Cheese and Fruits Crostini Appetizers Platter

I love serving mixed appetizer platters at my parties, and I prefer to keep things simple by serving a variety of finger foods on the same theme.

It makes food prep easier, avoids waste since I can reuse the same ingredients in slightly different ways, and offers guests a variety of flavors without me having to work too hard.

This cheese and fruit crostini appetizers platter is a perfect example. It features three types of Italian toasts using fall ingredients: whipped blue cheese with roasted grapes, whipped blue cheese with fresh figs, and whipped feta with figs.

The result is a colorful and elegant party tray that looks stunning on a holiday table, perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any fall event.

Cheese and Fruits Crostini Appetizers Platter - Italian crostini party food platter with cheese and fruit toppings.

What You’ll Need

To make this platter, you’ll need a mix of fresh bread, seasonal fruits, cheeses for the whipped spreads, and a few garnishes to finish things off:

Bread base: a French baguette and a few slices of sandwich bread
Fruits: sweet grapes (any color; I used green) and fresh figs
Blue cheese, cream cheese and sour cream
Feta and Greek yogurt
Seasonings: salt, pepper, fresh thyme, and a tiny pinch of nutmeg to round out the flavors.
Garnishes: crushed walnuts or pistachios, a drizzle of honey or maple syrup, and a few fresh arugula leaves.

How to Make This Cheese and Fruits Crostini Platter

Start by roasting the grapes.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Wash the grapes and place them in a medium-sized baking dish. Add olive oil and a few fresh sprigs of thyme, then add salt and ground black pepper. Mix everything well to coat the grapes properly.

Roast for about 15–20 minutes, until the grapes begin to burst slightly. You want them soft but still holding their shape, so make sure not to overcook them. When the grapes are ready, remove them from the tray and let them cool.

Next, make the whipped cheeses.

First, blend blue cheese, cream cheese, about half of the sour cream, black pepper, fresh thyme, and a tiny pinch of nutmeg in a food processor.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy. If the mix still feels too thick after a couple of rounds, add the rest of the sour cream and blend again.

Wash out the bowl, then blend feta cheese with Greek yogurt, adding the pepper, thyme, and a dash of nutmeg until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times as well to ensure everything is well blended.

If the feta mix looks too runny, add a bit more feta until you get a thicker consistency, so that it doesn’t run off the toast.

Next, prep the breads. Slice the baguette into 20 diagonal slices. Cut each slice of regular bread into four small squares (the half piece of bread into two). Toast everything under the broiler until golden for a few minutes – keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!

While the breads are toasting, cut the figs into thin slices.

Then it’s time to assemble the crostini:

Spread whipped blue cheese on all of the baguette slices, then top half of them with 4-5 roasted grapes and the other half with half of the fresh fig slices.
Spread whipped feta on the toasted bread squares and top with the remaining fig slices.

To serve, arrange all the crostini on your party tray and scatter arugula leaves here and there for color. Garnish with crushed walnuts or pistachios and drizzle maple syrup or honey over the fig-topped toasts. Serve right away.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It’s full of colors, so it’s perfect for a fancier party: The red and purple figs, light green grapes, and dark green arugula and herbs create a beautiful mix of colors that make the perfect holiday platter.
It offers a lot of flavors and allows you to avoid any food waste: You get three variations of crostini, all made with overlapping ingredients.
You can prepare the ingredients in advance: Make the cheese spreads and roast the grapes the day before, then assemble right before serving – no rushing at the last minute to get everything ready!
The platter looks really fancy but is actually very simple: All three crostini are elegant enough for a holiday party table, but they are very easy to assemble. You’ll need about 30 minutes to put the whole thing together.
It’s perfect for entertaining a larger crowd: The recipe makes 30 pieces, which makes it ideal for a party spread, but you can easily double it if needed.

Tips for Success

Don’t over-roast the grapes – they should be soft and lightly wrinkled but not mushy.
Slice the figs thinly so they sit neatly on the toast.
Toast the bread well so it stays crisp under the toppings, but be careful not to burn it – it takes just a few minutes to get that golden color.
Take time whipping the cheeses so that they become completely smooth. It will take a couple of rounds of scraping the bowl and mixing again, but it’s important to blend until you get that creamy, smooth texture with each spread.
Put some thought into the presentation – mix colors and different garnishes to make the platter look extra stunning, worthy of the occasion.