Chef Dean
Antipasto Skewers
The abundance of an Italian antipasto platter captured on a single pick: folded salami, sharp provolone, briny olives, and tender artichoke hearts, finished with fresh basil and a bright olive oil drizzle.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Ricotta Toast with Hot Honey and Sea Salt
Created by
Creamy whole-milk ricotta spread thick on golden toast, drizzled with spicy-sweet hot honey and scattered with crystals of flaky sea salt. Four ingredients. Five minutes. Endlessly satisfying.
Appetizers & Snacks
American
Quick Meal
Dinner Party
Date Night
10 min
Active Time
5 min cook•15 min total
Yield4 servings
This is the dish that launched a thousand café menus. Somewhere around 2015, ricotta toast appeared on every brunch menu in Brooklyn, then spread westward like culinary wildfire. The formula seems almost too simple: toast, cheese, honey, salt. But simplicity is deceptive. When each component is chosen with intention, the result transcends the sum of its parts.
Hot honey is the ingredient that transforms this from pleasant to addictive. The gentle burn of chili meeting the sweetness of honey creates a tension your palate cannot ignore. You can buy excellent versions now, or make your own in ten minutes. Once you have a jar in your refrigerator, you'll find reasons to use it on everything from fried chicken to pizza.
The ricotta matters more than you might expect. Seek out whole-milk ricotta from a good dairy, or make the drive to an Italian market. Mass-produced ricotta is watery and bland. The real thing is creamy, slightly sweet, with enough body to hold its shape on toast. This is not a dish that forgives mediocre ingredients.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
rustic bread
Quantity
4 thick slices
sourdough, ciabatta, or country loaf
whole-milk ricotta cheese
Quantity
1 cup
hot honey
Quantity
2-3 tablespoons, plus more for drizzling
flaky sea salt
Quantity
to taste
such as Maldon
extra-virgin olive oil
Quantity
for brushing
black pepper (optional)
Quantity
to taste
freshly cracked
fresh thyme leaves (optional)
Quantity
for garnish
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| rustic breadsourdough, ciabatta, or country loaf | 4 thick slices |
| whole-milk ricotta cheese | 1 cup |
| hot honey | 2-3 tablespoons, plus more for drizzling |
| flaky sea saltsuch as Maldon | to taste |
| extra-virgin olive oil | for brushing |
| black pepper (optional)freshly cracked | to taste |
| fresh thyme leaves (optional) | for garnish |
Equipment Needed
- •Broiler or grill pan
- •Pastry brush
- •Fine-mesh strainer (if ricotta needs draining)
Instructions
- 1
Select and slice the bread
Choose a bread with character. Sourdough provides tang, ciabatta offers airy pockets that catch the honey, and a sturdy country loaf gives you substantial chew. Cut slices about three-quarters of an inch thick. Too thin and they'll shatter under the ricotta; too thick and the bread overwhelms the toppings.
Day-old bread actually works better here. The slight staleness means crisper toast that won't turn soggy under the ricotta. - 2
Toast until golden
Brush both sides of each bread slice lightly with olive oil. Toast under a hot broiler, watching carefully, until deep golden with charred spots around the edges. This takes two to three minutes per side. Alternatively, grill the bread over medium-high heat or use a cast iron grill pan for those coveted char marks. The toast should crackle when you tap it.
A toaster produces adequate results for weeknight snacking, but the broiler or grill delivers superior texture and flavor for entertaining. - 3
Prepare the ricotta
While the bread toasts, stir the ricotta gently in its container. If it seems watery, spoon it into a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl and let it drain for five minutes. Good ricotta should be creamy and thick, holding soft peaks when you lift a spoon. Season it with a tiny pinch of fine salt and stir once more.
- 4
Spread generously
Working quickly while the toast is still warm, spread a generous quarter cup of ricotta across each slice. Use the back of your spoon to create gentle swoops and valleys, leaving the surface slightly uneven. These undulations will catch pools of honey. Don't be timid. This is not a dish for restraint.
- 5
Drizzle and finish
Drizzle hot honey over the ricotta in a lazy zigzag pattern, using about two teaspoons per toast. The honey should pool in the valleys you created. Scatter flaky sea salt crystals across the surface. You want visible flakes that will crunch when you bite through. Finish with cracked black pepper and a few thyme leaves if you like, though the dish is complete without them.
Never substitute fine salt for flaky salt here. The crystals provide textural contrast that is essential to the experience. - 6
Serve immediately
Transfer toasts to a board or individual plates and serve within minutes. The contrast between warm, crisp bread and cool, creamy ricotta is part of the appeal. As the toast cools, that textural magic fades. Have your guests ready. This waits for no one.
Chef Tips
- •Hot honey has become widely available in grocery stores. Mike's Hot Honey is the original and remains excellent. Trader Joe's and many local brands offer quality versions. If you can't find it, make your own: warm one cup of honey with one to two teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes over low heat for ten minutes, then strain and cool.
- •For entertaining, slice and brush your bread ahead of time. Store it covered at room temperature for up to four hours. Toast and assemble just before guests arrive.
- •This dish scales effortlessly. For a crowd of twelve, simply triple the recipe and arrange the toasts on a large wooden board. The visual impact is impressive, and guests can serve themselves.
- •Upgrade the ricotta with a drizzle of your best olive oil and a grating of lemon zest stirred through before spreading. This adds brightness that cuts through the honey's sweetness.
- •Pair with a crisp Prosecco or a dry Lambrusco. The bubbles and slight bitterness balance the sweet heat beautifully.
Advance Preparation
- •Hot honey keeps indefinitely at room temperature. Make a large batch and keep it in your pantry.
- •Ricotta can be drained and lightly seasoned up to one day ahead. Store covered in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before using.
- •Bread can be sliced and brushed with oil up to four hours ahead. Keep covered at room temperature.
- •Final assembly must happen just before serving. The toast loses its crispness within minutes of meeting the ricotta.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 161g)
Calories
445 calories
Total Fat
15 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
20 mg
Sodium
120 mg
Total Carbohydrates
59 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
15 g
Protein
22 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Easy Party Appetizers
Browse the full collection
Chef Dean
Arancini with Marinara
Shattering golden shells give way to creamy risotto and stretchy mozzarella centers, served with a bright, garlicky marinara that cuts through the richness. Sicilian street food elevated to dinner party status.
Chef Dean
Avocado Deviled Eggs
Classic deviled eggs reimagined with ripe avocado folded into the filling, creating something lighter, brighter, and impossibly creamy. The green is gorgeous. The flavor converts skeptics.
Chef Dean
Bacon-Wrapped Dates with Goat Cheese
Sweet Medjool dates stuffed with creamy, tangy goat cheese and wrapped in shattering bacon that caramelizes as it crisps. Three ingredients. Zero leftovers. The appetizer that empties the platter before you've finished your first glass of wine.