Now don’t these look pretty? They’re delicate, colourful, and delightfully tasty! This smoky carrot lox crostini appetizer can be prepared in advance and compiled just before your guests arrive.
- Each component is easy to prepare.
- They benefit from preparing the night before and letting the flavours strengthen in the fridge overnight.
- They are easy to eat.
- And are served cold – no need to work out the timing for warming an appetizer in the oven and serving it hot to your guests.
- Oh… and they come together for less than $10 with leftovers of all the components. Meaning, you can treat yourself to a fancy lox bagel breakfast the next morning!
The Thrifty Secret
Look closely and you’ll see… those beautiful pieces of soft, smoky tastiness… are Carrots! Carrot Lox is a game changer! The carrots are:
- Peeled and sliced thin.
- Baked for 25 minutes to soften.
- Coated in a little olive oil, tamari (or soy sauce), lemon juice, liquid smoke (for the smoky factor), and seaweed flakes (for the sea taste)!
- And left to marinate and soak up all that smoky flavour for at least 2 hours in the fridge.
- Then you’re ready to serve!
How To Make Smoky Carrot Lox Crostini
The base for this appetizer is a crunchy home made crostini.
- Slice a whole wheat baguette into thin slices; brush with olive oil, and bake for a few minutes to crisp up in the oven.
Our dill breakfast spread and our 5 minute hummus provide the creamy base for our smoky carrot lox. And we garnish the top with capers, dill, and either; green onion, or our colourful quick pickled red onion.
This may seem like a lot, but each component is quick to prepare and easily made ahead of time:
- The smoky carrot lox is 10 minutes prep and 25 minutes in the oven.
- While the lox bakes, make the 5 minute breakfast spread,
- The 5 minute hummus,
- And slice up your red onion, pop it in a mason jar (or a bowl with a lid), and let it pickle overnight!
- Your carrots will be ready to come out of the oven. Mix your carrots with the simple 5 ingredient marinade, and let them rest overnight.
- Either make the 10 minute crostini ahead of time as well, or do that just before serving.
- Compile all the elements. And serve!
Recipe Cost
The approximate cost for this appetizer is: CAD $9.15 BUT… it’s possible to save even more by:
Purchasing your bread for the crostini from the “day old” section of your grocery store bakery. Crostini is best with bread that is not incredibly fresh. It will crisp up quicker in the oven and be nice and crunchy! We purchase “day old” baguettes for $1.00 vs their full price of $1.69.
We also make our 5 minute hummus from scratch costing us: CAD $0.50 for this recipe vs. using the same amount of a store-bought hummus for CAD $1.50.
Just those two swaps would bring this appetizer’s cost down to CAD $7.46.
Why Not Use Smoked Salmon
You can absolutely make this appetizer with smoked salmon BUT:
- Our carrot lox is so super tasty!
- Will knock the socks off your guests!
- And costs us CAD $1.21 vs. $7.33 – $13.19 for smoked salmon! The range in price being the difference between a wholesale store and your local grocery store.
So what do you think? Will you wow your guests with this Smoky Carrot Lox Crostini Appetizer?
Let us know in the comments below and remember to share your pictures with us on Instagram using #tastythriftytimely!
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Smoky Carrot Lox Crostini Your Guests Will Love
- Total Time: 40 minutes (plus 2 hour marinating)
- Yield: 25 Pieces 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This easy smoky carrot lox crostini appetizer will wow your guests! Make the quick and easy components ahead of time, refrigerate, and serve!
Ingredients
- 1 whole wheat baguette, sliced (a discounted “day old” baguette works well)*
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ batch of Creamy Dill Breakfast Spread, and/or
- 1 cup hummus (store-bought or homemade 5 Minute Creamy Hummus)
- toppings: Fresh dill*, capers, sliced green onion*
- optional topping: Quick Pickled Red Onion
Smoky Carrot Lox:
- 2 large carrots (peeled and sliced thin-not julienned)*
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- ½ – 1 tablespoon dulse flakes (or 1 snack sheet of nori, sliced small)
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
*Fresh ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
- If possible, prepare the smoky lox, creamy dill breakfast spread and/or hummus, and quick pickled red onion (if using) the night prior for best results and easiest assembly.
For The Smoky Lox:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wash, peel, and thinly slice your carrots into long strips using a mandoline, vegetable peeler, or cheese slicer. Alternatively, try and cut them by hand as thinly as you can.
- Lay the sliced carrots in an ovenproof casserole dish and sprinkle with salt. Cover with foil or a baking sheet to allow the carrots to steam. Bake for 25 minutes until they are nice and tender. They are soft enough when they are easily pierced with a fork. If the slices were thicker you may need to bake them longer.
- While the carrots bake, make the smoky lox marinade by combining all the ingredients in a shallow dish.
- When the carrots are done cooking, add them to the dish with the marinade and gently turn them with a spoon or your hands to make sure they all get coated.
- Cover and marinate in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours or preferably, overnight.
For The Assembly:
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Slice your baguette into thin slices. Lay the slices of bread on your baking sheet and brush the top with olive oil. Bake for 6-9 minutes until golden. Watch closely, as they can quickly burn.
- Once your bread has cooled a little, top with creamy dill spread or hummus. Layer 1-2 pieces of smoky lox, then garnish with a few capers, small sprigs of dill, sliced green onion, and/or pickled red onion.
- *We make half the crostini with creamy dill spread, lox, capers, and dill. The other half with; hummus, lox, sliced green onion, and pickled onion.
Notes
*Approximate Cost: Less than CAD $9.15 for all the components and then some.
*CAD $3.90 for a full priced baguette, the smoky lox, and 2 tablespoon of capers. Plus: $1.25 for a half batch of creamy dill breakfast spread, $0.50 – $1.50 for hummus (whether it’s homemade or store-bought), $1.46 for a full batch of quick pickled red onion and, $1.00 for a whole green onion bunch.
*Cost Comparison: Roughly CAD $1.21 for 220g carrot lox vs. about CAD $7.33 – $13.19 for 220g smoked salmon. That’s a savings of over $6 for the lox alone!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Alexis
These were so easy to prepare in advance of a party and they were a huge hit! I had leftover carrot lox and the tofu dill spread so we had them on bagels the next day and it was delicious! Thank you.
Kathryn Alexandre
Awesome! I’m so glad everyone liked them and you had extra to enjoy on bagels the next day! Thank you for letting me know!