Here’s two Easy Prosciutto Appetizer Recipes that are easy, delicious and pretty to serve. You’ll want to keep these recipes handy for gatherings year-round.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you need some classy looking snacks and are short on time or could use a little inspiration, here’s two prosciutto appetizers that always deliver.
Here’s a couple good reasons to give them a try:
- Prosciutto is easy to find, and both of these snacks are a snap to make.
- These are elegant and easy ideas to have in your back pocket for holidays, birthdays, a dinner party, baby or wedding showers, or game nights.
- Both of these savory appetizers that look great on a platter. We eat with our eyes first, right?
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the full recipe and list of ingredients and instructions, please scroll to the recipe card below.
- Asparagus: Get the thickest stalks you can find.
- Boursin Cheese: Readily available in most grocery stores, we’ll use this for both appetizers which tastes like an herb-y cream cheese spread.
- Prosciutto: The star of the show. Slightly salty and full of flavor.
- Toasted Baguette Slice or Crackers: For the second appetizer.
- Honey: The perfect partner with prosciutto.
- Fresh Thyme: For a fresh punch.
Step-By Step Instructions
The first prosciutto appetizer is a lightly cooked asparagus spear that’s slathered with soft cheese and wrapped in a blanket of prosciutto. Yum!
- Start by washing and trimming the asparagus, then gently boil it for a few minutes in a large skillet. The quick cooking – blanching – takes the raw edge off.
- Plunge the asparagus in cold ice water which sets the bright green color, then gently dry the spears with a paper towel.
3. Transfer the room temperature Boursin cheese to a small mixing bowl and stir it until it’s a soft consistency, similar to cream cheese. This small step will make it easier to spread.
4. Smear a couple of teaspoons of cheese on the bottom of each asparagus stalk, then wrap some prosciutto pieces around it. The cheese acts as a glue to hold the slice of prosciutto in place.
PRO TIP: If the prosciutto falls apart a bit, no worries! Use just enough small bite-sized pieces to cover up the cheese.
5. Pile the asparagus spears on a serving platter and enjoy with some cold drinks.
The second prosciutto appetizer is a simple toast using the rest of the Boursin cheese, a few more slices of prosciutto and honey and fresh thyme – a little crostini.
Here’s how you build them:
- Use a long, crispy cracker – these are from Trader Joe’s – or make your own by slicing a baguette thin, drizzling with olive oil and toasting under a broiler. (Let them cool before assembling.)
2. Next, swirl on the remaining Boursin cheese, top with a strip or two of prosciutto slices, drizzle with honey, and garnish with fresh thyme or basil leaves. So good!
Tips and Possible Variations
- The amounts listed in these two ideas are flexible. You can easily make more or less depending on what you need.
- Make your own toasts with a fresh baguette, sliced thin, drizzled with olive oil and broiled until golden brown. Cool before assembling.
- Slice the prosciutto into half horizontally to make smaller pieces. Don’t worry if it sort of falls apart. It will look and taste terrific! Use the cheese to sort of “glue” the pieces in place.
- Adding a little bit of milk or cream to the Boursin cheese will help it soften into a more spreadable form. Start with a teaspoon, then another half teaspoon if needed.
- Drizzle the toasts with balsamic glaze instead of honey and finish with fresh cracked pepper for a variation. The salty flavor of the Italian dry-cured ham is perfect with the hint of sweetness of the balsamic vinegar glaze.
- You can find long, thin parmesan crisp crackers at Trader Joe’s near the croutons.
Serving Ideas
- Both of these appetizers look like they took all day when you serve them on a nice platter.
- If you’re having an gathering of friends and family, here’s a few other suggested appetizers to serve. Bring out a skillet of this with a bowl of thick, good quality tortilla chips, these cheesy puff pastry bites are easy too and can’t be beat, a plate of this vegetarian recipe is always welcome (and they are amazing) but you could always offer these instead – people really love them.
- Round it out with these wonderful deviled eggs with candied bacon.
- If you’re serving this before a big roasted dinner, don’t forget this incredibly good cranberry sauce on the side.
- For dessert, you can’t go wrong with these fantastic strawberry cheesecake bars. They’re easy and really, really good. If you’re not up for that, how about some chocolate covered strawberries or these pretty (and delish) Chocolate Snowflake Cookies? They’re fun and always a hit.
- Cookies are nice too, and these amazing apple butter cookies are soft and wonderful. (I love them.)
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes they can be made a couple of hours in advance if kept refrigerated.
An airtight container is good, but note that both of these will taste best the day they are prepared.
More Recipes to Try
- Fig Prosciutto Pizza: A wonderful pizza as an appetizer or main.
- Best Snacks with Wine and Mocktails: Here’s a handy list to hang onto!
- Lemon Artichoke Dip: A festive, delicious, easy hot dip.
- Stuffed Celery Cream Cheese Appetizers: Easy and delicious.
- Memorial Day Food Recipes: A round-up of great recipes.
- Stuffed Celery Snacks: So good, and cute too.
- Maple Roasted Squash with Goat Cheese: A fantastic squash recipe.
- Slow Cooker Asparagus: Perfect to make when you need oven space.
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Easy Prosciutto Appetizer Recipes
Ingredients
- For the Asparagus Appetizer
- 1 pound Asparagus, washed and trimmed As thick as possible.
- 2½ ounces Boursin Cheese
- 1½-2 teaspoons Cream or milk See note
- 4-6 slices Prosciutto, sliced in half lengthwise
- For Toast Appetizer
- 6-8 slices Toasted baguette or store bought parmesan crisps See note
- 2½ ounces Boursin Cheese
- 4-6 slices Prosciutto, sliced in half lengthwise
- 1 tablespoon Honey, for drizzling
- 2 teaspoons Fresh Thyme, for garnish
Instructions
- To Make the Asparagus Appetizer: Trim the bottom woody ends off the asparagus, then rinse with water. Blanch the asparagus by adding the bunch to a large skillet with a half cup of water and big pinch of salt. There should be enough water to barely cover the asparagus. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat for about two minutes. Have an ice bath ready, which is a shallow bowl big enough to hold the asparagus spears, filled with water and a handful of ice cubes. Transfer the cooked asparagus to the ice bath for a couple of minutes, then drain and pat dry completely with a paper towel. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the Boursin cheese and a teaspoon of cream or milk. If it's still hard to stir, add another half a teaspoon. To assemble, smear a rounded teaspoon on the bottom half of the asparagus stalk, then wrap a half piece of prosciutto around it, letting the cheese act as a glue to hold it in place. Repeat with the remaining cheese and prosciutto. You'll use about half of the Boursin cheese for the asparagus, the other half for the prosciutto toasts.
- To Make the Toast Appetizer:Use long, thin parmesan crisp crackers, or make your own by thinly slicing a baguette, drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese then lightly broiling until just golden. Let the prepared Boursin cheese mixture sit a room temperature for 10-20 minutes so it's easy to spread, then smear a rounded teaspoon (or more) onto each toast. Top with a piece of prosciutto, then drizzle with honey and sprinkle with fresh thyme.
Notes
- Adding a little bit of milk or cream to the Boursin cheese will help it soften into a more spreadable form. Start with a teaspoon, then another half teaspoon if needed.
- Use long, thin parmesan crisp crackers, or make your own by thinly slicing a baguette, drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese then lightly broil.
Nutrition
- Super important to read the whole recipe before you begin
- Pay attention to the ingredient list and photos for the recipe
- If possible, prep your ingredients a little before you start
- Always use a sharp knife for safety
- Use the size of pan called for in the recipe
- For savory recipes, taste and season as you go
- Buy fresh, organic ingredients, locally sourced whenever possible
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