Italian Sausage and Taleggio Crostoni, beautiful juicy morsels of Italian sausage meet creamy earthy Taleggio, atop a lovely crusty bread, in a mouthwatering dance one will not forget. Want an authentic Italian appetizer for your next party or dinner? Look no further, this one's a crowd-pleaser!
Song of the day: Just like Heaven - The Cure
Inspiration comes in the simplest of things
Truly, one thing I love about Italy, is the abundance of food and recipe inspirations from the different regions of this wonderful country. Today we are taking you to Tuscany, where la "cucina povera", the poor kitchen, offers us delectable eats on a strict budget. Tuscany is mostly a farming community, and sustenance is of great importance. Few ingredients, maybe a leftover, or day old bread, nothing wasted, and always delicious!
Today I am excited to walk you through this simple, yet scrumptious appetizer, that will surely knock your socks off!
Why you want to make this Italian Sausage and Taleggio Crostoni
Besides it being super delicious and has an aroma that would make anyone's stomach growl, here are some other reasons why you may want to make this Italian Sausage and Taleggio Crostoni:
- Budget friendly
- Easy to make
- Takes no time at all
- It requires very few ingredients
Ingredients for this Italian Sausage and Taleggio Crostoni
Literally 3 ingredients and you will have a wonderfully satisfying appetizer on your table. Here is what you need:
- Good rustic crusty bread (traditionally, in Tuscany, they use "pane sciapo", that is bread with no salt). Baguette works wonderfully, too.
- Good quality mild Italian sausage. Or, sausage meat.
- Taleggio cheese (the traditional Tuscan recipe uses Stracchino, a soft, creamy cheese, hard to find outside of Italy). If also Taleggio is hard to find, replace with Camembert, Brie, or ultimately, cream cheese.
- Fennel seeds, optional, if the sausage you use is already flavored with fennel seed.
- Black pepper.
Crostini or Crostoni
As a matter of fact, they are interchangeable, the difference is only in the size of the bread. Usually crostini (Italian plural word for crostino) are smaller, think of a baguette slice, while crostoni (Italian plural word for crostone) feature a fairly large slice of bread. They both have in common the fact that you toast the bread.
How to make Italian Sausage and Taleggio Crostoni
Now that we have all the ingredients, we can get started on these crostoni.
- Firstly, we have to take the casing off the sausages, then we want to break up the meat into a medium size bowl.
- Secondly, in a mortar and pestle, grind up the fennel seeds, and throw them into the bowl with the broken up sausage meat.
- Thirdly, cut the rind off the room temperature Taleggio, break off morsels into the sausage mixture., grind in some fresh black pepper, and then time to get our hands in the picture. Mix the meat, fennel, cheese, and black pepper really well until you see the mixture becoming uniform, and well incorporated.
Assembly time
The mixture looks great. Now all we have to do is scoop up a good tablespoon of the mixture and spread it all over the top of the bread slices. Don't be shy, take it right to the edge and mound it a bit.
Into the hot oven you go
All the crostoni are done, now all we have to do is get it into that pre-heated oven which is sitting at 375°F. Bake for 20 minutes and check with a meat thermometer. It should read around 160°F. Make sure to place the thermometer right into the middle of the meat mixture.
The aroma of these Italian Sausage and Taleggio Crostoni is mouthwatering
I can't wait until someone invents smell vision. Would that not be amazing? I wish you could smell these Italian Sausage and Taleggio Crostoni. The sausage, that earthiness of the Taleggio, and the smell of toasted crusty bread. My stomach is seriously growling. I have to have a bite!
Speechless
I am so blown away by these crostoni. The sausage is succulent, chunky and so tasty, especially with the black pepper and fennel embellishing its flavor notes. The Taleggio is so creamy and there are some crispy bits hanging on the side of that oh so crusty rustic, airy bread. Just so delicious and scrumptious. I am being hugged by my stomach right now. What a great Tuscan appetizer!
It is always a pleasure sharing and cooking together these amazing traditional, authentic Italian recipes with you. Remember to put a lot of love into what you do and don't worry about the end result, it will be fabulous, just like you!
Ciao for now, and buon appetito!
Print
Italian Sausage and Taleggio Crostoni
Italian Sausage and Taleggio Crostoni. Beautiful juicy morsels of Italian sausage, meet creamy earthy Taleggio, atop a lovely crusty bread, in a mouthwatering dance one will not forget. Want a great authentic Italian appetizer for you next party or dinner? Look no further!
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 4 people 1x
Ingredients
- 250 g mild Italian sausages
- 200 g Taleggio cheese, at room temperature
- 5-6 slices rustic crusty Italian bread
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
Meat and cheese mixture:
- First, take the sausage meat out of the casing, and break it up into a medium size bowl.
- Next, place the fennel seeds into a mortar and pestle, and work the seeds into a coarse powder. Add that to the sausage meat.
- Take the softened Taleggio, cut off the rind, tear it into small morsels, and place that into the bowl with the sausage. Grind some fresh black pepper into the mix.
- Lastly, mix the sausage and Taleggio either with your hands or a fork until the mixture is uniform and well incorporated.
Assembly:
- Slice your bread into ½ inch thick slices.
- Scoop a good heaping tablespoon of the sausage mixture onto the bread and spread it from the center out to the crust of the bread.
- Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Continue until you have used all the sausage mixture up. You should have 5 crostoni depending on the size of your bread slices.
Baking:
- Pre-heat your oven to 375°F. Place your crostoni into the oven on the middle rack.
- Bake for around 20-25 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the sausage mixture reads 160°F on a meat thermometer.
- Take out of oven, place on a wooden board or serving plate.
- Ready to serve.
Notes
Traditionally it is done with Stracchino cheese, if you can find it use it, so delicious and creamy.
Use good quality authentic Italian sausage.
For the bread a medium oval loaf of good crusty, airy, Italian bread.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Tuscan
Keywords: crostini, Italian sausage, Taleggio cheese, crusty Italian bread, Italian appetizer, Tuscan cuisine, cucina povera, fennel, meat lover
When I am not cooking, I enjoy playing musical instruments, singing, writing. I have learned over the years to live in gratitude and enjoy the moment.
Heather says
This recipe would be fantastic for anyone that loves sausage. I also love how easy this recipe is to make at home with just a few ingredients. A good quick and easy meal.
Hi heather, thank you! It is a great appetizer and comes together so simply and deliciously. Glad you are passionate about this one. For us sausage lovers it is truly a treat!
Have a wonderful cook week!
veenaazmanov says
Perfect meal for sausage lovers. I love your description to enjoying this delicious meal. Simple , delicious and tempting.
★★★★★
Thank you veena, so sweet of you to say, and we are grateful. So passionate about the food we prepare, and always hope that you feel that in our descriptions.
Have a wonderful day!
Lauren Michael Harris says
My husband made these at my request this weekend. They were the perfect afternoon "lunch" for us. He's ready to make another batch tomorrow already!
★★★★★
Lol, Lauren, that is so fantastico! So happy you tried these and that they have become a regular at your table!
Cheers!
Noelle says
Oh my gosh... delicious! This Italian sausage crostoni is everything! Love the step by step photos and tips. Thank you for being so detailed with the recipe!
★★★★★
Hi Noelle, your very welcome. We try really hard to make the recipes easy to follow. We want to inspire you to cook more delicious foods!
Happy cooking!
Mikayla says
Thank you for the Camembert cheese recommendation, these were so good for an addition to our brunch with omelets. Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi Mikayla, so happy the Camembert worked so well, and wow that sounds like an incredible brunch. What time does it start, lol!
Cheers!
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says
Speechless…that’s how good this is. It rendered us speechless. The taleggio paired perfectly!
★★★★★
Hi Lori, making Nicoletta and I smile here. So happy you enjoyed this, and you are so right about the Taleggio, it pairs so well with the sausage and fennel!
Thanks for giving it a try, we are truly grateful!
LaKita says
This crostoni is the perfect way to use day old crusty bread! Plus it's so flavorful and delicious.
★★★★★
Hi LaKita, we like the way you think. We are all about wasting nothing and that day old bread is the perfect foundation for the incredible sausage and Taleggio!
Have fun making it!
Cheers!
Cathleen says
I really shouldn't look at food blogs while my husband is behind me because he insisted that I make this next weekend haha. Not that I'm complaining, because it looks absolutely fantastic 🙂
★★★★★
Hi Cathleen, we love your husband, and are also so excited for you to try these. The are so full of flavor and that fennel seed comes through so beautifully!
Enjoy!
Hayley says
These Italian sausage and taleggio crostoni sounds so tasty, loved it. Thanks for the recipe
★★★★★
You are very welcome Hailey, so happy you like it! Can't wait for you to try. It is beautiful haw the cheese and meat cooks together, making it very luscious!
Happy cooking!
Ramona says
The addition of cheese made these absolutely heavenly! It was very quick and easy to make. Will definitely save this recipe!
Thanks Ramona, for trying this wonderful appetizer. It definitely is a crowd pleaser here.
Cheers!