Bacon & Egg Salad Crostini Appetizer

A classic egg salad recipe with salty crumbled bacon, fresh herbs, green onion and radish turned into a perfect appetizer or light dinner entree. You can enjoy this egg salad appetizer any time of year for brunch, a perfect snack or when serving finger foods at parties or holiday gatherings.

Crostini literally translates from Italian to mean 'toast' and refers to small slices of toasted bread that is served with toppings as appetizer. You'll hear the term 'crostini' used for just the toast or the full appetizer. 

We've taken this delicious appetizer and combined it with a super-charged version of the best egg salad recipe for a delicious easy appetizer. And of course we've slimmed it down. It's an easy recipe when you need a filling appetizer.

Jump to:

• What makes this skinny?
• Recipe Ingredients Notes
• Hard-Boiled Eggs methods
• How to make it
• Variations
• How to Store
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• Recipe

What makes this skinny?

• Thin bread slices. We use ½-inch thick slices of baguette versus thicker slices as you'd find in some other crostini recipe or with bruschetta. Ours are more topping on thin toasted baguette slices.
• Light mayonnaise. To make the egg salad we used light mayonnaise which reduced the calories 140 calories per ¼ cup from 360 calories per ¼ cup with regular mayonnaise.
• No oil when toasting the baguette slices. Instead of brushing the bread with olive oil we use olive oil spray which allows toasting but does not add hundreds (literally) of extra calories.

Recipe Ingredients Notes

For the complete ingredient list and amounts, refer to the printable recipe card at the end of the post.

French baguette. This ingredient is key to keep the calories in check for this recipe. You are looking for a French Baguette or Sourdough Baguette that is 2-3 inches wide and at least 9-inches long (it will probably be longer)(refer to photo 1 below).

These are the long skinny baguettes not the shorter larger baguettes that are double the width. We based the calorie calculations off a Panera brand French Baguette that is 150 calories per 2-ounce serving which is about a 3-inch slice.

Cut ½-inch thick slices across the baguette. You'll need 18 slices. You can also double the recipe to make more egg salad appetizers if desired.

Cooked chopped bacon. You'll need a ¼ cup of cooked crumbled bacon before starting the recipe. We use regular bacon though to reduce the calories further you can substitute cooked chopped turkey bacon (it's 30 calories difference for the same amount).

Hard-boiled eggs. Start with six hard boiled eggs that have fully cooled. They should be peeled and chopped before beginning the recipe. Not sure how to make them? We share out favorite methods below.

Light mayonnaise. This pulls the ingredients together into a creamy egg salad. You'll use ¼ cup.

Diced radish. This adds a crunch and spicy flavor to the egg salad. Rinse and removed the stem and root of the radish before finely chopping. For a shortcut you can purchased prepped radishes or radish slices then dice them for the recipe. You'll need 2 tablespoons.

Scallions (green onions). You only need 1 teaspoon of scallion finely chopped. Remove the root and chop the white and light green portions. More can be added if you enjoy the onion-y flavor too!

Fresh dill. This gives the egg salad a light, fresh flavor. You'll add 1 tablespoon diced fresh dill. If you want to substitute dried dill use 1 teaspoon dried dill.

Kosher salt. We always recommend kosher salt because it has a more pleasant salt flavor than iodized salt.

Hard-Boiled Eggs methods

If you don't have a favorite way to make hard boiled eggs here are some we use:

Stove top

1. Place eggs in a large pan and fill with cool water. NOTE: if eggs have been at room temperature make the water warmer.
2. Place on the stove top and bring to a boil.
3. Once the water in the pan has begun to boil, turn off heat. Let sit for 15 minutes.
4. Place pan under cool running water (don’t dump out water the eggs cooked in) over the sink allowing the water to become fully cool in the pan gradually. This will cool the eggs slowly preventing cracking, but also makes them easier to peel.

Instant Pot

We have made hundreds of batches of delicious hard boiled eggs with this Instant Pot Hard Boiled Egg recipe on our sister site. Don't skip the ice bath instruction for easy peeling.

Air Fryer

Try our air fryer hard boiled eggs method. They are not truly boiled but the end result is the same hard cooked egg.

How to make it

STEP 1. Toast the baguette

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the baguette slices on a baking sheet (photo 2). Spritz with olive oil spray, turn them over and spritz the top to create a light coating of spray.

Place in the oven and monitor, turning them over when the tops are golden and toasted to toast the opposite side. When the slices are golden remove from the oven and set aside.

STEP 2. Make the bacon and egg salad

In a medium mixing bowl combine the egg salad ingredients: chopped eggs, crumbled bacon, light mayonnaise, radish, dill, scallion and salt. Stir to fully combine (photos 3-4). 

STEP 3. Assemble the crostini appetizer

Spoon one tablespoon of the bacon egg salad onto each toasted bread slice (photos 5-6). Serve immediately.

Variations

Swap the toast for cucumber slices. Thick cut cucumber slices that have been dabbed with a paper towel to remove excess moisture can be used instead of bread for egg salad bites. This egg salad appetizer idea removes the bread calories and is fresh and delicious.

Change up the seasonings. There are lots of ways to change this up. Here are some ideas: 

• Swap in chopped fresh chives instead of scallion
• Add some Dijon mustard
• Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce
• Swap the dill for chopped fresh parsley instead
• Add minced red onion instead of scallions
• Add a grind of black pepper

You get the picture; change this up to add the flavors from your favorite egg salad sandwich.

How to Store

This appetizer is best enjoyed when freshly prepared. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in a single layer in the refrigerator for up to two days. The bread will soften when stored. For best flavor enjoy at room temperature.

The egg salad portion can be stored for 3-5 days without the bread in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

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