Baked ricotta is an easy and elegant appetizer to serve along with crackers or bread. It’s a great addition to any cheese table.
This is a versatile recipe that you can easily adapt to your liking. This recipe is the basic baked ricotta with herbs but you can add nuts, cherry tomatoes, olives and onions to get a bolder result.
The texture of this dip is gritty and unctuous and it has a gratin and semi-crusty top.
How to make Baked Ricotta?
The basic elements for well-baked ricotta:
- Ricotta: Choose regular salted ricotta. The low-fat version will give you a drier result.
- Egg: It will provide structure to the baked ricotta. This way it will stay in shape even if you decide to unmold to serve.
- Parmesan: I like to use Parmigiano-Reggiano to get a pungent flavor with less amount. Also, it gives a nicer gratin finish than regular parmesan.
- Dry herbs: To keep thing simple I just use thyme and oregano because they work so well with cheese. But you can add some dry parsley or even some dill if you feel adventurous.
- Garlic: It will add even more flavor to the ricotta cheese that by itself can be kind of dull.
The preparation couldn’t be easier. In a big bowl mix all the ingredients until you get a homogeneous paste. Then transfer it to a ramekin and bake it for 30 minutes (200ºC) until it’s golden with some brown spots.
Baked Ricotta with Herbs
Ingredients
- 400 gr ricotta
- 50 gr grated parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp dry thyme
- 1 tsp dry oregano
- 2 garlic cloves minced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 ºC (400 ºF)
- Mix all the ingredients until you get a nice and homogeneous paste.
- Put the mix into a medium ramekin and take it to the oven for 30 – 35 minutes until all the surface is golden and with some brown spots.
I’m Maria and I love cooking—and mostly EATING—food from all around the world. I’ve been sharing my abuela’s secret Latin-American recipes for the last 7 years with the world on this blog. I’ve been a full-time food blogger for many years and I’m always trying new delicious meals that don’t require a culinary degree or a Michelin-star chef. I also love traveling, cats, and knitting.