Healthy ricotta and jam toast that feels splurgy . . .
Whipped ricotta and homemade strawberry jam toast is a weekend luxury for me, even though it is low calorie and quite healthy. I like to eat the toast and strawberry jam warm and the whipped ricotta ice cold. I usually use my quick brown soda bread as the base for this toast, which ensures that the bread is filling and whole grain. But you can use any type of toast you like. I don’t put sugar in the jam, which makes it both tart and healthy. It’s a nice contrast with the creamy ricotta.
Sometimes I’ll drizzle it with a little olive oil and sprinkle a bit of salt on the top. If I’m feeling naughty, I may instead drizzle it with a little honey (oh how wild, life after 30).
The Homemade Strawberry Jam . . . it doesn’t have to be strawberry!
I often decide to make strawberry jam when my berries are looking a little off-peak. It’s a great way (along with pie!) to rapidly consume berries that are looking a bit past their prime. You can make this jam with virtually any berries or other fruit you have. I do it with peaches, plums, raspberries, blackberries, etc.
Traditionally, jam is made with quite a lot of sugar. The sugar acts as a natural preservative and keeps the jam from going bad. This means that this jam, since it does not have sugar, will only last a few days in the refrigerator. So seize the moment and eat lots of it. I eat it on toast or even on pancakes!
If you want a jam that satisfies a bit of a sugar craving, I suggest just adding a drizzle of honey on the top of the toast when you’re done. The sugar you’ll taste in a honey drizzle on top will hit that craving much harder than the same amount of sugar added to the jam.
Super Fast Jam
If you are feeling very lazy, as I am prone to do, you can skip the whole “making jam” step and use the microwave to achieve something similar. This works best with raspberries. Take maybe 6 raspberries in a microwave safe bowl and pop them into the microwave for about 15 seconds. They will get hot and turn super soft and spreadable. Minimal cleanup required.
The Whipped Ricotta
I use full-fat ricotta for my whipped ricotta and homemade strawberry jam toast, because it truly does taste better. Plus, if you eat a half cup of ricotta, you’re saving less than 50 calories by switching to low fat. The fat both keeps you full and moderates how fast the sugar and carbohydrates from the berries and the toast hits your system. So I say it is definitely worth the full fat here.
I typically buy Calabro ricotta – I find it is consistently quite good. But pretty much any whole-milk ricotta will work. That said, I would avoid basket ricotta if that is a thing you’ve experienced. It is good, but not great for this recipe (its a bit too dry).
If you want to make the ricotta even creamier, some people add a bit of olive oil and lemon juice when they whip it. I prefer not to do this because I don’t think the ricotta needs it.
Super Fast Ricotta
Shocking tip: If you are feeling lazy, you can just *not* whip the ricotta. Just spread the ricotta on your toast straight out of the tub. I do this many mornings.
The Toast
As mentioned above, my first choice for the toast is quick brown soda bread. It is a hearty, filling bread, which makes this overall a very filling breakfast or snack.
However, my second choice is a good piece of toasted sourdough. Also delicious, just not quite as much fiber and so it’s not quite as filling.
Now, on to the recipe!
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Whipped Ricotta and Homemade Strawberry Jam Toast
This is a healthy recipe for whipped ricotta and fresh fruit jam on toast. Because the strawberry jam is homemade, I don’t put sugar in it. I find that the strawberries are usually sweet enough without it. If I feel like it needs a kick of sweetness, I will add a drizzle of honey to the top as a finishing touch.
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 toast
Ingredients
Instructions
The easiest way to do this is with a food processor. Place the ricotta in the food processor and blend it up in short bursts until the ricotta has a smooth texture. I have a tiny food processor attachment on my beloved immersion blender that I use for small batches, but I usually whip about 1 cup at once. Alternatively, you could literally whip it, but it will take a longer time to get to a smooth texture, so I don’t recommend this if the food processor is an option.
Add the strawberries to a sauce pan with 1/2 cup of water. Heat until the water starts to boil, and then turn heat to low and let the strawberries begin cook down. Do not cover the pan.
Keep the heat on medium-low and stir the strawberries regularly, gently mashing them down with a cooking spoon. Note that they will naturally start to sort of dissolve and mashing them will become very easy the longer you cook them. The mixture should continuously boil throughout this process.
Continue to cook the strawberries until almost all the liquid is gone and they are a jam-like consistency. The whole process takes me maybe 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
While the jam cools off a bit, toast your bread.
Once the toast is out of the toaster, smear it with the whipped ricotta, then place a large dollop of jam on the top. Finish with a drizzle of honey or olive oil if you like. I also like to sprinkle a pinch of salt.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 5
- Category: breakfast
- Method: stovetop
