Make these popular Blue Cheese, Pear and Honey Crostini for your next party! Top thin slices of toasted baguette with whipped blue cheese, slices of crisp pear and a sprinkle of lemon zest. Drizzle with honey for the finishing touch to an amazing appetizer!

Drizzling honey on blue cheese and pear crostini

These Blue Cheese and Pear Crostini appetizers will be a hit with your blue cheese fans at your next party! They're crisp and creamy, sweet and salty, all in one little bite.

When I'm having an appetizer or tapas party, I like to serve lots of choices. Ever since traveling in Spain and bar-hopping from one tapas bar to the next, serving small bites and finger foods has been my favourite way to entertain. My friends can pick and choose what they like and eat a little, or eat a lot!

This blue cheese and pear crostini appetizer has always been a favourite. Here's what you'll need:

🛒 Ingredients

a baguette: see my notes below for how to toast the baguette slices
one or two pears: I used a red pear and a firm green D'Anjou pear, just for the contrast in colour (and the red and green is especially great for holiday entertaining!)
blue cheese: your favourite brand
cream cheese: regular or low-fat
lemon zest: and a little squeeze of lemon juice
honey: holds everything together and gives that sweet and salty combination of flavours!

🔪 Instructions

To make perfect crostini, you'll want to read my 5 Tips for Making Crostini first. Here's a quick overview.

Prepare the baguette slices. Cut thin slices of baguette (wheat or gluten-free) brush with olive oil and bake for 7 - 8 minutes, turning once halfway through. The crostini should be golden brown, crispy on the edges, but still soft and tender in the middle.

cut a baguette on the diagonal — Slice a baguette about ½ inch thick.

toasting crostini for appetizers — Slice a baguette about ½ inch thick.

Blend the cheese. Combine equal amounts of blue cheese and cream cheese. A mini food processor works well for this job.
Add remaining ingredients. Add a teaspoon of lemon zest, a squeeze (a teaspoon or so) of lemon juice, and a tablespoon of honey, and pulse, just until smooth. Don't over-blend, or your cheese mixture will turn blue!
Spread and assemble. Spread a tablespoon of the cheese mixture on a slice of toasted baguette, then add two thin slices of crisp winter pears or Asian pears. Sprinkle these with a little freshly grated lemon zest, then drizzle with honey.
Serve! Arrange the crostini on a serving tray and wait for rave reviews!

combining cheese for crostini — Combine cheese in a food processor.

Blue Cheese and Crisp Honeyed Pear Crostini on a wooden serving board — Combine cheese in a food processor.

🔁 Possible variations

Add finely chopped toasted nuts, like hazelnuts, almonds, pecans or walnuts.

blue cheese and honeyed pear crostini on a serving board

⏰ Make ahead of time

You can toast the crostini a day or two in advance. Store them in an airtight container. You can also make the cheese spread mixture ahead of time. Then all you'll have to do is slice the pears and assemble the crostini just before serving.