Grilled Vegetable Toast with Whipped Goat Cheese

If ever there is a time for simple cooking, it’s in the summer. All it takes is a stroll through the produce section of the market or a stop at a farmstand to pick up the essentials for something spectacular. This colorful Grilled Vegetable Toast is an excellent example. It’s a glorious vegetarian meal or snack that most any omnivore will welcome at their table. 

How to Make Grilled Vegetable Toast

The ingredients here are pretty basic. You start with an assortment of summer vegetables, notably zucchini, peppers, and onions, which you grill until tender. Generous slices of your favorite crusty bread also go on the grill until nicely toasted. The spread here is a blend of cottage cheese and goat cheese, onto which you pile all those lovely, tender vegetables. A shower of fresh mint finishes the job.  

How to Make This Recipe Without a Grill

If you don’t have a grill (or aren’t in the mood to fire yours up) you can cook the vegetables and toast the bread on the stove top, in a grill pan, or roast them on a parchment-lined sheet pan in a 400°F oven until tender. The amount of time in the oven will vary by vegetable, from about five minutes for the zucchini to 30 or 40 for the onion.

Can I Make This Ahead?  

Grilled vegetables are tasty at room temperature, so you cook them ahead of time. If you want to do the grilling the day before you can also do that! Once cooked and cooled, cover, and refrigerate them. Take the vegetables out of the fridge an hour before assembling the toasts. Be sure to hold off grilling (or toasting) the bread until just before serving. 

Swaps and Substitutions for Vegetable Toast

This recipe lends itself to so much riffing, it’s hard to know where to begin. Consider this the “anything goes” springboard for endless open-faced sandwiches depending on the season and your mood. Here are some starter suggestions:

• Use any soft cheese in place of goat cheese, such as fresh ricotta, cream cheese, Boursin, burrata, or a creamy vegan cheese for folks who don’t consume dairy. 
• Use any other vegetables that work well on the grill, such as eggplant, asparagus, mushrooms, and scallions.
• Add a swipe of homemade or store-bought pesto to the bread before adding the goat cheese. Figure about a tablespoon per slice.
• Take this in a savory/sweet direction by topping with grilled figs, peaches, or apricots instead of vegetables.
• Use hummus or tapenade in place of cheese.
• Make them mini by using baguette slices cut on the diagonal.

3 Ways to Serve Grilled Vegetable Toast

As for when and how to serve these beauties, anything goes. Here are a few ideas:

As a light meal—Serve as the anchor for brunch, lunch, or a light supper. For brunch, add a plate of sliced fruit and a bowl of boiled eggs. For lunch or dinner, add a generous green salad with this basil vinaigrette or this summery salad to go alongside. If you have heartier appetites at the table, the recipe is easy to scale up so everyone is well fed. 

As part of a snack board supper—I like to cut them in half and arrange them on a large snack board along with other nibbles for a weeknight supper. Add olives, slices of prosciutto, radishes or other raw vegetables, cornichons, canned sardines, fresh or dried fruit, and walnuts or roasted almonds. 

As a party appetizer—Double or triple the recipe and cut the tartines crosswise into thirds. Arrange them on a large platter and set out a stack of cocktail napkins. It makes great finger food and tastes good hot off the grill or at room temperature. 

More Tasty Toast Ideas

Peach Ricotta Toast with Coriander

Avocado Edamame Toast

Fancy Smashed Pea Toast

Honey Roasted Tomato Bruschetta

Print

Grilled Vegetable Toast with Whipped Goat Cheese

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 4 toasts

Author Katie Morford

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini
• 2 medium red or yellow bell pepper
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for bread
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 large round loaf of crusty bread, such as levain, sourdough, or Italian
• 1/3 cup lowfat cottage cheese
• 3 ounces chevre (soft goat cheese)
• 1/2 lemon
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Instructions

1. Preheat your grill, aiming for medium-high heat, about 400°F if using a gas grill.

2. Put the cottage cheese and goat cheese in a mini food processor or blender and run until creamy and smooth. Alternatively, vigorously stir together in small bowl with a fork.

3. Cut zucchini on the diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick slices (cutting on the diagonal will make for bigger pieces less likely to fall between grill grates). Cut the peppers in half through the stem end. Remove the stem and seeds and cut into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Peel the outer skin off the onion and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, keeping the rings intact.
4. Lay the vegetables on a baking sheet, keeping the onions, peppers, and zucchini grouped separately, and drizzle with the olive oil. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and fresh black pepper to taste. Use your hands to gently coat the veggies with the oil and seasonings. Do your best to keep the rings of onion from separating. Set aside until ready to grill.

5. Cut four 1/2-inch-thick slices from the center of the bread so they are generous in size (leftover bread can be saved for another use). Brush lightly with olive oil using a pastry brush or drizzle with a spoon and season both sides with a pinch of salt.

6. Lay the vegetables on the grill and cook until tender and glossy, turning as needed, 5-10 minutes. Lay the bread on the grill and cook until both sides are lightly brown and a little crisp, 2-3 minutes.

7. Spread the cheese over the grilled bread. Divide the vegetables over the bread. Squeeze the lemon juice over the vegetables and scatter the mint over everything.