Home » Recipe Type » Appetizers » Thyme-Roasted Grapes with Ricotta & Grilled Bread
5 from 4 reviews
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This recipe comes from this month’s Real Simple magazine, and fittingly, it couldn’t be more simple or delicious: thyme-roasted grapes over grilled bread smeared with homemade ricotta.
I first made it over the weekend as a side dish, omitting the bread, just spooning the warm, thyme-infused grapes over a dollop of homemade ricotta. It was delectable. Why no bread? Well, because I served it aside this pear and bacon panini, (another fabulous RS recipe), and bread aside bread felt like overkill.
What I love about these grapes are their versatility. They could be served with any number of cheeses. They could be served at a casual lunch as an open-faced sandwich or at a fancy dinner party spooned over plump balls of burrata aside crusty baguettes. And, as noted, they are delicious with or without the bread.
And what I can’t stop dreaming about doing is this: making an all-white pizza with homemade ricotta, Parmigiano Reggiano, and mozzarella, and, as soon as the pie emerges from the oven, topping it with these just-bursting, sweet-salty grapes. I’ll let you know when that day arrives.
Grapes tossed with thyme, olive oil, and salt:
Grapes just removed from the oven:
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5 from 4 reviews
- Author: Alexandra Stafford
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Description
Adapted from Real Simple Magazine September 2011
Ingredients
- grapes
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- fresh thyme sprigs
- good rustic bread, sliced into 1/2-inch thick pieces
- olive oil
- fresh ricotta, preferably homemade
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450ºF. Spread grapes onto a sheet pan. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Lay thyme leaves over the top. Toss all together gently with your hands. Place pan in the oven for 7 to 9 minutes or until grapes just begin to burst.
- Meanwhile, heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. Brush the bread with olive oil. Grill until nice and toasty.
- Assemble the open-faced sandwiches: Spread fresh ricotta over the bread. Top with the roasted grapes. Discard thyme sprigs.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Side Dishes Appetizers Lunch Vegetarian Fall Summer
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Emil —Reply
I never roasted grapes before but this dish looks amazing. I think, as I am not a huge ricotta lover I would prefer a more intense cheese like gorgonzola or St. Agur. But anyway, your pics are mouthwatering and the recipe very special and delish!
alexandracooks —Reply
Emil — I had never roasted grapes before making this recipe either. They are delicious! Love the idea of gorgonzola, and while St. Agur sounds familiar, I can’t think of its taste off the top of my head. I imagine it is delish!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom —Reply
I made this yesterday. . OMG, LOVED this!
alexandracooks —Reply
Alice! So happy to hear this! I love this one, too.
Kaylee —Reply
I made these last night and thought it was kind of blah. If I make this again I would sprinkle some cayenne pepper over the grapes before roasting them to give it the kick it needs
alexandracooks —Reply
Kaylee — sorry to hear this. I wonder why they were so blah. Just out of curiosity, were your grapes fresh? I’ve made this with grapes that were kind of on the outs, and they didn’t taste as good as when they were firm and fresh. And did you salt them enough? I think cayenne sounds like a nice touch, but I’m just sorry to hear these didn’t work out for you.
alexandracooks —Reply
Visit — not sure if this is spam, but I actually do use WordPress. If you can email me back and confirm that this isn’t a spam message, I will give you some tips on preventing hackers.
Sunie —Reply
I’m trying this recipe tomorrow and am looking forward to it. I thought it would be great to print it out and found your CleanPrint tool icon under the recipe. What a great tool! You can edit out anything you don’t want, change the font size, etc, so that it fits on just one page. Thanks so much!
alexandracooks —Reply
So happy you like the cleanprint tool, Sunie!
Natasha —Reply
This is a great recipe. However, the grapes I had today were less than sweet. When they came out of the oven, they were a little bland. I emptied them into a saucepan and poured a splash of port on them and let the liquid reduce until it coated the grapes. Delish!
alexandracooks —Reply
wow, nice work! so many other people would have just tossed them out (and then sent me hate mail :)…thank you for not doing that.) A port reduction sounds absolutely divine. I might have to try that next time regardless. So glad you were able to salvage the roasted grapes. Thanks for writing in!
joyce dowd —Reply
How do you think a balsamic glaze would be drizzled over? and use goat cheese instead of ricotta? Planning to try for a party appetizer! Looks great.
alexandra —Reply
Amazing! And yes re goat vs ricotta. Report back! I’m drooling 🙂
joyce dowd —
Tested it out last night & it was great! The balsamic glaze also added a touch of sweetness as grapes weren’t super sweet. Loved it!
alexandra —
Woohoo! So happy to hear this. Thanks for reporting back 🙂
nancybrooks —Reply
it’s snowing here in Maine and this looks like a perfect “let’s watch the snow fall and cover everything” food!
Amanda Marie —Reply
This is delicious! My grapes were really sweet to start with, and the roasting made them even sweeter. I served the rest the following day in a kale salad. Will be making regularly. Love your site!
Alex —Reply
Yes. A thousand times yes. This was the most delicious, indulgent lunch I’ve had in a while. And homemade ricotta is a revelation!
alexandra —Reply
So happy to hear this, Alex! And I know, there is nothing like homemade ricotta. Yum.
anne murphy —Reply
This was DELICIOUS. Homemade ricotta is sooooooo good.
Thanks AGAIN for yet another amazing recipe.alexandra —Reply
Yay! So happy to hear this, Anne! I’m making homemade ricotta for a party tomorrow…it’s such a great party trick. Hope you are well!
Armelle —Reply
Easy to make and delicious. Whipped up a batch as an appetizer and it was huge hit with grown ups & kids alike. Definitely a keeper.
alexandra —Reply
woohoo!
alexandra —Reply
Yay! So happy to hear this.
Ellie —Reply
I made this for lunch today, and I am so happy to have it in my repertoire! I will note that they could use more salt than you would think. I used dried thyme, and massaged the oil, salt, thyme, and pepper mixture onto the grapes for a few seconds, and then I roasted at 375° F for about 11 minutes on convection. Only a few of the grapes burst; I’d say about 90% of them were still whole. I made some ricotta from scratch, but I made a very small batch out of only 2 cups of the dairy mixture, and came up with about 3/8 cups cheese. I added some lemon zest to the ricotta before spreading it onto the grilled bread, and I liked the zip it provided, especially in conjunction with the thyme.
P.S. I’m not sure if it’s a problem with my computer or the site, but there is no option for rating the recipe on my screen. I would definitely give it 5 stars if I had the option.
alexandra —Reply
So happy to hear this, Ellie! I haven’t made this ages, but I have no doubt I would want more salt than is called for, especially since grapes are so sweet. Will revise the next time I make this! I’ll check out the rating situation. Thanks!
Diane —Reply
I’ve made this recipe several times, and it’s always a hit. The sweet-salty combo makes the roasted grapes especially delicious. It’s a unique addition to any charcuterie spread, and it’s so pretty. I highly recommend the homemade ricotta. If you’re short on time and have to use store bought, be sure to get the whole milk ricotta.
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
So nice to hear this, Diane! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Nancy —Reply
Delicious!!! Used marscapone and Gorgonzola-it’s what I had. A wonderful tasty appetizer!
Alexandra Stafford —Reply
Great to hear, Nancy! That all sounds delicious 🙂 🙂 🙂
