The 4 Best Toast Toppings

The easiest snack in the world. It’s a piece of cake, or should I say, toast.

If there is a snack that can withstand all weathers, it is toast. From Welsh rarebit dripping with cheese in the winter to summer bruschetta with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, toast is an ideal vehicle for taking those toppings from A to B, from your plate to your mouth.

In France, these vehicles even have a name: tartines, a celebration of this country’s greatest asset, baguette.

How to eat toast

Here, I must clarify the kind of toast I am referring to; tartines or toasted open-sandwiches are so much more than a quick slice of Warburtons popped in the toaster for breakfast. A quick smear of Marmite on toast is one of my favourites, and it is particularly comforting on a cold misty day accompanied by a mug of hot chocolate, but what we need from hearty toast combos is for them to be meals in themselves.

It all depends on the choice of toppings. And that is where this list of my 4 favourite toast combinations comes in.

To get necessary business out of the way; there is no avocado toast on this list.

Believe me, I love avocado toast as much as the next person, however, it’s now the epitome of the mid-2010s, circa 2015 along with selfie sticks and contouring. If someone says that they adore avocado toast these days it comes with a note of irony to save face. 2015 was also the era of Justin Bieber’s comeback and I still love ‘What Do You Mean?’ but the irony is necessary to appear like a normal human being.

Beyond the reliable avocado though there are endless toppings for the adventurous to choose and here are 4 of my favourites to adorn your next piece of toast, or in my case, baguette (although all this toasting has made my toaster give up the ghost, and then I blew a kitchen fuse thanks to a juicer so my kitchen experiments were highly eventful this weekend.)

1) Burrata, blackberry and hot honey

This year has been a good year and that is because I’ve eaten a lot of burrata. There was the burrata and crunchy courgette and basil salad, and now there’s burrata sliced open and heaped onto toasted baguette. This an acceptable burrata recipe to eat on the hoof, to stand slumped at the kitchen counter between the endless tasks on your to-do list. There are no rules to eat burrata as long as you give yourself the time to close your eyes and chew, thanking the universe for your taste buds.

This burrata toast is topped with enormous and juicy blackberries which leave inky stains all over the cheese, then it’s drizzled with hot and spicy honey. It is soft and messy to eat and your fingers will be sticky from honey.

If burrata isn’t your thing, feel free to substitute it for ricotta.

Print Recipe

Burrata, blackberry and hot honey toast

An easy yet indulgent snack using one of my favourite ingredients ever, burrata

Prep Time: 5 mins

Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American, British, Italian

Keyword: baguette, blackberries, burrata, hot honey

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• A piece of toasted bread or baguette

• 1 small ball of burrata

• 5-6 blackberries

• 1 tbsp honey

• A pinch of chilli flakes

• Salt, pepper and olive oil

Instructions

• Put the burrata in a bowl and slice it open so the milky curds can spill out. Spread them over the toast then season with some salt, pepper and olive oil. Top with the blackberries.

• In a small ramekin, mix together the honey and chilli flakes. Drizzle the hot honey over the toast and the toppings.

2) Garlic yoghurt, soft-boiled egg and chilli

Gaylord and I are obsessed with Turkish eggs. It’s one of those quick breakfasts where everything comes together all at once, so I often find myself fluttering aimlessly around the kitchen during the crucial moments.

Turkish eggs is garlic yoghurt topped with poached eggs and served drizzled in copious amounts of melted paprika butter. It’s served in bowls and you just need a heel of bread to act as cutlery.

Which gave me the idea to serve it ‘on toast’. Thick garlicky yoghurt is spread over baguette, then served with a plump soft-boiled egg and sprinkled with hot chilli pepper. Break open the egg and yolk spills out all over the plate, but you have a convenient piece of toast to mop it all up.

Print Recipe

Turkish eggs on toast

A simple breakfast of garlic yoghurt and a softly-boiled egg served on toast

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 5 mins

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, brunch, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Middle Eastern, Turkish

Keyword: chilli, egg, toast, yoghurt

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• 1 egg

• 2 tbsp Greek or natural yoghurt

• ½ a clove of garlic crushed

• A piece of toasted bread or baguette

• Pinches of paprika and chilli pepper or flakes

• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook an egg in its shell for 4-5 minutes until softly cooked.

• In a bowl mix together the yoghurt and crushed garlic and season it with salt. Spread the garlic yoghurt over the toasted baguette.

• Peel off the egg shell, keeping the egg intact. Balance on the top of the toast and sprinkle with salt, pepper, chilli pepper and paprika.

3) Tomato, mayo and feta

I’m often late to the party when it comes to TV shows; with Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, Bridgerton to name a few I evidently had some kind of weird superiority complex and refused to watch them until years later (and I’ve learnt the error of my ways – yes, tears were spilled at the Downton Abbey movie). This also happens for me with food. To all this hoo-ha I’d heard about tomato and mayo sandwiches, I just shrugged and baked a cake or something.

Now, not only am I obsessed with Game of Thrones but also with tomato and mayo on toast. I will never learn.

This tartine is even better, if I can claim such a thing, because the addition of feta complements the sweet tomatoes with a necessary salty tang and herbs are essential – ideally dill, or otherwise chives. This toast is a simple lunch with no frills or unnecessary expensive ingredients (or burrata) in sight.

Tomato, mayo and feta on toast

This toast is now my favourite go-to breakfast, brunch or lunch – it's even better with a fried egg – and try it garnished with chopped chives or dill.

Prep Time: 5 mins

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, brunch, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American, British

Keyword: feta, mayonnaise, toast, tomato

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• A piece of toasted bread or baguette

• 1 tomato

• Mayonnaise to spread

• A small handful of crumbled feta

• Dill or chives

• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Slice the tomato through the stem into ½cm slices

• Spread the toast with mayonnaise, then top with a couple of tomato slices. Season with salt and pepper.

• Garnish with the crumbled feta and the chopped herbs.

4) Anchovy butter, pickled shallots and capers

I’ve met many anchovy-haters in my time. I totally get it, they are fishy and salty and, honestly, tinned fish has a reputation. But, along with all the anchovy-lovers out there, I implore you to give them a chance! For instance, as a topping on this toast.

Mixing finely chopped anchovies into butter perfectly tempers the anchovy’s strong flavour, softening it with smooth creaminess. Spread generously over toast, topped with chives, capers and pickled shallots, you have an easy snack or lunch made from store cupboard ingredients, and one I find to be unfairly moreish. I finished a whole tin of anchovies on this toast.

Print Recipe

Anchovy butter, caper and pickled shallots on toast

Anchovy butter is rich and fatty and melts into the toast leaving it all salty. The pickles and capers add tang and brine, meaning this toast is balanced and undeniably addictive.

Prep Time: 5 mins

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, brunch, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: British

Keyword: anchovy, butter, capers, pickled shallots, toast

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• 3 anchovies packed in oil from a tin

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter softened

• A piece of toasted bread or baguette

• ½ tsp capers rinsed

• 1 batch of pickled shallots: read notes

• Chives to garnish

• Black pepper

Instructions

• First make the shallots – to find the recipe, click the link in the notes below.

• Finely chop the anchovies. They will be soft and easy to blend with your knife. Mix the puree into the softened butter.

• Spread the butter over the toast and top with the capers, pickled shallots and chives. Season with a little pepper.

Notes

The pickled shallots are from this recipe for quick pickled red onions – instead of 1 red onion, you can pickle 3 shallots instead. 

So, there you have it, my 4 favourite toast toppings for whenever you’re stuck for inspiration, or if the avocado in your fridge is staring at you.

What do you think - what are your favourite toast toppings? Do you also have a love-hate relationship with avocado?!