannnn... drooooool!
I made a sweet variation with honey and fresh figs, and I'd also recommend this Jumbo Stuffed Pasta Shells with Lemon Basil Whipped Ricotta version for a full meal!
Expert Tips and Tricks
- Use any bread. You can toast up any type of bread that you have.
- Olive oil and heavy cream make this rich. The heavy cream and olive oil make the whipped ricotta especially rich, but you can just use the ricotta. It'll be a lot thicker so you're really looking for it to be almost a glassy smooth and thick.
- Avoid using too much olive oil and heavy cream. Add too much and it'll be super thin and soak through the toast. You want it to be thick enough to sit on top.
- Piping bag vs Ziploc bag. Use a piping bag or a Ziploc bag to pipe the whipped ricotta, or you can just dollop it on the toasted bread.
- No need to use a food processor. If you don't have a food processor, you can also use a whisk or a blender to get fluffy ricotta.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store any extra whipped ricotta in an airtight container in the fridge. Mark the expiration date for the ricotta. For use the next day, toast your bread and follow the piping steps.
Yes! The more, the merrier. You can use the serving size toggles to make more.
You can use leftover ricotta for a dip with crostini, add it as a pizza topping, use it in this Jumbo Stuffed Pasta Shells with Lemon Basil Whipped Ricotta recipe.
I'm all for making things ahead and having it ready.
You can make whipped ricotta a day or two ahead and store it in the refrigerator in a sealed piping bag or a container until ready to use. Pipe it onto toast when ready to serve and drizzle with olive oil and flakey salt.
More Delicious Appetizers to indulge in
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Whipped Ricotta Toast
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 slices Italian bread
- 1 cup ricotta
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, (and extra for garnishing)
- pinch of flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Melt a small pad of butter in a hot pan. Add your sliced bread into the pan and toast on each side until golden brown.
- In a bowl, whip the ricotta, heavy cream, and olive oil together until smooth and fluffy. You can use a food processor, blender, whisk, or rubber spatula. Whatever you have that will aerate and incorporate the ingredients works. Add more ricotta if it's too runny, add more heavy cream if it's too thick.
- Add the filling into a piping bag. Make sure you remove any air bubbles otherwise it'll disrupt the flow. Cut a dime sized tip and pipe it on your toast.
- Drizzle in olive oil and sprinkle some flaky sea salt on top.
Notes
- Aerating the ricotta: Using a food processor to whip the ricotta for a few minutes is how you will get the absolute fluffiest, smoothest ricotta. However, that definitely takes extra time and results in more dishes so a rubber spatula or whisk works just fine.
Cat says
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! It turned out great and this will be a staple snack going forward haha. Recently went to Misi and have been dreaming about this after I came back to Austin.
Will says
Have you considered doing a copycat recipe for the mushrooms that come with this dish? SO GOOD but I have no idea how to make them
Shweta Garg says
I haven’t but maybe it’s time for a visit to Misi!! I thought it was peppers that came with it?!
Anna says
Hi - I don’t have a food processor but do have a stand mixer…would that work to whip the ricotta with the olive oil? Thanks!
Shweta Garg says
Yes it will
Patti says
This is SO good, I actually had to go get another loaf of bread because I couldn’t stop “sampling”.
Shweta Garg says
hahahaha fully feel that - it’s SO good!
Nicole says
Thanks for the recipe! Can you put in the oven to warm?
Shweta says
I've never tried that but in general you can bake ricotta so I don't see why not! Let me know if you try it.
Sammy says
Can’t bare to turn on the stove these days so this has been a great quick snack in the evenings. I usually slather some on crostini and I’m wayyy too lazy to pipe it but maybe some day!
Shweta says
I feel that! It's too hot to have the stove or oven on and piping just makes it an aesthetically fun snack 🙂 glad you enjoyed it!
Eugina says
I've been eyeing the whipped ricotta toast from Misi in Williamsburg for so long and haven't been able to visit, but I'm so glad Masala and Chai put out this recipe because it is SO quick and easy to make!! I don't know why I've been waiting to try this when I could literally make it at home. When I'm craving a savory toast, this is the go-to. If you wanna impress your friends and family with some fancy toast for brunch - this is it.
Shweta says
Yessss, so glad you got to try it.. that too, outside of New York! It's crazy how easy it is, isn't it?!