Crispy Baked Cheesy Salami Appetizer Bites

Crunchy, cheesy, and oh so delicious are these baked salami cups!  Crispy baked salami cups stuffed with cheese, pepper jelly, basil, and topped with a crunchy bagel toast bite!

What’s your take on appetizers? Meaning, could you eat them as your meal and be content? I’m that person that, when we go out to eat, always orders an appetizer. There’s just something about that little morsel of deliciousness to tantalize the tastebuds before the main course. However, I’ve been finding that I’ll tend to order a few appetizers and skip the main meal altogether.

I’m all about variety when it comes to foods. It’s smaller portions and you get to try a bunch of different things.  I think that’s one of the reasons why I loved going to buffets (well, let me clarify that statement… I like going to GOOD buffets! I’ve been to some sketchy ones where I wouldn’t even try the water in my glass).

To me, these baked salami cups are such a great appetizer that you can easily turn into a meal. Crunchy, cheesy, flavorful, and all-around delicious!

Grab your ingredients!

As you can see there are only a handful of ingredients and one is even optional (the bagel toast). Later on in the post, I’ll talk about substitutions and making it keto-friendly

• Salami
• Cheese cubs
• Jelly (spicy, sweet or sweet & spicy combo)
• Basil
• Bagel toasts crisps

 

 

Let’s Make Deliciousness!

Now the only thing you need here is a mini muffin tin. However, if you don’t have one and you only have the larger standard size muffin tin, no worries. Just triple the recipe (though only double up the jelly). You just need to make sure that the meats cover the muffin well and the cheese is about halfway up.

1. To each muffin tin, add a room-temp piece of salami. Gently press it down into the well.
2. Add in some cheese to each well and then add a spoonful of jelly.

3. Pop the tray into the oven and bake for 13-18 minutes or until the salami is crisp and the cheese is all melted.

4. Line a plate with paper towels and, using a thin off-set spatula blade, carefully nudge each cup out of the muffin tin, placing them onto the paper towel. The paper towels will help absorb any residual grease from the meat.
5. Garnish with some basil while warm.

The Crunch Factor

Now you could stop there and serve these little bites of scrumptiousness as-is but your girl here wanted something a bit more.

So into my pantry, I went looking for something else crunchy to add on top. I grabbed some Fritos, oyster crackers, and bagel crisps.

The crackers were just okay. It didn’t add much flavor to it or any difference in texture. The Fritos I LOVED but then I love Fritos.  However, the corn chip taste overpowered the rest of the dish.

I then tried the bagel crisp. Guys this was so good! Like really, REALLY good! It added a killer crunch, a hint of flavor (I used everything bagel crisps) but still left the salami cup as the star.

Recipe Substitutions

I love this section of my posts as I love to show simple swaps that can help you create an entire tray of these cups but with all different flavors!

• Meats – Pepperoni, prosciutto, speck, ham, or jamon
• Cheeses – seriously, pretty much any cheese- even brie, feta, cream cheese
• Jelly – grape, strawberry, apricot. Need keto-friendly or low-carb? Try sugar-free jams and jellies.
• No Jelly – try honey mustard, sweetened sriracha, or when they come out, add ranch, pizza sauce, marinara, or a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar
• Herbs – Thyme, parsley, cilantro

Optional Flavor Combinations

• Pepperoni – mozzarella, pizza sauce, basil
• Prosciutto – brie, apricot jam, thyme
• Ham – cheddar, honey mustard, pretzel nub
• Jamon – cotija, salsa, cilantro, avocado

 

Storing & Reheating

You can most certainly make these ahead of time (1-2 days) but do not add the bagel crisps or basil until you’re ready to serve.

Storing

To store, place in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Reheating

Place the salami cups on a lined, rimmed baking sheet and place them into a 350F oven for 5-7 minutes or until warmed through and they are re-crisped. Add the basil and bagel toasts before serving.

Freezing – I’ve not tried freezing these as we frankly eat them way too fast. I would think they’d freeze well. I’d thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. If you try this out, let me know!

 

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