Get ready for these prosciutto, pear, and Brie toasts to become your year-round go-to appetizer. Any party that starts with these simple but sophisticated beauties is going to be a good one. (And there’s absolutely no need to tell your guests what a cinch they were to put together. That’s our little secret, yes?)

Jenny Howard
Two pieces of prosciutto, pear, and Brie toasts with slices of Brie, pear, prosciutto, and a jar of fig jam beside the toasts.

Prosciutto, Pear, and Brie Toasts

5 / 3 votes
These prosciutto, pear, and Brie toasts are a simple, yet sophisticated appetizer that you’ll want to whip up any time you’re entertaining. And even when you’re not.
David Leite
CourseAppetizers
CuisineFrench
Servings16 servings
Calories117 kcal
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time30 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1 about 10 oz loaf French bread or baguette
  • 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup fig jam
  • 16 about 1/4 lb thin slices prosciutto
  • 2 8 to 10 oz pears, each halved, cored, and cut into 16 thin slices
  • 3/4 pound Brie cheese, thinly sliced
  • Coarse sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
  • Cut 16 slices about 1/2 inch (12 mm) thick from the loaf of bread.

    ☞ TESTER TIP: If using a baguette, cut it on the diagonal to ensure more surface area on each slice.

  • Butter 1 side of each slice and arrange the bread, butter-side up, on the prepared baking sheet.
  • Spread 1 to 2 teaspoons of fig jam on each bread slice. Top with 1 slice of prosciutto, folding if necessary, and 2 slices of pear. Top with the Brie slices, dividing the cheese evenly among the toasts.
  • Season the toasts with salt and pepper, to taste.
  • Bake until the bread is golden and the cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Adapted From

Small Bites

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 toastCalories: 117 kcalCarbohydrates: 7 gProtein: 5 gFat: 8 gSaturated Fat: 5 gMonounsaturated Fat: 2 gTrans Fat: 1 gCholesterol: 26 mgSodium: 144 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 5 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2017 Eliza Cross. Photo © 2017 Jessica Nicosia-Nadler. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

I knew that the combination of prosciutto, pear, fig, and Brie should be very good together, as I have used similar ingredients but using fresh figs in a salad. I had difficulty finding fig jam, which I don’t feel is very common in the UK but instead found Turkish sweet and sour fig relish. I assume fig jam would have been a little more sweet than the relish I used, but overall I think this worked well.

The Brie remained only slightly melted. I thought the proportion of ingredients seemed good although there was a temptation to put more prosciutto on each slice just because I wanted to cover all of the bread.

Instead of baguette, which I thought would be hard, I decided to use brioche. I used Packhams pears.

I thought that the toasts were a great combination of flavors. They would make a great appetizer at a party or even a special after-dinner treat with a nice dessert wine or spirit.

The hands-on time for cutting the French bread, cutting the pears and Brie, and buttering the bread was 20 to 30 minutes.

Overall, this was a tasty recipe for an appetizer, and I plan on using it the next time I have company for dinner or plan a party.

I used a baguette of wheat from La Brea Bakery. I thinly sliced the Brie. The Brie was hard to slice since it is a soft cheese. The toast had a nice crunch to it. It made 16 small pieces of toast, so if planning on each person having two slices, it would serve 8.

Perfect for a quick tapas-style meal on a hot summer day. I served these with olives and a bottle of wine and everyone loved them. Maldon salt flakes on top gave them an extra yum.

Do let them cool out of the oven for a few minutes. The pears held a lot of steam and they were too hot out of the oven. Definitely will make these again!

I used Dalmatia fig spread, Anjou pears, and Maldon salt.

My Brie was very soft (overripe) and not sliceable. I used a spoon and placed about a tablespoon on top of each one. It was melted nicely at 8 minutes. The bottom of the bread was toasty and not greasy at all. Next time, I would use parchment paper rather than foil. I had a little bit of sticking.

I would say 16 of these serves 4 people for a light tapas-type meal. We had wine and olives with these. It was delicious.

It’s very fun when I make recipes like this around my husband. He never understands interesting combinations that are sweet and salty and full of flavor. While I was making this he was looking at me like I was crazy. But…when he finally got a taste of the finished product, let’s just say he had more than one. The fig jam was probably my favorite component. I just really love the extra flavor it gives.

I made this as an appetizer for a few of my friends. I absolutely love everything cheese platter and when you put cheese platter items with some French bread, well, it does not get much better than that.

This was my first time having prosciutto heated in the oven like that and to be honest it was not my favorite. Heated like that just had a more bacon-like taste than the cold prosciutto. I think it ruined it a little.

I ended up making a little less than the recipe called for but I may have cut the bread a little too thick.

I used Bartlett pears.

All in all a great recipe.

Great ingredients that, when put together, make a tasty nibble to go with a glass of wine to start a meal or just something to enjoy when sitting around with friends and a cocktail. (Or that glass of wine.) Not wanting to have an abundance of these toasts, I didn’t even make half a recipe. Once you have the ingredients called for, you can make as many or as few of these as you care to.

The finished product was extremely tasty, and now that I have a lot more of all of the ingredients, these will be gracing our table for a week or so to come.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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