Hot Honey Whipped Ricotta Toast with Roasted Apples and Crispy Sage
Whipped ricotta toast on crisp sourdough with roasted apples, a quick chili-infused hot honey and fried sage leaves. A sweet, spicy, savory fall snack.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 18 min
- Serves
- 4
Hot Honey Whipped Ricotta Toast with Roasted Apples and Crispy Sage is a vegetarian snack recipe made with firm apples (such as Honeycrisp or Pink Lady), extra-virgin olive oil, ground cinnamon. It takes 28 minutes of hands-on time, serves 4, and each serving has 448 calories, 11 g of protein and 3 g of fiber.
Whipping the ricotta with a little olive oil and lemon zest makes it airy and spreadable, so it sits in a thick layer on the toast. Thin apple wedges roast at high heat just long enough to soften and brown at the edges. Warming the honey with red pepper flakes for a minute draws out the chili heat, and sage fried in olive oil adds a crisp, savory finish that keeps the toast from tasting like dessert.
Ingredients
Roasted Apples
- 2 medium364 gfirm apples (such as Honeycrisp or Pink Lady), cored and cut into 1/4-inch wedges
- 1 tbsp14 gextra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp0.7 gground cinnamon
- 1 pinch0.4 gfine salt
Whipped Ricotta
- 1 cup246 gwhole-milk ricotta
- 1 tbsp14 gextra-virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp1 glemon zest, finely grated
- ¼ tsp1.5 gfine salt
Hot Honey
- 3 tbsp63 ghoney
- ½ tsp0.9 gred pepper flakes
Crispy Sage
- 3 tbsp41 golive oil, for frying
- 16 5 gfresh sage leaves, patted completely dry
Toast
- 4 slices128 gsourdough bread, cut about 3/4 inch thick
- 1 tbsp14 gextra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
- 1 pinch0.1 gfreshly ground black pepper (optional)
- 2 tbsp15 gtoasted walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
Kit: rimmed baking sheet, parchment paper, food processor or hand mixer, small skillet, small saucepan
Tips
- Dry the sage leaves thoroughly before frying. Any water on them makes the oil spit and keeps them from crisping.
- Save the sage-infused frying oil for brushing the bread or drizzling over the finished toast.
- Build the toasts just before serving so the bread stays crisp under the ricotta.
Swap ideas
- Ripe but firm pears instead of apples
- Softer and more floral. Start checking them 3–4 minutes sooner because they roast faster.
- Store-bought hot honey instead of the homemade version
- Saves a step. The heat varies by brand, so taste it before you drizzle.
- Maple syrup with the red pepper flakes instead of honey
- A deeper, woodsy sweetness that suits the sage. The syrup is thinner, so drizzle it lightly.
- Thyme or rosemary sprigs instead of sage
- More resinous and herbal. Fry them for only 15–20 seconds because they burn quickly.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
448kcal per serving
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 6 g 30%
- Sugars
- 24.1 g
- Sodium
- 440 mg 19%
- Potassium
- 232 mg 5%
- Calcium
- 196 mg 15%
- Iron
- 1.9 mg 11%
- Vitamin C
- 5 mg 5%
- Vitamin B12
- 0.18 µg 8%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Apples, raw, with skin (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Spices, cinnamon, ground, Salt, table, Cheese, ricotta, part skim milk, Lemon peel, raw, Honey, Spices, pepper, red or cayenne, Sauge, fraîche (values from the Anses Ciqual 2017 table, as reproduced by laurentberta.com). No fresh sage entry exists in USDA FoodData Central., Bread, french or vienna (includes sourdough)
Method
Heat the oven to 425°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Toss the apple wedges with 1 tbsp olive oil, the cinnamon and a pinch of salt, then spread them out in a single layer without crowding.
Roast the apples for 10 minutes, flip them, and roast 5–8 minutes more, until tender when poked with a knife and browned at the edges.
While the apples roast, blend the ricotta, 1 tbsp olive oil, lemon zest and 1/4 tsp salt in a food processor (or beat with a hand mixer) for 1–2 minutes, until smooth, glossy and fluffy. Taste and add a little more salt if needed.
Warm the honey and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan over low heat for 1–2 minutes, until the honey is runny and just starting to bubble at the edges. Take it off the heat and let it steep while you finish the rest.
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat until a sage leaf sizzles when dipped in. Fry the sage in a single layer for 30–60 seconds, until the leaves go darker green, turn translucent and stop bubbling hard. Lift them onto a paper towel and sprinkle with a little salt. They crisp more as they cool.
Brush the bread on both sides with 1 tbsp olive oil. During the last 5 minutes of roasting, put it on the oven rack next to the apples, or toast it in a skillet over medium heat, until golden and crisp on the outside but still a little soft in the middle.
Spread a thick layer of whipped ricotta on each warm toast, then top with the roasted apples. Drizzle with the hot honey, crumble or scatter the crispy sage over the top, and finish with black pepper and walnuts if you like. Serve right away.
Storage: Assembled toasts are best eaten right away. Refrigerate leftover whipped ricotta and roasted apples in separate airtight containers for up to 2 days, and reheat the apples briefly before using. Keep the hot honey in a jar at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Store the crispy sage in an airtight container at room temperature and use it within 1 day.
Questions
- How much protein is in hot honey whipped ricotta toast with roasted apples and crispy sage?
- Each of the 4 servings has 11 g of protein, 3 g of fiber and 448 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is hot honey whipped ricotta toast with roasted apples and crispy sage vegan?
- No, it's vegetarian rather than vegan because it contains whole-milk ricotta and honey. Everything else in it is plant-based.
- How long does hot honey whipped ricotta toast with roasted apples and crispy sage take to make?
- 10 minutes of prep and 18 minutes of cooking, so 28 minutes of hands-on time.
- Can you make hot honey whipped ricotta toast with roasted apples and crispy sage ahead?
- Assembled toasts are best eaten right away. Refrigerate leftover whipped ricotta and roasted apples in separate airtight containers for up to 2 days, and reheat the apples briefly before using. Keep the hot honey in a jar at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Store the crispy sage in an airtight container at room temperature and use it within 1 day.
- What can I substitute in hot honey whipped ricotta toast with roasted apples and crispy sage?
- Ripe but firm pears instead of apples — softer and more floral. start checking them 3–4 minutes sooner because they roast faster.. Store-bought hot honey instead of the homemade version — saves a step. the heat varies by brand, so taste it before you drizzle.. Maple syrup with the red pepper flakes instead of honey — a deeper, woodsy sweetness that suits the sage. the syrup is thinner, so drizzle it lightly.. Thyme or rosemary sprigs instead of sage — more resinous and herbal. fry them for only 15–20 seconds because they burn quickly..
- Does hot honey whipped ricotta toast with roasted apples and crispy sage contain gluten or tree nuts?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten and tree nuts, in some cases as an optional ingredient you can leave out. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published September 29, 2026 ·Italian