I’m always looking for quick appetizer ideas that are mouth and crowd pleasing, so I’m supa excited to share my latest happytizer with you: Mini Reuben Crisps! If you love a Reuben sandwich, then you’ll love my latest corned beef recipe. I came up with this idea when my boyfriend and I were taping my Reuben Sandwich recipe for my Makin’ it with Maren YouTube channel. We just used our Reuben-inspired ingredients and threw together one of the tastiest and quickest snacks we’ve ever made.
So swipe out your rye bread and use some crispy pita chips to create these simple and savory bites. I’m newly obsessed with Trader Joe’s Pita Baked Crackers made with sea salt, and I’m just warning you now that you’ll probably notice a few more subsequent recipes with these crunchy discs. Anyway, to make this cracker appetizer, you’ll need corned beef or pastrami, pita crackers, Thousand Island dressing, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and some rosemary. The chopped rosemary was a last minute idea to add some color and extra flavor and I’m glad I went with my gut!
Yes, these Mini Reuben Crisps would be great for St. Patrick’s Day but really, they’d just be good for any ol’ occasion. I made the corned beef we used in the crock pot but store bought and sliced meat from the deli will work just as well. If you really want to kick the flavor up a notch, then I suggest sprinkling on some everything bagel seasoning right after the cheese melts on top! Can you believe they bottle that stuff up? I hope you enjoy my Mini Reuben Crisps and let me know what you think!
Watch our video recipe below to get both our Reuben Crisps and Reuben Sandwich recipe:
1. Spread out desired number of pita crackers on a microwave-safe dish or foil-lined tray (depending on how you want to melt the cheese). Place corned beef or pastrami meat (enough to almost cover the entire cracker) on each pita cracker.
2. Spread a half-teaspoon of Thousand Island dressing over each piece of meat.
3. Before placing sauerkraut on top of the meat, strain excess juice from it by placing wire mesh strainer over a bowl and placing pressure with your fingers over the sauerkraut. Once juice is sufficiently drained, placed desired amount of sauerkraut on top of the meat and dressing.
4. Place 1" x 1" squares of Swiss cheese over each meat-topped cracker and microwave or place in the oven until melted. Don’t leave them unattended – watch carefully so the cheese doesn’t boil!
5. Sprinkle Mini Reuben Crisps with chopped rosemary and serve!