Easy two ingredient Figgy Parmesan Crisps make for the cutest little appetizers, especially around the holidays!
While cruising down the ALDI Aisle of Shame today (as one is wont to do), I spotted 7 oz bags of California Mission figs on a special buy for $1.89. Since I so love their seasonal Turkish figs and had just polished off my last batch from the holidays, I thought these were worth a try as well.
Figs at ALDI
Survey says: These are pretty good, but I have to admit that I like the seasonal ALDI Turkish figs a lot better — they’re sweeter, seem to have more flavor, and have more texture, seediness, and chewiness. If you’re looking for softer figs with a slight hint of bitterness underlying the sweet, though, ALDI Mission figs are going to be your jam. No pun intended…
I often enjoy a few figs with Parmesan cheese crisps for a light breakfast or hearty snack, because of all their happy sweet + salty, crunchy + chewy contrast. This got me to thinking: What if I baked a little fig right into some cheese crisps, making them into one simple snack-ish appetizer?
No time like the present, right?! Thus, today’s Figgy Parmesan Cheese Crisps recipe was born.
Figgy Parmesan Cheese Crisps
Ingredients
1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
7 dried Mission figs coarsely chopped
Chili powder or smoked paprika — optional, to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, shred the Parmesan, and chop your figs (discarding stems).
Divide the cheese evenly among 24 mini muffin tin cups, then nestle a piece of fig into the center of each cup.
Season as desired (see Note), then bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
Remove cheese crisps from the muffin tin while still hot and pliable. (I used a spoon to pop mine out of the cups.)
Enjoy! Refrigerate any leftovers.
Note: I experimented with seasonings here, leaving 1/3 of the batch plain, seasoning 1/3 with a little chili powder, and seasoning 1/3 with smoked paprika. I’d highly recommend the chili powder to balance out the sweetness of the figs and saltiness of the Parmesan, but season yours to your own taste.
How’s that for an easy 15 minute appetizer recipe?
Well, aren’t these just too cute? They’re like little flowers! Figgy Parmesan cheese crisps would be so pretty on your next appetizer table or charcuterie board, and they also make for a satisfying snack. They’re not as crunchy as the store-bought cheese crisps, but they’re fresher and more flavorful — and they were even better chilled out of the fridge the next day.
Just a smidgen of chili powder really did bring out the sweet + salty goodness of these cheese & fig crisps, but even the plain 2-ingredient ones were darn tasty.
Oh, and since someone asked: My cheese grater with container is from IKEA, but you can pick up similar ones on Amazon. These are the best! Much less chance of grating a finger, much less messy, and they come with their own little storage container.
Figgy Parmesan cheese crisps, printable recipe
Figgy Parmesan Crisps
Ingredients
- 1 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
- 7 dried Mission figs coarsely chopped
- chili powder or smoked paprika optional, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees, shred the Parmesan, and chop your figs (discarding stems).
- Divide cheese evenly among 24 mini muffin tin cups.
- Nestle a piece of fig into the center of each cup.
- Season as desired (see Note).
- Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Remove cheese crisps from the muffin tin while still hot and pliable. (I used a spoon to pop mine out of the cups.)
- Enjoy! Refrigerate any leftovers.
Notes
Feeling less figgy today?
If you’re feeling more cheesy than figgy today (or if your ALDI isn’t currently carrying the special buy figs), you can instead check out this easy recipe for heart shaped cheese crisps.
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