Creamy dips and appetizers are always the hit at any party. (Um, hello hot spinach and artichoke dip!) I mean, what’s not to love. Gooey, creamy dips and spreads are at every holiday function. Coming up with healthy appetizers is tough. Fruit and veggies simply don’t cut it. While they are great things to have on the side (I always do!), its always nice to have other easy appetizers that are also delicious and impressive.
If you’ve followed a gluten-free diet for a while, you’ll know that appetizers are a tough one. Especially when most of the store-bought options are made of pastry (either biscuit dough, pie crust, phyllio or wonton wrappers). All contain wheat, so if you’re trying to avoid gluten, it simply doesn’t work.
My Mom used to make a recipe similar to these healthy crab tarts (but hers weren’t healthy or gluten-free), so that was the inspiration for this recipe. One thing is for sure, your guests will come running when they smell these tarts in the oven. The smell of crab, garlic and cheese is pretty darn heavenly!
I used the Dempster’s Gluten Zero (whole grain version) as the bread in this recipe. Some gluten-free breads are too dense and won’t roll out. Other brands can also have huge holes in the slices, so that won’t work either. This Dempster’s bread is the most consistent gluten free bread that I’ve worked with. No holes, just moist yummy bread. I’ve had several loaves every slice has always been consistent and perfect.
Another bonus is, these can be made ahead, then baked right before you’re going to serve them. Just bake the shells for 10 min, and keep the dip in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble. You could also fully bake them, store them in a container in the fridge or freezer and re-heat in the oven. I’m all about making the holidays a little bit easier! Aren’t you?
- 9 slices Dempsters Gluten Zero Whole Grain Bread
- 1 can (120g) crab meat, drained well
- 2 Tbsp green onion, chopped
- ¼ cup light cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup light sour cream (I used 5% milk fat, not fat free)
- ½ tsp worcestershire *
- 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup light cheddar cheese, shredded
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
- With a rolling pin, roll out all the slices of bread until flat (don't worry about the crusts, as they will most likely fall off) Here's what mine looked like:
- With a metal ramekin or another circle cutter, cut out 3 circles from each slice of bread.
- Save the extra bits in case the bread cracks and you need the extra for repair.
- Mist a mini-cupcake pan with oil.
- Press each bread round into one of the cups. Press in gently. Don't worry if it breaks, take a little of the extra bread to do a little patch work if needed.
- Lightly mist the bread cups with oil again, and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. In a medium bowl, mix together all the other ingredients.
- Remove the bread cups from the oven, add about 1 tsp of filling to each cup.
- Return the tarts to the oven and bake for 10-11 minutes until the cheese is melted and its puffed up slightly.
- Remove from the pan and place on a dish. Serve warm.
- Extra's can be frozen and re-heated at a later date.
* Save all the extra crumbs, pulse them, to make gluten free bread crumbs to use at a later date. I freeze mine, and will toast them with seasonings before I use them again.
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Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Dempster’s, however, my thoughts and opinions are my own.