Endives with Apples, Goat Cheese and Smoked Almonds
Endive leaves filled with crisp apples, creamy goat cheese, and crunchy smoked almonds make for an easy and delicious appetizer or healthy lunch!
We’re officially one week away from Thanksgiving! Do you guys have your menu all planned out yet?
I’m still trying to figure mine out. We have family coming to stay with us for the holiday and their food preferences are slightly different than ours.
It doesn’t make things easy but ultimately I know it’s more important to have them here than it is to worry about what we’ll eat. And that says a lot coming from me! I’m kind of obsessed with food, in case you haven’t noticed.
Seriously though, the holidays are 100% about who we spend them with and I’m grateful to actually have some of our family with us this year.
I’ve been trying to sort out what we’ll cook the day of, including snacks and appetizers to enjoy while everyone sits around watching football. It’s a tradition in our house.
Between thinking about that and trying Blue Diamond’s delicious Smokehouse Almonds, this appetizer immediately came to mind. It was inspired by Marcie’s recipe for Endive Salad Bites with Pears, Blue Cheese and Pecans. I loved the sound of all of the textures and flavors together and decided to put a slightly different spin on it using crisp apples, creamy goat cheese and crunchy smoked almonds. Oh and dried cranberries too, for good measure. :)
As you can see, they’re super easy to make. All you have to do is chop the ends of the endive, pull of the little leaves and fill them with the creamy goat cheese crumbles, diced apple and cranberries.
Once you’ve got that down, you squeeze a little lemon juice on top to add a bit of tart flavor (and also help keep the apples from browning), then you sprinkle with the smoked almonds and chives, and they’re ready to eat!
Whether you’re looking for a last minute appetizer to serve for guests or just a healthy snack or lunch to have at home, these are the perfect solution. I hope you love them as much as we do!
Endives with Apples, Goat Cheese and Smoked Almonds
Yield: about 20 cups // 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 heads of endive
- 1 large apple, cored and diced
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds, chopped
- minced chives for serving
Directions:
Start by rinsing the endives and peeling off any outer brown leaves. Chop the ends off of each one then arrange individual leaves on a platter.
Spoon the crumbled goat cheese into each one, top with diced apples and cranberries, then squeeze the lemon juice on top. Sprinkle with chopped almonds and chives, serve and enjoy!
The lemon juice will help keep the apples from browning for several hours so that they can prepared beforehand, however they are best served the same day.
This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. Ditch the chips and grab some Game Changing Flavors this football season! Enter for a chance to win the Ultimate Football Party Prize Pack, get great savings and ideas for delicious snack hacks at GameChangingFlavors.com.
I made an appetizer like Marcie’s last year. They were light and tasty! Not too heavy before a big meal like Thanksgiving dinner. I’m happy to hear you guys are having family stay with you this year!
Perfect appetizer for Thanksgiving since using endives instead of crostini or a flaky tart keeps things a bit lighter leaving more room for turkey and pumpkin pie. And you can’t go wrong with almonds, cranberries and goat cheese…quintessential Thanksgiving in my mind!
My thoughts exactly, Jill! ;)
Hello cocktail party season!! These are so cute!
Lovely recipe! Endives make such great appetizers, especially when you dress them up like this!
Thanks Mary!
Yum! I love anything with goat cheese. I’ve drooled over a million Thanksgiving recipes, but I have yet to actually decide on anything. Guess I’d better hurry!
What a great way to use Smokehouse almonds, Sarah! I love the sound of this combination, and thank you for the link up. These look just gorgeous and I’d find it difficult to stop eating them! I’m so excited for Thanksgiving!
Thanks for the inspiration, Marcie! :)
These look yummy! I really think it’s hard to go wrong with goat cheese.
Can’t wait to try them.
I agree, Nancy! Goat cheese makes everything better. :)
First, these look just so so good! I loveee that you used goat cheese and with those smokehouse almonds?? Sounds fantastic!
I used to get really annoyed (for lack of a better word) with some extremely picky eaters I have on my hands for Thanksgiving every year … but now I try to look at it as a challenge! haha And of course remembering that it’s more important that family is here (versus annoyance over their eating!! lol).
I applaud you for your positive outlook on dealing with picky eaters. They’re meat and potatoes people which doesn’t match our vegetarian diet. It makes it very challenging to cook and to find a restaurant that we all agree on. In the end, it’s worth it, I just wish they would eat a little healthier! ;)
These are so elegant and sound delicious :)
Thank you, Medha! <3
Yum, this is my kind of appetizer! I’m loving these smokehouse almonds too.
I hear you on family members having different preferences when it comes to food… it’s a struggle sometimes haha… but I’m sure you’ll have a nice Thanksgiving with them!
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