Roast Beef And Horseradish Crostini Recipe
Every year on Christmas day, my mom roasts an herb-crusted beef tenderloin and pairs it with creamy horseradish sauce. Even with all of the other delicious dishes on the table, it's the one I look forward to the most. That rich, tender beef and sharp, nose-tingling horseradish is a classic combination I've loved for as long as I can remember. It was the only time all year we had beef tenderloin, and as such, the dish became a luxury even beyond our best steaks or flakiest fish.
As I grew older and started making my mom's recipe myself, I understood why the dish was such a luxury. Beyond the price tag, the beef is a labor of love to prepare, first being tied up with twine, covered in herbs, then carefully roasted to pink perfection. Wanting a way to recreate the essence of the dish without spending all day (and half a paycheck) on the beef, I developed this roast beef and horseradish crostini recipe, which transforms my holiday favorite entree into a bite-sized appetizer. Sliced deli beef pairs with tingly horseradish and herbs and piled onto garlic-toasted crostini, making for a tasty little bite that doesn't require a ton of ingredients or effort. Perfect for holidays, dinner parties, and everything in between, this appetizer makes for a great way to celebrate without adding another complicated recipe to your menu.
Gather the ingredients to make roast beef and horseradish crostini
For the toasted crostini, you'll need a baguette, garlic, and olive oil. From there, you'll need crème fraîche, prepared horseradish, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper to make the cream sauce, and about ½ pound of deli-sliced roast beef and chives to finish the recipe.
Step 1: Preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Step 2: Arrange crostini on a baking sheet
Arrange the crostini slices on a baking sheet.
Step 3: Brush olive oil and garlic onto crostini
Stir olive oil and 1 clove grated garlic together in a bowl. Brush onto the crostini.
Step 4: Bake the crostini until golden
Bake crostini until golden, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Step 5: Stir together the cream sauce
While crostini are toasting, make the horseradish sauce. Combine the crème fraîche, horseradish, Dijon, remaining clove of grated garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
Step 6: Top each crostini with beef
Tear the roast beef into 1-inch wide strips and roll to fit onto crostini. Top each crostini with a piece of beef.
Step 7: Dollop with cream sauce
Add a dollop of horseradish cream onto the tops of the roast beef rolls.
Step 8: Sprinkle the roast beef and horseradish crostini with chives to serve
Top the crostini with chives to serve.
Other appetizers to pair with roast beef and horseradish crostini
Roast Beef and Horseradish Crostini Recipe
Our roast beef and horseradish crostini recipe puts deli roast beef to good use, resulting in an impressive and tasty appetizer without breaking the bank.
Ingredients
- 1 baguette, sliced into 24 ½-inch slices
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 small cloves garlic, grated, divided
- ½ cup crème fraîche
- 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- ½ pound thinly sliced deli roast beef
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped chives
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Arrange the crostini slices on a baking sheet.
- Stir olive oil and 1 clove grated garlic together in a bowl. Brush onto the crostini.
- Bake crostini until golden, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- While crostini are toasting, make the horseradish sauce. Combine the crème fraîche, horseradish, Dijon, remaining clove of grated garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Tear the roast beef into 1-inch wide strips and roll to fit onto crostini. Top each crostini with a piece of beef.
- Add a dollop of horseradish cream onto the tops of the roast beef rolls.
- Top the crostini with chives to serve.
Can I warm the roast beef or toast the crostini after adding the beef?
Growing up, we loved to reuse leftover roast beef for cold sandwiches the next day, which we found to be the best way to preserve the buttery texture of the beef instead of overcooking it in the microwave. These crostini are designed in a similar way, keeping the beef cold but very tender, warming only slightly while resting on the warmed crostinis. This works well for an appetizer especially, which can be eaten cold or hot before the meal. If you do want to warm the beef, I advise doing so carefully to avoid overcooking or drying out the beef.
For the best results, toast the crostini fully before adding the beef, then add the beef and warm it only for a minute in the oven. Because the beef is already fully cooked and very thin, it can overcook quickly. Add the horseradish only after heating, because the cream will dry and separate if put in the oven. If you have leftovers and want to try reheating, I recommend separating the beef from the crostini, retoasting the bread, and then reassembling for the best results.
Can I use homemade or leftover beef instead of deli roast beef?
I intentionally designed these crostini to not require the roasting of an entire beef tenderloin, but for a more luxurious appetizer, you definitely can. If you know how to make a tenderloin beef roast, you can start there, use some pieces for crostini, and save the rest for dinner or leftovers. You can also shortcut the roast by using a steak like filet mignon, which is similar to beef tenderloin, or a cheaper cut like a sirloin, both of which can be seared quickly and added to the toasted crostini. Using steak will be chewier than using roast beef, but your guests will still get to appreciate the richness of the beef on warm crostinis.
You can also use leftovers of both roast beef tenderloin or steak. When using leftovers, make sure to slice the beef thin so that the pieces are tender and easy to eat in bite sized portions (which go without a fork and knife). If using steak, try heating the steak in the oven for 30 seconds to 1 minute for more tender results.